EternaBond Questions

[Craig P.]

I plan on sealing all of my roof joints and seams with EternaBond tape. I have no leaks but I'd like to reduce the possibility of them as well as reduce the work needed to re-caulk everything.

I have two questions for those of you who have used EternaBond. I couldn't find anything on the EternaBond website about surface prep. What is the best prep method?

Second, when going over rain gutter as in the below photo, should I use 2" tape to cover only the top edge of the gutter (above the rivets), or should I use 4" tape and go to the bottom of the gutter channel, over the rivets?








Suggestions?

Thanks!

Craig

[tylerdmoore]

It wouldn't make much sense to not cover the screws if your going to do it at all. The thing that first came to my mind is: how are you going to get a perfectly straight line when applying it? If you do it right it should look good, as long as your roof is white to begin with. If you get a wavy line during install you may be disappointed with the outcome. Of course you have to understand that I'm really anal about that stuff

[Craig P.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerdmoore Of course you have to understand that I'm really anal about that stuff

Haha, actually I am too. Case in point, my roof is tan. I wouldn't consider using EternaBond if they didn't make it in a tan. White would stick out too much.

I see what you mean about the straight line. If I use the gutter channel, it will make it much easier to keep it straight. Plus I'd be preventing any small leaks around the rivets.

Thanks.

Craig

[Vegasdan]

I did my gutters from end to end and it's not that difficult to keep it the Eternabond straight. I used 2" and just lapped it over the lip of the gutter. As far as surface prep, I used alcohol and cleaned the area I put the tape on. Eterna Bonds spray on prep is a nasty product and leaves a grey residue that looks bad.

[Wizard]

The instructions that came with my tape said to clean with acetone. I used the 2" tape but my Winnebago has a different cutter, no screws.

Only pull the backing off about a foot at a time. I thought white was the only color available but it worked for me as I have a white roof.

[Craig P.]

Thanks for he replies.

EternaBond tape is now available in tan, black & grey, in addition to white.

Craig

[Koodog]

I used acetone to prep and also caulked the edges of the tape. Installed a year ago and so far so good. Also used a rubber roller when putting tape down.

[becks]

Does anyone know if eternabond makes a double sided tape?

[Craig P.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by becks Does anyone know if eternabond makes a double sided tape?

Yes they do.

[becks]

Thanks Craig....I have a need for some good two sided tape and thought if eternabond made some it would be good.

[HeapBigEngin]

Did our coach last year. You might want to get the HD roller when you purchase the tape. It is not cheap($24 or so), but it is heavy and well worth the $'s. It will really help ensure a positive Eternabond stick on all types of surfaces and will help roll out the small air bubbles that can occur during application. And I have since used mine for other misc jobs. There are a number of good websites with cleaning and application tips. Cleanliness is VERY important.

You might want to do a forum search for application ideas...some pretty cool posts in the past. I also used the gutter as a "straight edge", hence covering the screws. Glad I did....made it much easier to maintain a straight line. I used a combination of black 4" & 6" tape on end caps, side seams and roof-mounted items....the black being a very nice match to our coach graphics.

FWIW, I also decided to make several heavy-paper templates that realy helped me when cutting/trimming the tape (prior to application, of course) to form a number of visible rounded corners here and there (end caps to side seams, for example). This techinique allowed me to blend in the Eternabond smoothly with both the coach graphics and the end cap/sidewall seams rather than have abrupt, 90 degree "intersections", so to speak. Seemed to work well for us. You can cut Eternabond into smaller sections/pieces to help in rounding corners, overlapping edges, blending into graphics, etc. The HD roller will really help in that regard. I found that Eternabond is not too difficult to work with before you apply it. Once down, it is designed to STICK. As others have noted, cleanliness is paramont. Hope this helps...

[Craig P.]

HeapBigEngin,

Thanks for the informative reply. When you state HD roller, am I correct in assuming that you are referring to the metal roller offered by EternaBond? Koodog recommended a rubber roller. Would I also be correct in assuming that the metal roller would work well on flat surfaces, while a rubber roller might work well on an uneven/raised surface like the one shown in my photo?

For anyone else interested in purchasing EternaBond products, RV Upgrades (an iRV2 supporter) offers EternaBond products for significantly less than the manufacturer.

Craig

[Bruce C]

Very good post, with good informative replies. Thanks to all.

[doc]

Suggest you scribe a line on the top of that piece of screwed on trim and work to it. It will be much more noticable there than the edge (of the tape) below the trip that will rest in that gutter. The smaller roller might be a better choice since you really will not have a large surface to work with. Either way, roll it down tight and you should not have a problem