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I am doing some repairs on my caravan.

Around the door i am using w4 mastic on a roll.

What i am confused about is what mastic should i use from a gun for the little sealing jobs around the van ?

Clear or white silicone sealant is OK or you could get a mastic sealant for caravans from your dealer.

I have used silicone with good results.

The only time it failed was on an Omnivent roof fan when it stuck to the roof of the van and was very hard to remove but after 6 months it parted from the plastic of the roof vent leaving not a trace behind.

There might have been something on the plastic that needed cleaning off with white spirit etc first.

Re-sealing with mastic tape worked.

Hope that helps 

I'm interested in replies to this as I have a small sealing job to do on my van.

TIA

hi see here i recommend the sikaflex 512 but have been told that soudalfix is better  

Hi Folks, would'nt advise using silicone, causes loads of problems, the stuff to use out of a gun is IDL 99 sealant available from most good caravan ouitlets.

Quote: Originally posted by Metz on 04/2/2006

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Hi Folks, would'nt advise using silicone, causes loads of problems, the stuff to use out of a gun is IDL 99 sealant available from most good caravan ouitlets.

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Just curious, what problems do the silicone based adhesive/sealants cause?

I have recently purchased several (rather expensive) tubes of sealant on-line for various re-sealing jobs around the caravan, The description of the sealant was:

"High Performance Alcoxy Silicone designed for boat jointing, construction and decking. Excellent primerless adhesion to plastic, metal, glass, wood and most porous and non-porous surfaces. High modulus. Fast curing (3mm/24h). Movement capacity of +/-15%. Outstanding durability even under severe ageing conditions (salted water, uv, detergents)." 

  Surely if it is suitable for a boat that sits in salt-water 24 hours a day, 7 days per week 365 days per year,....then it will stop a bit of rain from gaining entry to our caravan!?

All the best,

Grub.

Ah i see, so even the W4 mastic on a roll is not suitable for re-sealing...as that was my next buy?

Grub.

Excellent, thanks Michael.

It seems that different people recommend different things to do their repairs, That 'chippy' in The Caravan Show last night doing the resoration was a prime example...the wood glue he was using was 'special glue' costing £35 per bottle, yet as most the guys on this site that have done great repair projects on their caravan's can vouch... basic, strong wood-glue will do the job just as well. - It all boils down to cost.... and our budgets i suppose.

All the best,

Grub.

Quote: Originally posted by Metz on 04/2/2006

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Thanks for the advice,I whent with the IDL99 and must say i am very happy with the results and the cost of 4.99 at my local caravan dealer.

The guys in the workshop said they use it over sikaflex every time,and they are a swift main dealer.

 

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