Caulk caulk and more caulk

[amazingwoody]

I have been reading about everything I can get my eyeballs on regarding caulk and not using silicone. With that said has anybody had any experience with GE Silicone ll for aluminum? Tried like hell to find a polyurithane based caulk at my local Lowes today and no luck. Everything they6 had here was an adhesive and not a caulk. Came across the GE Silicone ll for aluminum and metal. Claims it is for trailers among other things. Will set up in as little as three hours to rain. Adheres to most aluminum, stainless steel, granite, concrete, gutters and metal.
Designed for steel sheds, metal roofs, trailers and RV's. Can it hurt to try?
Woody

[Foiled Again]

Look for aluminum gutter seal in that area of the store. PERFECT stuff - even in small tubes for touch-ups.

Paula

[tkasten]

You can order Tempro 635 from Vintage Trailer Supply. I always have a couple of tubes on hand. The nice thing is you can put an opened tube in the freezer and it will keep until the next time you need it. I would stay away from Silicone of any type. JMO.

[dkottum]

Personally I find silicone very difficult to work with, nearly impossible to remove, and nothing wants to stick where it has been.

Airstream does not use it on their trailers, so neither do I. Their sealant products are listed in the Airstream Store website.

doug k

[lewster]

SIKAFLEX 221 in grey. Airstream uses it on all newer trailers. One part polyurethane moisture cure. Will generally skin over in 30-60 minutes and cure in several hours.......the more humid the better!!!

[bicio]

This stuff is crazy good. Comes in black, white, Grey. I found it at "Tacoma Screw" which has branch in portland. You can probably order it online.

It is designed for trailers. when applying, make sure you have some paper to set this on, it is goopy and likes to drip, and dribble.

Clean your application well. Use Denatured alcohol to remove dirt, grease, etc.. Remove any and all silicone.

Here is their link. It is worth waiting a couple of days for.

Tacoma Screw Products, Inc.

Good Luck!

-tim

[Aage]

Originally Posted by tkasten

You can order Tempro 635 from Vintage Trailer Supply.

Any Fastenal store can order you any amount of TremPro 535 and have it in a couple of days usually.

Actually, Frank Yensan (62Overlander) swears by TremPro 626, saying that is stays pliable a lot longer.

These are the historic Vulkem caulk, the one that Airstream used for very many years.

The only place on my trailer that Airstream says to use GE Silicon is to seal where the various parts of the plastic that make up the bathroom meet. That's it, that's all.

[DryFly]

If you must go to a big box, it seems they all carry LockTite polyurethene. It's a one part, similar if not identical to Trempro. It doesn't matter if it calls itself a sealant or adhesive, if it's a one part polyurathene, it's a one part polyurethene. You can find Sikaflex at almost any glass shop, it's pretty much what they use for window installation - at least the ones around here tell me that.
Tkasten - good information on storing it in the freezer. I'll give it a try.

[cameront120]

If you can't find it at the big box stores, call a local glazier. They use polyurethane sealants in their work and can probably supply you with what you need. Also Marinas, lots of aluminium boats in the world that use polyurethane sealants.

[Aage]

Folks, there are over 2,000 Fastenal stores across the USA and Canada, all eager and willing to sell you TremPro in any of the model numbers it is available in. Some of them even stock it. Whenever I have needed it, it never took more than three business days for them to get it in if they didn't have it in stock.

[amazingwoody]

Thank you one and all for your input. Really appreciated, Woody

[Tdcraw]

All fastenals are not the same. My husband even has a corporate account and they would not get us less the an 30 count case. I only needed 2-3 tubes. Really depends on the management.

[murreywalker]

Originally Posted by amazingwoody

I have been reading about everything I can get my eyeballs on regarding caulk and not using silicone. With that said has anybody had any experience with GE Silicone ll for aluminum? Tried like hell to find a polyurithane based caulk at my local Lowes today and no luck. Everything they6 had here was an adhesive and not a caulk. Came across the GE Silicone ll for aluminum and metal. Claims it is for trailers among other things. Will set up in as little as three hours to rain. Adheres to most aluminum, stainless steel, granite, concrete, gutters and metal.
Designed for steel sheds, metal roofs, trailers and RV's. Can it hurt to try?
Woody

Before I tried GE Silicone II, I called GE.

They assured my that it would NOT harm aluminum.

That said, there are alternatives that have been suggested.

Good luck!

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by murreywalker

Before I tried GE Silicone II, I called GE.

They assured my that it would NOT harm aluminum.

That said, there are alternatives that have been suggested.

Good luck!

It may not harm aluminum, but once you use it the silicone residue makes it all but impossible for anything else to stick. Not so much with the polyurethanes.

Aaron

[bicio]

Murray.

At the risk of sounding like "One of those guys" on the forum... GE is right, Silicon will not harm aluminum. But what you are looking for is a guarantee that it will:

A. Adhere to aluminum (for years)
B. Stay Adhered to aluminum through all weather conditions at 70 MPH
C. Not Leak

I thought the same thing and spent a bunch of time using silicon to seal some drip leaks in my 2005, only to find out that as soon as it rained, they just continued leaking. Try one of these other products (a few dollars more), but WELL worth the money. Once you try them you will understand why we are advocating.

-t

[Aage]

Originally Posted by Tdcraw

All fastenals are not the same. My husband even has a corporate account and they would not get us less the an 30 count case. I only needed 2-3 tubes. Really depends on the management.

Not sure why that would be; across the three Fastenals I have used (two in/near Toronto, 1 in Ottawa) I have been able to buy as little as 1 tube when that was all I needed. I am not a regular customer of Fastenal, either.

But like you say, people are different. Perhaps a call to the Regional Manager would smarten them up a bit...

[murreywalker]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

It may not harm aluminum, but once you use it the silicone residue makes it all but impossible for anything else to stick. Not so much with the polyurethanes.

Aaron

Aaron, another call to GE informed me that isopropyl alcohol (at least 94%) would make the silicon II easier to remove.

I found that it did.

BTW, I'm not selling Silicone II. I'm just trying to clear up some misconceptions about it.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by murreywalker

Aaron, another call to GE informed me that isopropyl alcohol (at least 94%) would make the silicon II easier to remove.

I found that it did.

BTW, I'm not selling Silicone II. I'm just trying to clear up some misconceptions about it.

That is silicone II, and define "easier" I WOULD NOT use any silicone based sealant on an Airstream that I have to maintain. Silicone sealant has it's place, on the outside of an Airstream (or any other sheet metal installation) ain't it.

I have 20 years of experience in architectural sheet metal and other associated metals. Silicone is the single worst thing to use in a sheet metal application. And that is field experience not the sitting in an office specifying experience. I am that guy that had to clean up the mess the specifiers left behind.

Aaron

[perryg114]

That Silicone II stuff is no where near as a good as the regular silicone as far as durability. The stuff has no strength at all. I would say it is no better than latex caulk if not worse. I have used it around the house because it is paintable and it just does not hold up. I would stick with polyurathane.

Perry

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Trempro 626 is the best product on the market!
for those who do not read my link...." Once cured, it exhibits tenacious adhesion and can be subjected to stress and vibration as well as expansion and contraction within a joint."