Leak Repair

[Trixella]

I just bought a 1968 Streamline and after the rain last night I see that it has several leaks. One is in the middle of the roof out of a rivet about 6 inches away from one of the roof vents, the other is around a window above the wheel hub, and the other was around the door. I'm guessing the roof will be easy to fix with some type of sealant (any suggestions on a good sealant?), and the door is probably a matter of replacing the seal, but I'm not sure about what to do about the leak around the window, it may be coming in from around the frame and needs to also be sealed but I think it may also be because the louvered window doesn't close up as tightly as the other windows... if that's the case what could I do with the louvered window to keep it from leaking? Caulk it closed or are they fairly easy to repair?

[grayling]

I'm currently in the middle of sealing mine.

Lots of differing opinions on this forum. Many sealants, different reviews.
Here's what I am doing:

1) roof: tremco 635 around perimeter of the Astradome skylight vent and around the plumbing vent. It's not real pretty, even in small bead, so I'm using it primarily up top where no one is looking. Smaller seams up top will be Parbond in aluminum color. Rivets will be sealed with Capt Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure.

2) As I come down the edges of the roof where line of sight starts, I am going to switch over to Capt Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure so the seams and rivet sealing is nearly invisible.

3) around windows/doors/trim: Parbond in the aluminum color is very nice looking around windows, doors, trim if you keep the bead small with the assistance of taping. Very happy with how it is blending it.

Then next week I will be replacing all of the glazing around windows.

Parbond around a window:


Tremco 635 around vent:



Hope this helps. I may be doing it wrong, but I like the way it is looking so far. Very subtle at eye level.

[grayling]

Forgot to add - I believe it is Vintage Trailer Supply that carries the louvered window gaskets.

[grayling]

Trempro. Auto correct, you are my nemesis.

[Trixella]

That Parbond looks really good, but I just now got home from Home Depot and picked up a tube of clear silicone sealant. Unfortunately we are going to get a lot of rain for a few days starting on Sunday so I need to try to get it sealed up tomorrow. Do you know of any problems with using silicone sealer? Wish I had time to get the Parbond.

[TinTin]

You don't want to use silicone on your Airstream. It doesn't adhere properly, and leaves a residue to which the correct sealants won't bond.

You're best to wait and use the proper sealant.

Here's a list of possibilities:


For wheel wells/underbody:

Vulkem 116
Trempro 635
Adseal Premium Quality Sealant Gray

Roof

Silkaflex 721 White
Adseal Premium Quality Sealant White
Dicor self-levelling sealant
Loctite® PL® S30 Polyurethane Roof and Flashing Sealant

Windows/Trim/Rubrail

Silkaflex 221 Gray
Parbond Gray or Clear (small hand tubes)
Loctite® PL® S40 Polyurethane Window Door and Siding Sealant

Small seams (between aluminum panels)/Exterior Lights

Acryl-R (small cans)

Rivet sealer

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure

[desertair27]

Originally Posted by Trixella

That Parbond looks really good, but I just now got home from Home Depot and picked up a tube of clear silicone sealant. Unfortunately we are going to get a lot of rain for a few days starting on Sunday so I need to try to get it sealed up tomorrow. Do you know of any problems with using silicone sealer? Wish I had time to get the Parbond.

Unfortunately you may not be able to find any of the recommended sealants locally,you should give Your local Fastenal a call to see if. They have it in stock,may have otherwise you can order it from various vendors like Vintage Trailer supply.

[Trixella]

Capt Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure

Where do you get this? Is it only available online? I see on ebay that you can only get it from the UK.

[TinTin]

Captain Tolleys and Parbond are both available at Vintage Trailer Supply. You might find one or the other at your local RV supply store as well. Also amazon.com though Capt. Tolleys appears to be out of stock on Amazon at the moment.

[Trixella]

I'm going to get some of the Capt Tolleys for the visible rivets but is it alright for me to use the Loctite PS30 on the roof rivets?

[TinTin]

While the Loctite would probably work fine, the result might look a little 'messy'. If you have problem rivets on the roof you might be better with something like Dicor, which 'flows' a little and ends up smooth looking on horizontal surfaces. I'm assuming that this would be on the white part of the roof (do 68s have white panels on the roof?). Dicor is ready available.

If not on white portion, then aluminum coloured Parbond might be a good bet.

[Trixella]

Well, it looks like the Loctite has caused tarnished streaks all over my trailer that I haven't been able to remove with denatured alcohol, acetone, or paint stripper. Ugh!

[woodfox45]

Originally Posted by Trixella

I'm going to get some of the Capt Tolleys for the visible rivets but is it alright for me to use the Loctite PS30 on the roof rivets?

West marine has Capt Tolleys if you have a West Marine near you

[TinTin]

Originally Posted by Trixella

Well, it looks like the Loctite has caused tarnished streaks all over my trailer that I haven't been able to remove with denatured alcohol, acetone, or paint stripper. Ugh!

Ouch! Mineral spirits is the recommended solvent to use when applying this sealant, you might give it a try. Did you have wet weather after you applied this? Apparently it takes a day to skin over and a week to cure.

[Trixella]

Originally Posted by TinTin

Ouch! Mineral spirits is the recommended solvent to use when applying this sealant, you might give it a try. Did you have wet weather after you applied this? Apparently it takes a day to skin over and a week to cure.

It rained about 3 days after I applied it. I'll try mineral spirits but I'm not holding out too much hope on it because the soy paint stripper I use that turns the dried sealant to mush didn't touch it.

[Trixella]

The mineral spirits didn't touch it, but I finally found something that did...

Eagle One Never Dull metal wadding paste polish (from Auto Zone)

[TinTin]

Originally Posted by Trixella

The mineral spirits didn't touch it, but I finally found something that did...

Eagle One Never Dull metal wadding paste polish (from Auto Zone)

Excellent. In the meantime I'll remove this caulk from the list.

[Trixella]

Originally Posted by TinTin

Excellent. In the meantime I'll remove this caulk from the list.

Probably wise, but its a shame because it's easy to pick up from Home Depot, instead of having to order online.

[nickclifford]

Originally Posted by Trixella

I just bought a 1968 Streamline and after the rain last night I see that it has several leaks. One is in the middle of the roof out of a rivet about 6 inches away from one of the roof vents, the other is around a window above the wheel hub, and the other was around the door. I'm guessing the roof will be easy to fix with some type of sealant (any suggestions on a good sealant?), and the door is probably a matter of replacing the seal, but I'm not sure about what to do about the leak around the window, it may be coming in from around the frame and needs to also be sealed but I think it may also be because the louvered window doesn't close up as tightly as the other windows... if that's the case what could I do with the louvered window to keep it from leaking? Caulk it closed or are they fairly easy to repair?

I've got the same problem, purchased my '72 Sov this summer and wasn't expecting so much rain (everyone kept saying Nor Cal was in for another dry winter) well, we've just had 12" in 7 days and a load more to come!
Andy from Inland suggested new seals for the vent pipes, very important. I did this already and most definitely working.
i have a ton of water seeping through at that front, so guess I'll start by sealing around the windows. coming in through the roof too somewhere ...
Can the actual seams leak? how to seal these without spoiling the original "look"

[Trixella]

Can the actual seams leak? how to seal these without spoiling the original "look"

The seams on the roof and end caps can leak. There's a sealant available on vintagetrailersupply.com called aluminum gutter seal that is good to use on the sides/windows/all visible parts of the trailer. It is a squeeze tube and it actually has an action that sucks it into the seams so it's as fine of a bead/seal as you're going to get.