Resealing the exterior

[tspeckin]

Hey all,
I would like to re-do all vertical seals on my 5er and wondered if there were any new ways to get "all" of the old silicon off. I have read some old threads about the use or non-use of silicon for resealing and I personally am of the belief that we are resealing for a reason and since silicon is such a pain to remove, why put it back on. Since nothing adheres to silicon and the residue left behind, it makes me nervous to think that if I don't fully remove it, it will cause my new seal to fail. I've even thought about just cleaning the trim and fiberglass good and using eternabond to completely cover the old silicon seal. ???

[Winnipeg]

westend wrote:
3M caulk remover Brush it on, wait a couple of hours and caulk falls off. Follow up with mineral spirits to remove the last of the residue.

BTW, the shower stall is the only area to use silicone on an RV.

You say to only use silicone in the shower. What do you recommend for exterior?

[gbopp]

tspeckin wrote:
I didn't really like the idea of taping, but time is something I can never find enough of. Maybe I'll wait till next year. I retire in June.

Make the time. Get your RV sealed now. You'll be ready to go next June.
You're supposed to spend your retirement RVing, not working on the RV. 🙂

[BarneyS]

Moved to Tech Issues forum from DIY.

[tspeckin]

westend wrote:
3M caulk remover Brush it on, wait a couple of hours and caulk falls off. Follow up with mineral spirits to remove the last of the residue.

BTW, the shower stall is the only area to use silicone on an RV.

Does the mineral spirits completely evaporate, or do you need to clean that off as well?

[tspeckin]

I didn't really like the idea of taping, but time is something I can never find enough of. Maybe I'll wait till next year. I retire in June.

[donn0128]

Sure would look tacky with big sheets of eternabond all over the side seams. Clean everything really well,yea it is slow and a real pain. But to do it right and look good takes time. If you really want to do it right, remove the trim, clean everything really well,apply a new bead of butyl putty tape,reinstall the trim. A few days later after the excess putty tape is squeezed out and cleaned off, apply a nice clean bead of Dicor or Proflex.

[westend]

3M caulk remover Brush it on, wait a couple of hours and caulk falls off. Follow up with mineral spirits to remove the last of the residue.

BTW, the shower stall is the only area to use silicone on an RV.