Searching for the Ultimate caulking.

[FlyfisherBob]

History:
My camper is a 2010 Travellite 800sb which we ordered special from the factory. We drove down to the factory and picked it up. We were lucky to meet a new production manager, who was hired to solve many of their quality and manufacturing problems. He was really good and told us ours was one of first campers he oversaw. As an aerospace machinist and wood worker i am always suspect to consumers products. Our Camper has been trouble free, but too bad for Travellite owners latter, the new manager did not last long. (He was too good).

Caulking:
What ever they used was the Ultimate in caulking. Bright white, very firm, sticks and does not attract dust or road grime. We called the factory for more to touch-up a few places, They were clueless and sent some cheap silicone junk.

What caulking exists that is Bright white, slightly firm, sticks and does not attract dust or road grime?

Thanks for any suggestions.
Bob

[Reality_Check]

jimmyfred wrote:
...............I obtained some.......MasterSeal NP-1 , made by BASF . It was given to me by a friend . He installs Aluminum Store fronts and their glass inserts.......this IS the caulk they use every day .
...............IT says , it is a Polyurethane Sealant ! I used it on the exterior of my 5'ver and it really sticks quite well to gelcoat fiberglass as well as the rubber slide seals . His company buys it by the case in different colors , I'm surprised that BASF doesn't market this item to the RV community because it is a very high quality product . , jf

Sikaflex, BASF, Euclide, etc, in the polyurethanes, are all outstanding and top of the line. Marine, aircraft, commercial, industrial, military, whatever... don't get hung up on the marketing. Dozens and dozens of choices..lot's of threads on this too with detailed info.

NP-1 is good stuff. 1A and 521 from sika are top of the game, and 1NS from Euclid. etc, etc, etc...

[Grit_dog]

NP 1 is real good stuff too.
DO NOT use 3M 4200 as caulking. Not it's purpose and you don't want to try to remove it later. Not "permanent" like 5200 epoxy but on the high end of semi permanent.
Got a hole in the bottom of your boat, use 4200. Need to caulk the camper, get some polyurethane.

[jimmyfred]

...............I obtained some.......MasterSeal NP-1 , made by BASF . It was given to me by a friend . He installs Aluminum Store fronts and their glass inserts.......this IS the caulk they use every day .
...............IT says , it is a Polyurethane Sealant ! I used it on the exterior of my 5'ver and it really sticks quite well to gelcoat fiberglass as well as the rubber slide seals . His company buys it by the case in different colors , I'm surprised that BASF doesn't market this item to the RV community because it is a very high quality product . , jf

[silversand]

FlyfisherBob wrote:
Thanks for the feedback on the 3m 4200.

Cheers.

Funny, thinking about the RV sheet metal screws from my rig, quite a few were, well, almost gone. I photographed all the screws I took out, all lined up in a row, by camper locale. The screws up on the roof fastening down the 2 roof hatches were in the worst shape. Now, I have absolutely no worries...

[FlyfisherBob]

silversand wrote:

What about 3M 4200? It could be removed i heard.

....I removed and replaced every sheet metal screw on our camper (an aluminum-framed camper), replacing every screw with high-quality stainless-steel screws (this includes every screw in the roof: all roof hatches and rear ladder screws), thread and hole-bedding every one of them with 3M's 4200. I use 4200 as a bedding compound, not a seam caulk. The only thing I use for seam caulking (fiberglass to J-trim metal) is Geocel (Geocel, the formula I use) is the stuff you probably refer to as: firm, high-gloss and dirt-repellent. If you make mistakes with Geocel, it is a real b**$h to remove. Be very, very careful.

BTW: 4200 will attract grime like crazy in my experience. I go with a firm seam caulk (like Geocel) for all the big seam work.

I planned on the stainless screws also because strangely only the lower screws were rusted.
The water must be following behind the trim cover from the overhead around to the bottom and passing thru the screw holes.

Thanks for the feedback on the 3M 4200. Will be testing the Geocel soon, hope it is the right stuff.
Strange the airstream people never mention Geocel.
Bob

[silversand]

What about 3M 4200? It could be removed i heard.

....I removed and replaced every sheet metal screw on our camper (an aluminum-framed camper), replacing every screw with high-quality stainless-steel screws (this includes every screw in the roof: all roof hatches and rear ladder screws), thread and hole-bedding every one of them with 3M's 4200. I use 4200 as a bedding compound, not a seam caulk. The only thing I use for seam caulking (fiberglass to J-trim metal) is Geocel (Geocel, the formula I use) is the stuff you probably refer to as: firm, high-gloss and dirt-repellent. If you make mistakes with Geocel, it is a real b**$h to remove. Be very, very careful.

BTW: 4200 will attract grime like crazy in my experience. I go with a firm seam caulk (like Geocel) for all the big seam work.

The caulking I use to re-seam our TPO roof is special Dicor (white) formulated for TPO roofing.

[FlyfisherBob]

What about 3M 4200? It could be removed i heard.
Any feedback on the 4200? Read once it attracted dirt. Do not want a dirt attractor.

My sail boat friends use it, but requires a special cleaner/primer. Boats are in storage now, will look at in a month to check for dirt sticking.

Thanks, Bob

[Jack_Hart]

3M 5200. Just don't use it on any parts that you ever plan on separating...ever.

[FlyfisherBob]

FYI:
On an Airstream trailer forum, Air Forums, they have a specific thread for sealants and such.
Their leak problems are monumental. This is a list users have provided for:

Windows/Trim//Exterior Lights:

Sikaflex 221 Grey (seals and bonds. Use Eternabond spray cleaner to prepare surface)
Parbond Grey or Clear (small hand tubes, prep and clean-up use cosmoline remover)
Trempro 635 Grey
Loctite® PL® S40 Polyurethane Window Door and Siding Sealant
Lexel™ Clear
Aluminum Pigmented Gutterseal

They have also referenced marine and aircraft ones on the forum.

I have not yet started to experiment with any of these. Hope this list will add a few options for our campers.

I have the perfect solution, just do not know what it is.

The dirt sticking is the main problem. Most will seal against leaks.

Thanks, and keep the suggestions coming.
Bob

[Kayteg1]

I used marine-grade caulk.
The cheaper one at West Marine is $16/tube.
It works this winter in spots where the best Home Depot stuff failed.

[JimK-NY]

I used Geoflex but ran into issues. I got bad tubes from a hardware store (rarely find it there), once from Tweetys and again from Camping World. I guess the shelf life must be really short. The caulk seemed a bit too firm in each instance and after lots of work, I had to strip off the caulk and start over. I have switched to Dicor. Dicor is a bit runnier and does not apply as easily but it seems to last and old tubes do not stop working. Dicor lap sealant comes in regular and self leveling. The regular product works best for vertical applications. I don't see much advantage to the self leveling even for horizontal applications.

[billyray50]

I have used Geocel pro flex for a few years with good results. Recently just used Silkaflex 505uv bright white and flowed real well with a fast cure time.