Re-sealing interior seams

[JoleneAS]

Greetings! My 76 Overlander has the interior skins stripped, and I notice a whole bunch of thick, white caulk along a bunch of the interior seams. What's boggling to me is that the caulk is somehow tacky / sticky / pliable and yet also cracked / fissuring such that it looks like it should be replaced.

I imagine it's recommended to re-seal these areas. If so, is there a best practice in doing this? Do I need to remove all of the old caulk down to bare metal and seal with a different type of caulk?

I know that most of the water sealing effect comes from the sealants used on the outside of the trailer, but figured in the rainy pacific NW, I'll take any added protection I can get.

[heslinhotel]

Looks like plumbers putty. Used to seal sinks to counter in houses. Had a 81 Excella that had all the floor penetrations sealed with it. Depending on size of gap you might be able to use Silkaflex 221.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Just me...I wouldn't try to remove.
Do what the flex-seal guy would do and spray it, but not with his krap.

Sweet Streams..

Bob
🇺🇸

[57Vintage]

If you have an area where repairs or changes are needed, I'd remove a small sectioon to see if its still pliable and adhering against the joint itself. It looks similar to automotive seam sealer. Any chance the last owner did this and can tell you what it is?

Let us know what you find and a photo.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Looks exactly how the factory applies sealant.
They still use the "stand back throw & spread" method.😂

Bob
🇺🇸

"Cloudsplitter" @ 6 months old. Black tank roof vent, yes it did leak.

[JoleneAS]

Thank you for the reply, folks! I don't know the previous owner. Basically, my mom in law bought this for $1000 about 5 years ago, realized it was a huge project, and essentially gave it to me. That said, it doesn't look like the previous owner ever removed the interior skins. When I got this, all the original furniture was in place (albeit, terrible condition). The putty basically encircles every window, the door, and several of the major seems (but not all) throughout the trailer. It does sort of have the feeling of plumbers putty, so I think it's something similar? It's pretty pliable. My gut says this stuff was put on in the factory.

One thing I had considered is using a putty knife to basically flatten the stuff back down, smush it back into the seams, etc. The other thing I considered is scraping the bulk of it off (but not cleaning it down to bare metal since that'd take forever), and just globbing some sort of compatible putty / caulk on top of it, but I'm not sure how well that'd adhere.

Decisions, decisions!

[heslinhotel]

If you use a heat gun (not a torch) it will become more pliable. use a setting around 400 degrees. Harbor Freight has them for around $30.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
?

Hair dryer...it's already in the closet.




Bob
🇺🇸
HF...ok for some. not for me.

[JoleneAS]

Hey guys, I have a heat gun if needed. That said, if the recommendation is just to leave it alone, that's also a much easier action... lol. Part of me wonders if I can just use a putty knife and just push it back into the seams and smooth it out. It is still very pliable, which makes me wonder why the heck it's also somehow fissured.

[fiftysafari]

Originally Posted by heslinhotel

Looks like plumbers putty. Used to seal sinks to counter in houses. Had a 81 Excella that had all the floor penetrations sealed with it. Depending on size of gap you might be able to use Silkaflex 221.

I am using Sikaflex 221 to seal gaps and leaks in my 1955 Safari.
Works great for me as an adhesive and a sealant.

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by fiftysafari

I am using Sikaflex 221 to seal gaps and leaks in my 1955 Safari.
Works great for me as an adhesive and a sealant.

Sikaflex is a good product. If it were me, I would get rid of all the plumber’s putty I could then seal it correctly before closing it up. Sikaflex is a polyurethane. When I can’t get that I can find NP-1 poly locally. You can run a bead and tool it down flat. Good luck