Caulk Removal on Belly Band

[Monk]

Started doing some maintenance this spring on caulking removal and wanted to share some information that might help make this a little easier for others.

The caulking around the belly band of my Scamp was thick, moldy, cracked, and silicon material. I started the removal using a plastic putty knife and a bone tool. This was very slow and the material came off in chunks. It was messy.

I decided to look for a better method and found a 3 in 1 Caulking removal tool on Ebay ($7).


This worked great at cleanly removing nearly all of the caulk in a single pass. I removed all of the caulk in about 40 minutes on a Scamp 16. I found that a slow and steady pull did the trick and removed the caulk in a long strip pieces.

Once all the silicon caulk was removed, I wiped the area with alcohol then taped the edges with painter's tape to provide a clean edge. This took about 1/2 hour to complete. A 1/2 x1/2 inch stick was used as a spacer-guide to keep the tape lines evenly spaced.


I used Pro Flex RV sealant. It took one and 1/2 10 oz. tubes. ($15). Had to remove the tape quickly as the sealant set up fast.
Total time for this job was around 2 hours. (This is not counting the time spent attempting to remove about 12 inches with the putty and bone tool). Hope this is helpful.

[sweendog]

I've been putting that job off but now have no excuse. Thanks for an excellent description of what could be a messy job.

[David Tilston]

That tool is currently available at my local Princess Auto.

[crowwing]

I have always been curious as to how they apply caulk on the belly band at the plant. My attempt a couple of years ago was a C at best. It turned into a D when I tried to smooth out the caulk line. I have envisioned a tradesman with s steady slow delivery that is quality. I with the suggested tool would be tickled with a solid B.
John