Hi all, Been tidying up my old 2004 Jayco Freedom Poptop. The previous owner had siliconed everywhere and in large quantities and this was dirty, discoloured and messy not to mention applied and smeared very thickly.
Trying to clean it up before putting new silicone in, I tried lots of options including metal scrapers (scratches the paint), those plastic silicone removal scrapers from Bunnings (wear out quickly), Silicone Solvent Spray (kind of works) but came across what (for me anyway) was a much better solution.
I have a large bag of wooden tongue depressors that I use for mixing paint, epoxy etc. I chopped off the rounded edges on my drop saw and tried these - they work brilliantly especially when coupled with the silicone solvent spray. Yes, they don't work as well as the edge rounds off but you just invert it for the next edge and then flip it for 2 more. After you run out, simply chop off the rounded edges and use them again! No paint scratches either!
Honestly, I am so glad I found this as I have tried everything else and nothing comes close.
Hope it helps someone.
Hetho said
01:08 PM May 10, 2021
Great thinking MikeL. I use a plastic paint scraper and do the same thing; when to ends get tired, trim them down on the radial arm saw.
My local caravan repairer put me on to Bostic V60. I scraped out all my old silicone and replaced with this. so far so good. Its great to work with, runs smooth and no bubbles or flow lines.
Regards.
Hetho.
Tony LEE said
08:42 AM May 11, 2021
Too late for many, but most of the world has finally realised that the inventor of silicone ahould be hung drawn and quartered - and then made to remove every drop that has ever been applied
Craig1 said
05:36 PM May 11, 2021
Had to have my head right over the toilet bowl this morning as we had to replace the cistern. But the m.....l plumber used silicone on the rubber pan cone seal on original install. It is an internal pan cone so that made it lots of fun to get out of a 50mm hole, about 150mm from the wall. So nearly head up the chinese clacker.
dieseltojo said
06:22 PM May 11, 2021
And....You cannot apply silicone over silicone. It has to be removed completely. If the van has moldings or angles , it is often best just to replace them and get access to the old silicone.
It can be a tough job alright.
MikeL said
01:29 PM May 17, 2021
Jayco recommended that I use Bostik V4 but both this and V60 are silicones. Seems you can't get Sikaflex 512 easily anymore so probably going to use Sikaflex 221.
Anyone got other non-silicone recommendations?
-- Edited by MikeL on Monday 17th of May 2021 01:36:04 PM
MikeL said
01:34 PM May 17, 2021
Hetho wrote:
Great thinking MikeL. I use a plastic paint scraper and do the same thing; when to ends get tired, trim them down on the radial arm saw.
My local caravan repairer put me on to Bostic V60. I scraped out all my old silicone and replaced with this. so far so good. Its great to work with, runs smooth and no bubbles or flow lines.
Regards.
Hetho.
I did this at first (plastic scraper) but then realised I had all these tongue depressors going spare and I found they made a better job plus I can trim 6 or more at a time on the radial arm saw. I find the tongue depressors useful for so many things. Stirring rods for epoxy and small paint tins, I glue sandaper to them to make simple files for tight areas and now this. I've also glued them together as a kind of filler when repairing exterior wooden doors (easy to sand) and they sand very smooth and take paint well.
Honestly, these things have so many uses! You can even use them as a tongue depressor!
-- Edited by MikeL on Monday 17th of May 2021 01:34:59 PM
peter67 said
05:27 PM May 17, 2021
Tony LEE wrote:
Too late for many, but most of the world has finally realised that the inventor of silicone ahould be hung drawn and quartered - and then made to remove every drop that has ever been applied
My feelings exactly though I hated the owners of cars with water leaks around the screens etc. When doing rust repairs all silicone had to be removed before welding and painting. It often looked like the owner had used a square mouth shovel as an applicator.
Cupie said
07:52 PM May 17, 2021
When I replaced the secondary sealing on the roof of my Jayco Westport (1999) I used nylon brushes in a battery drill. Worked very well without scratching the paint.
I did however use soft pine scrapers first. Those tongue depressors would have been good to use before the nylon brushes.
Mamil said
08:03 PM May 17, 2021
MikeL wrote:
Jayco recommended that I use Bostik V4 but both this and V60 are silicones. Seems you can't get Sikaflex 512 easily anymore so probably going to use Sikaflex 221.
Anyone got other non-silicone recommendations?
I use Sika 291, can be easily found in the big green shed.
Possum3 said
10:12 AM May 18, 2021
Bostik V4 is recommended for original fitment of windows, doors, etc - as it remains flexible and retains adhesion - instead of re-caulking old roof silicon, remove excess old sealant and cover joins with butyl tape.
Hi all,
Been tidying up my old 2004 Jayco Freedom Poptop. The previous owner had siliconed everywhere and in large quantities and this was dirty, discoloured and messy not to mention applied and smeared very thickly.
Trying to clean it up before putting new silicone in, I tried lots of options including metal scrapers (scratches the paint), those plastic silicone removal scrapers from Bunnings (wear out quickly), Silicone Solvent Spray (kind of works) but came across what (for me anyway) was a much better solution.
I have a large bag of wooden tongue depressors that I use for mixing paint, epoxy etc. I chopped off the rounded edges on my drop saw and tried these - they work brilliantly especially when coupled with the silicone solvent spray. Yes, they don't work as well as the edge rounds off but you just invert it for the next edge and then flip it for 2 more. After you run out, simply chop off the rounded edges and use them again! No paint scratches either!
Honestly, I am so glad I found this as I have tried everything else and nothing comes close.
Hope it helps someone.
Great thinking MikeL. I use a plastic paint scraper and do the same thing; when to ends get tired, trim them down on the radial arm saw.
My local caravan repairer put me on to Bostic V60. I scraped out all my old silicone and replaced with this. so far so good. Its great to work with, runs smooth and no bubbles or flow lines.
Regards.
Hetho.
And....You cannot apply silicone over silicone. It has to be removed completely. If the van has moldings or angles , it is often best just to replace them and get access to the old silicone.
It can be a tough job alright.
Jayco recommended that I use Bostik V4 but both this and V60 are silicones. Seems you can't get Sikaflex 512 easily anymore so probably going to use Sikaflex 221.
Anyone got other non-silicone recommendations?
-- Edited by MikeL on Monday 17th of May 2021 01:36:04 PM
I did this at first (plastic scraper) but then realised I had all these tongue depressors going spare and I found they made a better job plus I can trim 6 or more at a time on the radial arm saw. I find the tongue depressors useful for so many things. Stirring rods for epoxy and small paint tins, I glue sandaper to them to make simple files for tight areas and now this. I've also glued them together as a kind of filler when repairing exterior wooden doors (easy to sand) and they sand very smooth and take paint well.
Honestly, these things have so many uses! You can even use them as a tongue depressor!
-- Edited by MikeL on Monday 17th of May 2021 01:34:59 PM
My feelings exactly though I hated the owners of cars with water leaks around the screens etc. When doing rust repairs all silicone had to be removed before welding and painting. It often looked like the owner had used a square mouth shovel as an applicator.
When I replaced the secondary sealing on the roof of my Jayco Westport (1999) I used nylon brushes in a battery drill. Worked very well without scratching the paint.
I did however use soft pine scrapers first. Those tongue depressors would have been good to use before the nylon brushes.
I use Sika 291, can be easily found in the big green shed.