How to clean the mess up to recaulk

[partsman01]

So, we only use the fifth wheel once a year, some years we don't get away at all, always have a tarp on it, anyway looked like a small spot inside the cupboard on the ceiling, so go up and see the old caulk is letting go, turns out some of the stuff can be pulled right up and off, and yet the rest in the picture seems to be stuck pretty good, maybe I should clean it right off and use the tape stuff, what would be best to disolve this mess and get it clean for the eternabond stuff, it is a 1989 aluminium roof.
Thanks.

[partsman01]

Will tape work, or what would be a good brush on type to use, any input?

[W4RLR]

I had the same problem with my 1995 Jayco fiver. I cleaned the rust off of the screw heads with a sanding sponge, made sure everything was tight, cleaned up the accumulated crud on the aluminum siding, and then covered up the seams with self-leveling lap sealer. No leaks.

[partsman01]

Thanks for the reply, I picked up some stuff you can use a putty knife or paint brush, is this type the self leveling kind or is there a special brand name for it?

[RustyJC]

See the Dicor lap sealants HERE.

Rusty

[WindRVer]

Hi,

Your pictures made me quiver in fear. I did that project on my old 1985 camper. I will never own another metal roof again. Just won't do it. In any case:

My 1985 also had gobs of caulk on it. I used a scraper to remove the old stuff. The putty knives were too flimsy. They are available at all home depots/lowes or whatever other hardware store, usually in the paint section. Mine had an odd curve in the middle, and could be used on edge or laid down. The main difference between it and a putty knife was that the blade was very rigid, so I could use some monkey force on it. In any cause, none of the caulk, even the little bit that was still holding on, gave me any trouble. Just came right off. Make sure you clean the surface well before applying either eternabond or caulk (whichever you choose).

I reccomend Eternabond for ease of application and peace of mind. I did everything as best I could with caulk, and still had leaks. I ordered the Eternabond at first sign of a new leak and had no further leaks until I got rid of that camper. If you choose to go with caulk, I reccomend Dicor, they make both self-levelling and non levelling caulk, so read the tube. They also have mixtures for rubber roofs and metal roofs, so make sure you grab the right one. I bought mine at Camping World. Not sure where else to obtain but an RV store, perhaps it is carried at home improvement stores as well?