Painting polyurethane caulking

Question

Hey guys I noticed some dry rot from an 1986 glendale stirling. The previous owner was supposed to have been analysis on maintenance but I found under the bed compartment that the wall is falling apart. I know he recoating the entire roof 5 years ago and there is no visible water damage inside. My plan is to reseal the roof anyways around ac unit and what not. In the meantime i filled the rear corner that was rotting...again this is under the flooring area  below the compartment on the driver wall. I ended up filling the corner with spray foam. Additionally I went crazy sealing every single seam I found on the rv including around the windows with a polyurethane caulking (sikaflex construction sealant) with intent to seal everything and forget about where the water was coming in. As a result the sealant looks unsightly since it's very dark brown and the aluminum and vinyl siding is cream. What type of paint can I use...acrylic latex? Will the paint stay? Just to clear everything up the leak was not coming from any Windows and I only sealed over with the caulking as a preventive measure.

kuziwk · Answer

Sorry to make this confusing. Basically there is a compartment accessible from the outside that is under the bed. Below the compartment is the bottom corner of the rv sort of like a side skirt that drops below the frame and floor. The side skirt is the one that is gone to wood chips which is where I sprayed the spray foam. The compartment is solid though and seems to be fine as does the floor in that section. I beleive the leak may have been coming from where the section of siding meets the top section. At any rate I put polyurethane on this seam and all seams of the motorohome and I'm looking to see what paint I can use so that it does not look as bad once the caulking cures. Whatever I paint I go with I wish to color Match to the motorhomes siding.

drewe · Answer

What does the tube of caulk say about paint types? They'd know better than pretty much anyone here. However, I'd venture to guess that a decent exterior latex paint would be acceptable and should not be a problem with typical RV exterior components.

By the way, the air conditioner is designed to not be caulked where it meets with the roof. There's a foam gasket between the two for sealing; if it's leaking, this should be replaced. (If it's not leaking, all that is required is to occasionally check that the bolts holding the top unit in place are slightly snug. They do not need to be tightened down very hard; it's fairly easy to overdo it.)

Most everything else that pierces the roof needs caulking or sealing from time to time; the products generally used are Dicor self-leveling lap joint compound or Eternabond tape.

kuziwk · Answer

Thanks for the reply I have an aluminum roof that over the years looks to have a rubber coating not sure if that's factory or not. Some areas are cracked and  chipped exposing aluminum. My intent is to seal these areas with a sealant I bought at canadian tire meant for aluminum and other rv roofs such as rubber which comes in a quart. I would be sealing around the vents but as you mentioned will not seal around the air conditioner. I will however inspect around the air conditioner. This is purely preventative maintenance as I have not seen any wet areas or water stains on the celing. I pushed up or hit with my fist most of the interior walls and celing areas and everything is solid. For The sikaflex they claim rubber paint is fine...I did find a special paint at home depot which is acrylic latex which will work with plastics and metals and is meant to seal aswell and withstand rain up to 90 MPH. Also had I known about proflex clear rv sealant I would have out that instead as it probably would have looked better than the bronze sikaflex I used...too late though now I have to paint.

ernie1 · Answer

I have a PleasureWay Class b rv that has a fiberglass body and Sikaflex is used to join it to the metal part of the rv. Urethane paint is then sprayed over everything including the Sikaflex.

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Painting polyurethane caulking

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