Author Topic: What sealant did Beaver use?  (Read 4126 times)

Ed Dubois

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What sealant did Beaver use?
« on: August 21, 2017, 03:42:55 AM »
We're chasing a leak in our living room slide (2001 Patriot Ticonderoga - 37'). We've found old sealant that was put on over the original without cleaning everything first so it peeled off much too easily. I need to know what sealant was used originally so when we apply the new stuff it'll bond to the slide and ideally to the original sealant we can't dig out. We know from what we found that silicon didn't stick to the original.

Thanks,

Ed

Steve Huber Co-Admin

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Re: What sealant did Beaver use?
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2017, 05:51:55 PM »
Ed,
I'd check with Ken Carpenter at BCS. If the sealant is white, it is probably Dicor. Dicor says you can apply new sealant over the old. My experience with it is that the old surface needs to be clean before applying new. If old was silicon, (again my experience) is that you remove as much as possible and use Lexel to replace.
But suggest you call Ken first to confirm old material.
Steve
Steve
2015-          07 Contessa Bayshore C9,  400 hp
2013-2015: 00 Marquis Tourmaline, C12, 425 hp
2005-2013: 01 Contessa Naples, 3126B, 330 hp

Edward Buker

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Re: What sealant did Beaver use?
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2017, 08:40:14 PM »
Ed,

If you have to remove old Dicor or other sealants and you have not run across any info on the best tools, the following may help. Myself and other members have had great success with the vibrating blade tools with a thin non serrated blade made specifically to remove putty. I have a variable speed Bosch 12V battery version but there are many on the market. Cuts the sealant like butter. Blade is flexible so you can put a little flex bend and have it run at the surface while cutting the putty away. Made my life easier....

Later Ed
 

Bryan Beamon

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Re: What sealant did Beaver use?
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2017, 10:12:59 PM »
Ed, the roof sealant that Monaco used was Acryl- r. We have used Dicor on top of this product with good results. However I do not know what SMC or Monaco used on top of slide's  as it appears to be of a different composition.
C & Bryan Beamon
2006  to present
2007 Contessa 42ft Cat C-9 400hp
1996 to 2006 97 Beaver Patriot Camden

Edward Buker

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Re: What sealant did Beaver use?
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2017, 01:29:23 AM »
Bryan,

I am not sure that it is all that critical which lap sealant you use. I would try and poke a fingernail into some cured Dicor on the roof and then do the same to the sealant on the slide. I think both must have good adhesion. If the slide sealant hardens more and remains less tacky that might be a rational to dig deeper as to what was actually used.

When I bought my coach at BCS they did pass along some Acryl-R. I cannot remember what it was intended for at the time. If the places that you must seal on the slide comes in contact with the slide seals, while the slide is moving or sitting, then it may be more of a concern as to how tacky the cured product is. From my viewpoint both are good sealants and should do the job.

The respective websites should identify uses and characteristics to help with the decision.

Later Ed
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Ed Dubois

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Re: What sealant did Beaver use?
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2017, 12:35:23 AM »
I haven't replied for a bit but the project is underway. Here's an update of where it's at.

Steve. Thanks for your response. Ken Carpenter said that the original sealant would have been Acryl-R, which is a self-levelling product. What we’re looking at bonding with new sealant is on the vertical surface at the outer edge of the slide, and must be after manufacture. It is still a bit flexible and cuts cleanly, reminiscent of Boat Life polysulfide. There seem to be some bubbles here and there in it. Over that someone else used white silicone, which adhered only on the horizontal surface beyond the area needing to be caulked. It looks like there were 2 applications of sealant over the original, with no cleaning done at all.  We have some test pieces of the old sealant and are testing with Dicor non-sag sealant to see whether that will bond. While we get that organized, we have to do a lot of cleaning to figure out what is actually leaking as well as to get a good surface to bond to. This isn't such a fun project that we want to do it twice! ;)

Ed. Thanks for the tool suggestion.

Ed Dubois

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Re: What sealant did Beaver use?
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2017, 04:24:49 PM »
Well, we're now fans of Dicor Non-Sag lap sealant. Bryan's comment that he had experience using Dicor over Acryl-R gave us encouragement. We had to cut away lots of the material along the vertical edge to expose the area that was leaking: the horizontal edge of the top of the slide had some rough cuts which left gaps in the edge where it meets the vertical. We have seen this same sort of cause with leaks along the front cap seam in our 97 Monterey. The Dicor was thick enough that we could fill the gaps and then recreate the vertical edge which meets the seal at the coach body when the slide is closed. We have had a run of warm sunny weather so the project is curing now. Shouldn't take long for the rainy season to arrive and then we'll see how we did.

Thanks again to all for their support.