Sealing: trim removal & sealant choice

[Deleted]

Okay- I know this topic has been discussed over and over BUT... I need help.Today we bought a 1975 Franklin poptop in beautiful condition. No signs of leaks etc and owner said it had never leaked, but it does. We wanted to reseal it at our leisure, as the original caulk has shrunk and cracked, but now we are under pressure as:
1. We have no covered area to store it or work on it
2. We have no experience with this sort of thing
3. Bad weather is on its way.
4. It's dripping quite badly! We've covered it with a tarp until we can attack it.
I want to remove the old caulk under the trim of the roof of the side that's leaking, and small thinking I'll use the Selleys caulking product (ezy-something, the name is evading me). My question is... Having no experience, is this a good idea? Will it be sufficient to scape and clean out the old caulk and squeeze some new product in, or do I need to physically remove the trim, clean it up, apply the caulk and screw the trim back on? With my lack of skill, am I better off scraping and cleaning away what I can and using a good UV non-acid silicone?
All constructive feedback appreciated!

[Deleted]

No no no don't use silicon. . If it's a product hard to remove when you need to do repairs down the track then don't use it.
I suggest taking off the old trim, removing all the old chalk and reapplying with new chalk. Hopefully that's all you need to do and you don't find any other issues. All the roof cladding over laps should be redone too.

[Deleted]

Thanks so much. That's what I think too.I wish I was handy; however I'm not. I think we're going to sell it. We want a holiday, not a project!

[Deleted]

Having said that, what's your tape/sealant of choice?

[Deleted]

This was the product I used from Camec bout 6 to 8 dollars per tube



I used this tool to get under the mastic/ flat blade not the round



then a cheapo drill with wire brush to get the last of the mastic


got me finish like this, scuffed and clean ready for the new mastic


good luck

Regards Scotty

[Deleted]

I found the old mastic on my caravan really easy to remove as it was still soft. The little left over bits I used steelo scrubby things. The horrible silicon is another story. Hate the stuff

[doublechevron]

Read here .... that cabcar certainly seems to know which way the nuts flow

www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3543

I'm using his posts as a guide to re-seal the 'van I have here. My 'van matches yours. It's always been kept under cover so have almost no evidence of water damage. On pulling the edge trims on one side I've found it would have leaked like a sieve :eek:

seeya,
Shane L.