Roof repair

[Adam Hicklin]

While on the roof I noticed that the putty stuff that covers joints and screw heads is starting to crack. (See pic).

Questions:  1. What is this stuff called. 2. I've been thinking about painting the roof with a deck paint in the Spring.  Should all this stuff be scraped off and re-done or is there something that can be coated over it?

I don't have any leaks yet, but by the looks of it, they may not be far off.

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Adam, it could be dicor self leveling sealant.  It is preferred to remove and replace versus putting more over existing.
They also make a paint for redoing fiberglass roofs.

[Adam Hicklin]

This stuff is rock hard.  Should it be that way or is it just so old it lost its elasticity due to age?  Best way to remove it without damaging the roof?  Thanks.

[Edward Buker]

Adam,

I use an angled chisel scraper and a hammer to hit the handle to break the roof to sealant adhesion as needed. Sometimes you can get the sealant removal started with the hammer and then work the tool by hand. This current sealant is pretty well shot and needs to be removed. You do not have to get it all off or rebed what is on the roof. You remove most of it and then lap new Dicor self leveling sealant over it as Tom mentioned. This link has a link to the tool I am referring to.

http://forum.bacrallies.com/m-1389137188/s-new/

When you put the new sealant down then you could then paint with marine deck paint. I rollered paint over my Dicor lap sealant when painting my roof and the Dicor has showed little deterioration after it was painted. I think the paint is a good protective UV coating for the Dicor and adds a lot of life to it. Hope this helps.

Later Ed

[Edie and Marty Hochberg]

Adam,

I remove old sealant from roof mounted items using a vibrating tool with a scraper blade.  There are a number of these on the market but I have, and use, a Fein Multimaster.  I have never caused any roof damage when using this tool and it goes through old sealant like a knife through butter.  It leaves remarkably little sealant behind, so after scraping the old sealant off I usually just wipe down the area with solvent and then apply fresh sealant.  If you are working around wires you have to work a little harder to get all the old off but even then the vibrating scraper has never failed me.

By the way, the Fein Multimaster is available through the BAC Amazon link.

[Edward Buker]

Marty,

Good idea on the vibrating multi tool. That is one tool that I do not own but will look to get one with your insight. It is not a fun job to remove the old sealant by hand. Still the best hand tool I have found, if one was to do it by hand, is that angled chisel scraper. Thanks for the tip.
Later Ed

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Heating the old sealant will soften it and make it more pliable (but sticker too). Try to remove as much of the  old as possible, Putting new Dicor  over the old will sometimes result  in a "powdery" type layer at the interface.
Steve

[Adam Hicklin]

Man you guys are great!  

Ed, I followed your roof re-paint with the deck paint.  Seems like the best solution for me too.  Lapping it over the Dicor was my next question.  That sounds like a good idea also.

Marty, i have a vibrating multi-tool.  I'll give that a shot.

IF it starts raining in Southern CA, you'll know I started my roof project.

Thanks guys.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Adam,
Let me know how it goes. I've got some "feather cracking" in the fiberglass around the antennas so think I'll use the Dicor roof coating.
Steve

[Keith Oliver]

I cut into sealant that looked a lot like your pix.  I found the fracture lines only penetrated a mm or so and the sealant was over 1 cm thick, so no danger of the sealant failing any time soon.
YMMV

[Gary Winzenburger]

Adam,
On our 1997 Marquis, Camping World sealed around all the roof fixtures last year with some sort of caulk that basically flowed into all these small cracks and hardened. I feel it was a good job, but don't know what they used. I hope it gets us thru this year and maybe next before we either trade for another Beaver or have it done again.
Good Luck,
Gary

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Just completed covering the roof with Rustoleum Top Deck paint per Ed's tips. Washed it off, then scrubbed it down with Simple Green using a red 3M scotchbrite auto pad. Rinsed, sanded with 100grit, rinsed again and masked off so paint would slightly overlap the body paint to hopefully keep the clear coat from ever delaminating. Used a 6" roller. Applied 2 coats. First coat looked a bit rough but second coat made it smooth. Did touch up with brush. Took just over 2 qts of paint (from ACE). Shines but is not slippery. Couldn't be happier with the results! I painted over the Dicor sealant also.
Thx for tips, Ed.

Steve

[Edward Buker]

Good for you Steve, I know you will be happy. What I like besides the fact that it is an inexpensive and not too difficult of a job is that you have stopped the deterioration of the gel coat for the long haul. I know most folks want to stop the caulking, but the main benefit is the saving of the gel coated roof from deteriorating to the point that some real major intervention will be needed down the road.

Later Ed