What type of caulking to use !!!!!!!!&

[LeeAnne]

Hello,

I am redoing the exterior caulking on top of the moulding on a 1979 Beachcomber we just bought. The old caulking looks like several layers of whatever tube the previous owner had opened at the time It's a mess. So any ideas on how to remove these caulking would be greatly appreciated.

What I am not sure about is what type of caulking should I replace it with. I'm just back from the Hardware Store and one tells me silicone, one tells me a mono ultra, one tells me silicone attracts dust and unfortunately I know only that I need an ivory color I am wondering what is the best exterior caulking I could use as I don't want to be redoing this again for quite some time. I am not sure of availability here in Canada but perhaps I can hit on something similiar to whatever is suggested. In reading past forums, people speak of butyl ?????????????? what is that.

Also I need to recaulk the windows (the glass to the aluminum frame) also, what is the best type caulking to use for that process....???????Any help is greatly appreciated...

Thanks in advance to everyone for your help...

[MyronL]

Many wise posts have addressed this topic. Your best move is to do a search on it. For me a butyl based caulk is the way to go. Like what auto guys use to seal windshields. Silicone does a poor but short term job. I suggest avoiding all silicone based caulks.

A hair driier works well to soften and remove old caulking.

[Donna D.]

Have we got a topic for you..click: Butyl Tape, Silicone and sealing

As far as getting the old stuff off, try a plastic knife, a plexiglass ice scrapper..your fingernails..I found my thumbnails work the best. And be patient..it's not difficult, just time consuming! But you need to get the old stuff off in order for the new stuff to do it's job properly. Stacking gobs of caulk on top of old gobs of caulk just makes a mess.

As a hint, for a neat even line...mask off the area around where you want the caulk to go/flow. I've found without masking, my caulk job looks like I put it on with a wide paint brush! The stuff Per recommends in the above topic is good...but it's extremely sticky and flows on like marshmellow cream. Masking the area really helped.

[Carol H]

Have we got a topic for you..click: Butyl Tape, Silicone and sealing

As far as getting the old stuff off, try a plastic knife, a plexiglass ice scrapper..your fingernails..I found my thumbnails work the best.

I have just spent the last 5 days removing a **really** bad silicone caulking job from the belly band of the Scamp. I have no finger nails left! I also took off the smeared caulking from around a few caps. Took off all the old caps to replace and was glad to see that most of the caps had no caulking.

The reason for the caulking on the bellband in the first place is unknown and the subject of a debate here as to replaced or not replace. I understand that leaks would be rare in this area but at the same time I understand that Scamp does on the new units but a bit of caulking in. Having said that the question is if we do recaulk the bellband what type of caulking do we use? Donna what do you use?

I have read the link re using Butyl but came away unclear if the bellband would be a place to use it....

The local marine expert suggested something called Life-Seal by Boatlife. Its a combo of poyurethane & silicone. I am reluctant to use it as I want a small nice neat line and it looks like using ones finger to smooth out may not be an option with this stuff...


As far as caps go we plan on giving the unit a good wash down to look for leaks to see if the caulking under the few caps that had it was really need. If it turns out the caulking was actually doing something we plan to mark the caps for recaulking in the short term and when time permits do it properly by drilling out and replacing etc. But what to use for caulking in the short term?

Thanks in advance for any words of advise.

Carol

[Donna D.]

I think the caulk around the belly band on a Scamp is mostly cosmetic. The belly band doesn't fit perfectly flush against the body...at least on mine. There's a couple of places that there's about 1/16-1/8 inch gaps. The caulk gives a finished look...and no I haven't replaced it YET...that's on the to-do list. And when I do, I'm going to use a caulk I used on my house (can't remember the name right off the bat ). It is warranteed for 50 years, remains flexible, is paintable and most importantly is good to use on fiberglass. I'll try to get the name by the end of the weekend (it's NOT silicone).

Someone has mentioned using the back of a plastic spoon as a great way to smooth out a caulk line. I personally haven't tried it, but seems reasonable to me.

[Carol H]

I think the caulk around the belly band on a Scamp is mostly cosmetic. The belly band doesn't fit perfectly flush against the body...at least on mine. There's a couple of places that there's about 1/16-1/8 inch gaps. The caulk gives a finished look...and no I haven't replaced it YET...that's on the to-do list. And when I do, I'm going to use a caulk I used on my house (can't remember the name right off the bat ). It is warranteed for 50 years, remains flexible, is paintable and most importantly is good to use on fiberglass. I'll try to get the name by the end of the weekend (it's NOT silicone).

Someone has mentioned using the back of a plastic spoon as a great way to smooth out a caulk line. I personally haven't tried it, but seems reasonable to me.

Thanks Donna would appreciate the name. I have used the spoon trick and it works pretty well on latex type caulking not so sure it would work so well on a marine or silicone type though...

Carol

[Morgan]

Hey guys,

Use a Scrape Rite scraper blade. They work better than fingernails and they don't break as easily.

[Benny K]

yep, funny thing about silicone....it doesn`t stick well to fiberglass! ......it also always leaks! .......and yet you would think that when you wanted it off, it should just fall off....Hmmmmm!....so if it`s always releasing and not sticking there must be something wrong with the way it was put on the first time.....I have very few problems with using silicone as a caulk and have used it for many years successfully......although now for want of trying something better, I use polyurethane caulk and if the area is properly cleaned/ prepped, like it should also be when using silicone, it is something else.......it`s even better than silicone, which I still don`t hesitate to use if need be.....Benny

[Mike Watters]

I've used acrylic caulk with good success on fiberglass. The main reason I started using it is that it's paintable. Very handy.

Also - for smoothing out a caulk line after you lay it down - fingers work wonders. You have to keep it wet however. If you've got a rag and a bowl (grubby one of course), you're set. If you keep your finger wet, the caulk won't really stick to it and it'll leave a nice coved edge. If you're going to be painting over it all anyway - just feather it out onto the flat parts.

mkw

[jrnutpaul]

When using caulks a nice even line can be acheived with painters tape. Put the tape on each side of the seam, about 1/8" away, or just the fiberglass side if it's a window or belly band being caulked.

Apply the caulk, smooth it with wet spoon or finger or even a damp paper towel. After it has been smoothed out remove the tape and you'll have a perfectly straight line. (if your tape was straight)

Paul

[Carol H]

Thanks all. The trick of using a wet spoon or finger is the reason I am reluctant to use silicone as I have never been able to get it to smooth out well.


Carol

[LeeAnne]

I think the caulk around the belly band on a Scamp is mostly cosmetic. The belly band doesn't fit perfectly flush against the body...at least on mine. There's a couple of places that there's about 1/16-1/8 inch gaps. The caulk gives a finished look...and no I haven't replaced it YET...that's on the to-do list. And when I do, I'm going to use a caulk I used on my house (can't remember the name right off the bat ). It is warranteed for 50 years, remains flexible, is paintable and most importantly is good to use on fiberglass. I'll try to get the name by the end of the weekend (it's NOT silicone).

Someone has mentioned using the back of a plastic spoon as a great way to smooth out a caulk line. I personally haven't tried it, but seems reasonable to me.

Hi Donna,

Just wondering if you got the name of the caulk you used I went threw a whole lot of work on the Beachcomber then put on an acrylic caulk, won't use that again and it cracked within a week(they tell me at the hardware store maybe it was a bad batch. , after about ten hours of labor) . Am now looking for something that will work better.

[GrahamD]

Hello,

I used a product I picked-up at my local RV dealership called ProFlexRV by Geocel to seal up around cracks. However, I recommend getting a ribbon of Butyl-caulk to seat any fixtures first.

G

[D Shubel]

When breaching the fiberglass shell for anything on our Burro, we first used gray butyl tape to seal the object to fiberglass, screwed it down, let the butyl oooze out, trim gently with razor knife, then seal all outside edges with 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200. The fiberglass professionals that I worked with recommended this product.

We have used 5200 around single screws, around vents, around windows, around running and brake lights. Anything on the outside has a bead of 3M 5200 around it, like caulking in a bathroom.

It can be bought at our local Home Depot near the paint section.

[Joe Z]

I used that 3m 5200 marine adhesive to seal a leaking black tank seal and i have to say it is very very good stuff......it comes in two types ( 7 day cure and i believe the other is one day cure) I used the seven day cure and also put a big glob of it on a piece of cardboard so i could do tests on it and it is much better than silicone . I still want to test out butyl caulk but haven't done so yet.
Joe

[CDeLaCruz]

The guy assembling the new Trillium here in Calgary recommended ProflexRV. It comes in almond color, which is a good match to my Trillium.

[T2P2]

Originally Posted by LeeAnne

Hello,

I am redoing the exterior caulking on top of the moulding on a 1979 Beachcomber we just bought. The old caulking looks like several layers of whatever tube the previous owner had opened at the time It's a mess. So any ideas on how to remove these caulking would be greatly appreciated.

What I am not sure about is what type of caulking should I replace it with. I'm just back from the Hardware Store and one tells me silicone, one tells me a mono ultra, one tells me silicone attracts dust and unfortunately I know only that I need an ivory color I am wondering what is the best exterior caulking I could use as I don't want to be redoing this again for quite some time. I am not sure of availability here in Canada but perhaps I can hit on something similiar to whatever is suggested. In reading past forums, people speak of butyl ?????????????? what is that.

Also I need to recaulk the windows (the glass to the aluminum frame) also, what is the best type caulking to use for that process....???????Any help is greatly appreciated...

Thanks in advance to everyone for your help...

Check out 3M's 4000 UV Caulk.