Seam sealing

[FullStop]

I'm going to start resealing everything on our '65 remodel. I was planning on hitting all of the aluminum joints with Acryl-R and all of the window eyebrows and large gaps with Vulkem 116 or similar. Does anyone have any idea how much I would need to order, though? I can't get a sense of coverage for the Acryl-R, and I'm assuming three tubes of Vulkem would cover all of the non-seams. Any advice?

Thanks!

[Airwave503]

I would get the Vulkem 116 1 tube at a time since it's easy to find locally. And since it's textured, it's generally used on the underside and places you don't see.

I bought 4 tubes of Acryl but used less than 2 to do all the seams that had issue or I thought were at risk. This was mainly the roof, endcaps, and vertical seams where the water drips down off the rain guards..(I think you are calling the eye brows

If you're down in PDX I could sell you my extra as there's a 20% restocking fee!

Last week I applied the Captain Tolley's. On some of my rivets I could see the product leak in right under the rivet! Supposed to get rain this week and hoping for very little water penetration !!!!

[ttbikes]

I just did my 64 Tradewind. Both the 635 and the Acryl went futher than I expected. 1 & 3/4 tubes of 635 and 2/3rds of a can of Acryl. Use blue masking tape but I suggest not tape too far ahead. This is especially true of the Acryl. It gets tacky quickly and will get stringy when you pull the tape off. It cleans off with lacquer tinner but why add a step. I did every seem except some of the sides of windows where the seem looked to be in good shape Going to do the rivets with Capt T in the spring.

[thesignlady]

For my 69 Safari I have completely removed every last bit of old sealant from the cracks and crevices... and really sealed it up good using a medicine syringe (the kind you give kids medicine with, not the needle kind) to pump it deep into the spaces. I sealed every window and flashing, all access panels, removed cleaned and replaced all the roof plumbing vents, stove hood and fridge hood covers. Repaired and replaced a broken wing window with Lexan and all that with not even two tubes of grey Sitkaflex. It cures rubbery so its not getting covered in dirt debris like some of the other sealants that remain tacky forever. For any overlap seams that let in moisture and around the door I used the aluminum tint gutterseal I purchased from vintage trailer supply. Can barely tell I have used any, the tube doesn't even look squished yet. Then I used captain tolleys on all the rivets and the seals around the windows that have shrunk with time and were letting water in, At first I used a 3mm hypodermic syringe to apply the captain tolley's to each rivet but it started clogging the needle so I gave up and applied right from the bottle. Clean up any excess with a damp cloth right away or you will have some elbow grease to remove the runs.

Just finished the front half of the trailer yesterday with the tolleys and hosed her all down top to bottom for 20 straight minutes this morning and the front is completely bone dry inside. Take your time do it right and you will be very happy in the end. Of course how tidy you are with your application and how thick you make your seams will make the difference with how much you use in the end.
So for me 1.5 tubes sitkaflex, 1 tube Aluminum tinted Gutterseal and by the time I finish every last rivet and the rear window seal I expect will need to purchase two small bottles of the captain tolleys. I purchased the Tolley's from West Marine here in Canada very recently

[Trixella]

I just used the Capt Tolleys this past weekend and I found that if a little too much seeped out around a rivet I was able to quickly dip my finger in the rivet and touch other near by rivets... I could sometimes seal about 5 rivets just from the application of the one rivet. That stuff goes amazingly far, I think I might only use one bottle for my entire trailer.

[mskinner23]

Has anyone ever used Eternabond Aluminum-backed tape to seal roof seams?

[happy2retire]

Are there any How To videos for sealing exterior seams? Have 2016 Flying Cloud, want to be proactive and keep leaks from developing.

[eubank]

There are several videos on YouTube on the topic. I found them with "seam sealing an Airstream" as search term.

I did it with standard grey vulkem, fast curing formulation.

Remove any loose material with a dental pick (available at Amazon).

Use a painting tape to run along BOTH sides of the seam to be sealed; leave only an 1/8 to 3/16 inch right where the seam is.

Lay down a small amount of vulkem right over the seam.

Use a rubber-gloved finger to go over the vulkem, pushing it into the seam and flattening it.

Pull off the two rows of tape.

Let the vulkem cure.


Lynn