information please.

[Duramax]

I am in the process of replacing about 4' of my floor in a 91' 32' excella. I have read all the threads pertaining to the newer models and I have a few questions.
1. What is parbond and can I use a urathane caulk in place of this?
2. What is vulkem and again, can a urathane caulk replace this?
3. What is the banana wrap?
4. What is the belt line?

Where can I get the parbond and the vulkem? Is this something I should be able to get locally?

This turned out to be a little bit larger job than expected. Thanks

[joatmon]

1. The "Search" function, and no
2. The "Search" function, and no.
3. & 4. The "Search" function.

Airstreamdreams.com & InlandRV.com

Most jobs on Airstreams older than 10 years end up being larger than expected.

[uwe]

Originally Posted by Duramax

I am in the process of replacing about 4' of my floor in a 91' 32' excella. I have read all the threads pertaining to the newer models and I have a few questions.
1. What is parbond and can I use a urathane caulk in place of this?

See answer below for "no". Parbond is a specialty sealer formulated to stick to aluminum. It is very useful for caulking small gaps and crevices, such as window frames and skin seams.

Originally Posted by Duramax

2. What is vulkem and again, can a urathane caulk replace this?

See answer below for "no". Vulkem, however, is a sealer that is well suited to seal aluminum on aluminum, or aluminum on wood etc. It is grainier and thicker in viscosity thanPar Bond, and is better suited for sealing larger surfaces and crevices. Such as found when removing body panels, or even an entire shell. I like vulkem better than Sikaflex ( another well suited sealer) because it sets up much slower, giving you more time to adjust the panels.

Originally Posted by Duramax

3. What is the banana wrap?

The banana wrap is the metal that connects the lower skin with the belly pan's flat pieces. It is found on trailers from teh mid sixties, to today's models. On earlier trailers it was used in teh front only, then it became standard for all 4 corners somtime in the late 60's.

Originally Posted by Duramax

4. What is the belt line?

I am assuming you refer to the molding that runs under the windows. Sometimes it is merely a row of rivets. Nt sure if the lowermost molding would be referred to as belt line.

Originally Posted by Duramax

Where can I get the parbond and the vulkem? Is this something I should be able to get locally?

This turned out to be a little bit larger job than expected. Thanks

Yes, much larger. The proverbial "can of worms", in most cases.
See answer below ( or above) for sources of PAR Bond or Vulkem

[driftwood]

Duramax,

You'll get a kick out of this
I have a feeling this is what joatmon is referring to. Reference (best kept secrets!)

Nice job UWE!

[joatmon]

Uwe - Excellent post.

Vulkem ... is grainier and thicker in viscosity than Par Bond...

There are two "flavors" of Vulkem, and I have used both (not that I requested them, it is just what the vendor shipped me on two separate occasions). One of them is grainy; the other is smooth - the consistency of household caulk.

[davidz71]

I was disappointed at the Vulkem I received from one source. It was the grainey type of Vulkem and after a year it seemed to want to turn to chalk. I haven't used the smoother Vulkem yet but have had excellent success with the Silkaflex.

[Duramax]

I apologize for my ignorance and lack of forum etiquette. This is the first forum I have ever been associated with. However I did read four or five hundred post pertaining to the floor replacement and leak repairs. None of what I read answered these simple questions. They all made references to these products but failed to explain them.


Now back to the questions. I have these types of caulking on my AS. Can anyone identify them and are they the types of caulking for these applications?

[TomW]

I found this thread to have a lot of good information.

edit: Vulkem is shown in your pix

Tom

[davidz71]

I can't say for sure what the upper left is but it looks like gobs of Vulkem. The upper right picture looks like smooth Vulkem or Silkaflex. The rail could either have Vulkem or Silkaflex put in a large syringe for a smaller bead or it could be ParBond. ParBond is a little "silvery" like silver Tester's paint and will wick into a small space better.

[wahoonc]

Picture # 2 with the cap rail has vulkem on the top of the rail and parbond lower down. I do not know what the interior caulk used is, it may be a bulk industrial form of Vulkem...the stuff that comes in 55 gallon drums or 5 gallon pails...
the last picture is more than likely Parbond that is at the end of its life span. The Parbond has a tendency to "alligator" when it gets old. I suspect due to the the chemical base...MEK IIRC.

Aaron