Caulking and Sealants (silicone, parbond, vulkem & more)

[Chaplain Kent]

Here is a link to a fellow Airstreamer and advertiser on this forum who has the correct caulk in stock. I just ordered some yesterday for my Fantastic Fan project.
http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...Code=VTS%2D190

[scottanlily]

Hello neil.ervin,

It is possible that they used urathane windshield sealer on you window.It is the best there is for automotive glass installations .Its not silicone but urathane and is really bonds,the windshield guys all use it.I dont recoomend it for your airstream but if thats what they used its sealed ,believe it!

Scott of scottanlily

[flyfisher]

Originally Posted by lewster

Most Airstream dealers should carry SikaFlex, Acryl-R and ParBond as these are what Airstream uses. The others come from my RV parts distributors. If you can't find what you need, PM me and I can get them for you.

I believe that you can also get some of these directly from the A/S factory at the web site...factory store section.

Awhile back I seem to recall that someone from Airstream - it may have been Jim Parrett - made a post, either here or on Airstream's company site, listing the various types of caulking that the factory used for each different application.

I searched but could not find that posting. Does anyone have a link for it? It may be time to repost this information.

Also, when we were at the factory a year or so ago I purchased a really nice aluminum caulking gun (or maybe it's brushed steel) from them, which they filled with caulking -- I believe it's Acryl-R. They sell the empty guns in the factory store for around $20, and they are excellent. Then, they'll fill it with caulking for you (and refill it whenever you're there and need more) for around $3 or so (I can't remember the exact price).

Isn't Acryl-R is what the factory uses all over on the exterior - around the windows, doors, lights, rub rail, etc? That seems like awfully good caulking to me, and you can really lay a fine bead, easily, with that caulking gun that Airstream sells.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by BillTex

What about this stuff? Supposedly not silicon based...I have used it quite succesfuly on my SOB...


http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...21208&tab=desc

Bill,

The ProFlex isn't bad stuff. I have a few tubes of it in my sealant inventory. I think you would be better off with grey SikaFlex polyurethane on your Airstream. Sealing up yout A/S is not the place to try to save a few bucks. It's the stuff that they use at the factory.

[lewster]

Hey FF,

The Acryl-R that I use has a grease gun style applicator that screws directly onto the can that holds the sealant. The can is about 3 1/2" by 5" with a screw-on cap. It is a 'self leveling' selant that the factory uses for the narrow exterior seams. It seems to wick into the seam before it starts to cure. IMHO, it is the BEST for this particular application.

You can buy the refill cans from any A/S dealer and I believe that they are on the web site store as well......but they AIN"T CHEAP as the new can I have has a $32.99 price tag on it for 16 ounces!!!

[flyfisher]

the one I have sounds similar to yours, in that's it's a grease gun style, and it is a 16 oz size, except I just looked and it was only $17.99 (empty) from the Airstream store last year. Then, as I said, they filled the can at the factory for about $3. On mine, the top screws off and the liquid goes inside the can itself.

[Safari64]

As Silver Ranger, my previous owner must have owned a Silicone factory. They used it to seal around EVERYTHING on exterior.

How can you remove silicone from aluminum exterior?

Safari64

[lewster]

VERY CAREFULLY!!!!!

Really, I've seen commercial glass installers use WD-40 before they peel the old stuff off on a window replacement. Scrape-and-pull......scrape-and-pull with a plastic putty knife.

[Beginner]

There are two types of silicone sealeant. One is Acetic Acid cure(very corrosive and outlawed by NAVAL Aviation period) and Alcohol cure(not corrosive). Neither works well on aluminum or on much of anything that I've found. Use the stuff that Airstream uses (Vulcum, Par bond Etc or anything that Andy of Inland RV recommends) Stay away from the silicones. You will be disapointed in the long run.
IF was me, due to the expericneds that I have had with the silicones in NAVAL AVIATION, I would clean the stuff off and replace it with what Inland recommends.
That's my two cents worth.
Beginner

[Globie64]

I've been looking for more of the 3M 5200 in clear and can't find it... I did find a site that said using silicone on Aluminum isn't good, that it can corrode the aluminum. Why do YOU think it's a bad idea?

thanks

Peter

[Globie64]

Sorry, missed that, silcone has to be throrougly cleaned off before you can apply another material. I read in this

http://www.pgwebconsulting.com/boating/pages/caulk.html

about acetic acid in silicon caulks, and corrosion, and wonder if I've done a bad thing,caulking the seams of my AS with 3M 5200?

P

[Bob Thompson]

All of the 3M 5200 I've ever seen was urethane not silicone. Urethane sealants are commonly used on Airstreams.

[markdoane]

Peter,

You can stop looking for clear 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive Sealant, it only comes in white. None of the 3M Marine Urethanes come in clear.

If you are using something clear, it probably is the 3M Marine Grade Silicone Sealant.

[ticki2]

Has anyone used Lexol , it's a clear caulk used for bulkheads in kayaks ?

[cobra93]

Just my two cents guys...I had silicone around some lower windows (a lot of it) and I was puzzled about how to get it off without scraping. Then the light came on! I had bought a 3M pinstripe remover wheel (basically a big, hard rubber eraser that goes on your drill). That sucker ate the silicone off almost completely in just a few seconds. What was left was in the grooves and I will get it out with a plastic scraper. -Don

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by overlander63

I know silicone does not do that well sealing aluminum. For example, the Cadillac ...

Long before I learned how to work with Airstreams, a coworker owned a Cadillac runabout. This was a small aluminum boat with a front deck and windshield. See: http://www.harborrec.com/CurrentPics%5C049.html. A quick Google produces production dates in the 1950s. The sealant between the panels had long since worn out and it would sink every night if he left it tied to the dock. More than once he cleaned up the joints and caulked it with silicone. I don't know what he did with that boat but the silicone never did the trick. When sillycone takes a whim to stick it is a devil to remove. However it just as freely decides to not hold (a.k.a. leak) in other places.

[Globie64]

I thought I had found something great, using 3M marine Silicone to seal my very leaky Airstream. Finally, last winter, I tracked the last leak, with dye in a rainstorm, to wicking up into one of the front curving panels. I shoved a bunch of silicone in there, and no more leaks. I guess I get a few cans of WD-40 and some plastic scrapers, and a few books on tape. Sigh.

SO, will the use of the silicone somehow have weakened the aluminum?

Peter

[bake315]

Originally Posted by Globie64

SO, will the use of the silicone somehow have weakened the aluminum?

Peter

Not at all, but it does leave a slick residue which will prevent virtually anything else from obtaining a positive bond to the surface. Hence the need to clean it so thoroughly after removing all visible silicone.

[campw/4sons]

Coriolis1, how do you ensure that you have cleaned it thoroughly? What do you use to get all the residue off? Thanks, --Lisa.

[bake315]

Originally Posted by campw/4sons

Coriolis1, how do you ensure that you have cleaned it thoroughly? What do you use to get all the residue off? Thanks, --Lisa.

Hi Lisa,

Found this when I did a search for "silicone removal".