Prepping roof for eternabond

[darlingtontrio]

I am curious, what should I do before I put eternabond down on the roof of my TT. I am getting the 4" wide roll. I know it needs to be clean, but clean with anything special?

[therink]

I simply clean the existing caulk and roof surfaces I will bond tape to real well with a stiff brush, soap and water and let dry. I then wipe all surfaces to be taped with isopropyl on a rag. This has worked well for me.

[crcr]

Campfire Time wrote:
Eternabond recommends "EternaClean, Lacquer Thinner, Acetone, Denatured Alcohol, etc". Meaning anything that is volatile enough to really remove any surface contaminants. Personally I would never use lacquer thinner or acetone on a rubber roof. They are "hot" and will melt through the surface. I used mineral spirits. Its a good cleaner and doesn't eat through plastic and rubber.

Install instructions here

Thanks for the link. If you read their cleaning instructions there, they do NOT include mineral spirits or paint thinner for cleaning prior to application. I use both for many things, but would not use them for this -- I believe both products have trace amounts of oil in them, which may leave a residue that is not helpful to getting the type of "permanent" bond one wants when applying Eternabond. I am applying some Eternabond soon, and I will prep with Acetone.

[Chuck_S]

Someone just asked this question in another thread.

No need to remove the caulk. Here's mine from 2006. Still looks and seals fine.



-- Chuck

[darlingtontrio]

I started pulling caulk off of my roof yesterday to get it ready for Eternabond. I spent about an hour and remover maybe 1 foot of caulk. As long as the surface is clean, can Eternabond be applied over the caulk that is already there? I have noticed someone applied some of the self leveling caulk once I started pulling it up.

[therink]

poppin_fresh wrote:
I would be careful having a young (or unreliable) person applying eternabond. It is not something that is very forgiving. Once its stuck down, it aint coming up.

Not a task you can be sloppy with.

X2 - I wouldn't let anyone apply the tape on my trailer, but me. For the tape to be effective, it must be cut and applied perfectly. Like said, once it is applied, it is not coming up.

[poppin_fresh]

I would be careful having a young (or unreliable) person applying eternabond. It is not something that is very forgiving. Once its stuck down, it aint coming up.

Not a task you can be sloppy with.

[Racefan1]

Why would you need Eternabond on a almost new 2013 trailer? Is there a problem, or is this preventive maintenance?

[llowllms]

Turbo Diesel Dude wrote:
Having Grandson (if he shows up) clean my roof tomorrow on our 2013 Forest River TT (for a fee) and apply Eterna Bond to the seams, both sides and across the front/rear seams. I just went ahead and bought two cans of spray cleaner and two 50 ft rolls of 4" tape. He's not too realiable at times so weather permitting we'll see if he shows tomorrow.

I think most young people are that way any more. They have no concept of what a commitment is or telling someone you will do something and then honor what has been said. That's just the world we live in today. I hope he shows.

[therink]

Turbo Diesel Dude wrote:
Having Grandson (if he shows up) clean my roof tomorrow on our 2013 Forest River TT (for a fee) and apply Eterna Bond to the seams, both sides and across the front/rear seams. I just went ahead and bought two cans of spray cleaner and two 50 ft rolls of 4" tape. He's not too realiable at times so weather permitting we'll see if he shows tomorrow.

Where exact would you put Eternabond tape on the side seams? Most roofs have a gutter along the sides at lower edge of the roof line. Just curious.

[Turbo_Diesel_Du]

Having Grandson (if he shows up) clean my roof tomorrow on our 2013 Forest River TT (for a fee) and apply Eterna Bond to the seams, both sides and across the front/rear seams. I just went ahead and bought two cans of spray cleaner and two 50 ft rolls of 4" tape. He's not too realiable at times so weather permitting we'll see if he shows tomorrow.

[Campfire_Time]

Eternabond recommends "EternaClean, Lacquer Thinner, Acetone, Denatured Alcohol, etc". Meaning anything that is volatile enough to really remove any surface contaminants. Personally I would never use lacquer thinner or acetone on a rubber roof. They are "hot" and will melt through the surface. I used mineral spirits. Its a good cleaner and doesn't eat through plastic and rubber.

Install instructions here

[ksg5000]

If you have a rubber type roof make sure that whatever you clean with doesn't harm the roof - there are a number of threads on that subject.

[therink]

What I have done on the 3 roofs I have Eternabonded (that is now a verb in past tense):
scrubbed roof real clean with dawn and brush, using hand brush scrubbed all existing caulk areas that tape will be a applied to. Let dry in sun. Using razor knife, carefully cut and removed areas with very thick caulk to make tape more level and uniform when applied. I then used Isopropyl alcohol and rag wiped all areas where tape adhesive would come in contact with. I then applied the tape per the manufacturer specs. Need to make sure it is above 60f our and best to apply when sun is high so surfaces are somewhat warm for initial tape bond.
There are plenty of YouTube vids.
Steve