I need to reseal the roof of my van, removing all the edge strips and clean up the botchy job that was done before. So the question is what is the BEST sealer to do the job. I image that it will need to remain flexable. I have heard others have used sikaflex but have been told that it hardens over time and leaks again, I dont want that. Prepared to spend the money and get the right stuff for a start.
cheers
blaze

-- Edited by blaze on Tuesday 13th of July 2010 09:51:33 PM

Many people chant Sikaflex for all sorts of applications. The trouble is they make more products under that brand than you can count on your fingers and toes. Unless you can select the correct one of those products you can be in deep trouble. I would recommend you keep clear of Sikaflex unless you can identify and purchase the correct thing. Most of their products stick too well to be able to repair these joints in the future.. The other thing to steer clear of is a silicon product. Again they stick too well to remove in the future (and you most likely will have to.) Suggest you approach your local caravan repair place and purchase it from them. They will probably give you some tips as well. It will thus be cheaper in the long run.

Hi Blaze, I revamped a old 20 ft Vicount..They leak like mad.. I went to the caravan place and they gave " sold" me this "CARAVAN SEAL" and it turned out to be crap. went hard and took a lot to get off..Went to bunnings and got a good 25 year silicon plummers use ..Started of with a good clean and made sure it was dry.. used a little. 4 years on , not a drop gets in. And have been in some very heavy rain.. If you want to paint it, it can make life hard ,,, the van is white so on the side I use white silicon..I think with silicon little is better.. and use a wet rag to wipe it flate?? try some place before you start.. Thats my thoughts good luck..
Bob n Bev 
ps If you dont want to get the silicon all over the place use a masking tape and dont take it of untill the silicon is dry..

 Edited by BobnBev on Wednesday 14th of July 2010 12:11:36 PM

-- Edited by BobnBev on Wednesday 14th of July 2010 12:22:06 PM

On another forum some joker came on recommending Sika. The reply from the proprietor of the largest repair business is quoted below. "For all of you home handymen. "For goodness sake remember, if you break or damage the window one day you will have to remove it some how. If it is sealed in with silicone or urethane then the chances of getting the frame off the van without destroying it are slim to nil, and you will damage the body of the van in the process. Why do you think the thing was originally fitted using a mastic or butyl type sealant? Because the manufacturer was concerned that the window would need to be removed one day. Later model vans have the windows siliconed or urethaned [Sikaflex] in because the manufacturers don't give a crap about the van once it has left their sight. Have some thought to the future, if you fit it with a permanent adhesive then that is what it becomes, very permanent. Butyl Mastic sealants, if applied properly should last at least ten years, and the unit will be easily repairable. "The same theory applies to painting the roof of vans with all sorts of painted on sealant, roof proof, bondcrete, thermocool or whatever. When the thing eventually leaks again, as it inevitably will, the repairer has an almost impossible job to reseal the unit quickly or economically. This painted on crap has to be removed first and that can be almost an impossibility in some instances. And don't think that the painted on crap will fix the leak permanently, it won't. "Regards, "BarryD "cabcar"

I have just completed resealing my van after a horrendously wet "wet season". I originally resealed the van when I bought it in 2006, but travel and time caused the sikaflex to shrink and allow water to seep in. Maybe a few less days of rain, rather than then 16 days and nights, might have given the wet spots a chance to dry out, but once they started soaking up the water it just kept oozing in. It appears the van may have been leaking in some of the places since new, and no one before me did anything to stop it. Damage done. When it dried out I resealed it with Sikaflex Marine and Auto. Cleaned and dried the surfaces and forced it into the joins and joins I believed were the culprits. I also masked the strips to keep it neat, and smoothed it off with a wet finger. I kid you not. Now I'm waiting for the repair man to quote on the repairs of the damage veneer internal walls and possibly the frame. The mould is another issue.

Well I will add my 2 bobs worth, I used sikaflex and had no more leaks and sold about 3 years later in WA to a bloke that was going to put it up on blocks as a permanent on his block for a weekend camp
cheers
blaze
ps
what I will always remember is when the strips were removed the roof cladding barely come to the edge of the strips in places, no hope of sealing

Sikoflex is a brand name . As said we required the correct product . I used a membrane sealer, sikoflex on joints undoing screws applying and tightening . Then a coat of paint on old caravan and same on rubber type roof on motorhome . The membrane stretches and moves with expansion big time .