A question about screws on the exterior of a 1980 Boler

[Medic86]

Hello,

My wife purchased a 1980 13' Boler a few weeks ago and is in the process of cleaning, painting and re-upholstering the interior of the trailer. I was tasked with working on the outside. "We'd" like to repaint the exterior of the trailer but there are a few things I am unfamiliar with and unsure on how to approach. There are a few screw holes and rivets popping through or on the exterior that were covered with some sort of gooey expoxy/caulking to prevent leakage? I believe. I've attached some pictures for reference. Would I be best to leave these alone? Change them out for a more flat headed design and then use something to insure a water tight fitting or? Just kinda looking for recommendations on how to get a nice finish.

[AKS]

Someone who actually knows will come along, but I will tell you what I would probably do (and I will hopefully be following y'alls lead soon). I would remove anything that looks like old caulk, and replace with marine caulk or similar (absolutely no silicone, use the google function under "search" and you'll find what you need) and paint over it, or use butyl tape but I am not sure if thats paintable. If you need to replace the hardware, I would use stainless steel nuts/bolts, which I have had to do in some places she had rivets totally missing The reason I would remove old caulk is I would be afraid it was actually silicone and would need replacing at some point. Plus you can get a smoother application and old caulk just gets gross IMO.

What are you planning to paint with etc? What color has she picked? Mine is white with a blue stripe currently...I am hoping to end up with teal and a gold stripe I'd love to see what she has done inside! Good luck!

[John in Michigan]

Ideally, before painting the exterior:

- find and fix as many leaks as possible (i.e., through rivets and screws, belly band, windows/window frames, towing lights, etc)
- get rid of all silicone caulk and loose caulks completely
- reseal small holes made by rivets and screws with polyurethane caulk
- reseal behind window frames, roof vent, and other through-hull fixtures, if leaking, with butyl tape (1/8" x 3/4")

There are many threads in this forum covering these subjects as well as methods for prepping the exterior for paint, selecting and applying paint, etc.

Good luck, enjoy and then go camping!