Flex Seal as a stop gap roof leak sealer??

Puma26RLSS · 07-23-2018, 09:35 PM

I have a 2008 Forest River/Palomino/Puma travel trailer. We are currently traveling through South Dakota. We had a terrific storm night before last. Small leak in bathroom skylight and a steady small stream through the refrigerator/freezer and down to the floor inside. First time on both. Thought larger "refrigerator" leak was from slightly open hooded vent nearby and closed it. Trickle slowed. Went out the next day to nearest Camping World to get self-leveling dicor lap sealant to go up and repair/patch/fix. Local CW was closed.

As our travel schedule doesn't have much in the way of flexibility at this point, I went to Ace hardware and bought some of the Flex Seal (white) as advertised on TV. Went topside and slathered it over all my old seals in the vicinity of my leaks. Positives/negatives? Anyone have experience with this product?

SeaDog · 07-24-2018, 06:53 AM

they claim it will seal anything let the forum know how it works

BandJCarm · 07-24-2018, 06:59 AM

While Snowbirding last February, had a leak that pooled in the basement. Two of us couldn't find it. Every big rain, we'd crawl all over looking. I finally caulked everything I could find, and then in desperation sprayed white Flex Seal all over everything on the roof.

None of that helped, but can't say it hurt either. The leak turned out to be odd......the seam where the 'gutter' pieces came together. It wasn't caulked behind that seam. The gutter is some kind of 10-20 foot rubber one-piece, but when they run out, they butt up another piece to it, and caulk it. It wasn't caulked.

Wasn't manufacturer's issue. I had Dometic A/C oil leak and dealer put me on a new roof (Dometic paid for it). Turned out the roof is not equal to the OEM roof, and they covered up my Winegard "Drill Here" sticker, and they didn't caulk that seam correctly.

But since the leak wasn't in any of the places I put Flex Seal, I can't say that it will or won't stop a leak.

Riddler6.7 · 07-24-2018, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

While Snowbirding last February, had a leak that pooled in the basement. Two of us couldn't find it. Every big rain, we'd crawl all over looking. I finally caulked everything I could find, and then in desperation sprayed white Flex Seal all over everything on the roof.

None of that helped, but can't say it hurt either. The leak turned out to be odd......the seam where the 'gutter' pieces came together. It wasn't caulked behind that seam. The gutter is some kind of 10-20 foot rubber one-piece, but when they run out, they butt up another piece to it, and caulk it. It wasn't caulked.

Wasn't manufacturer's issue. I had Dometic A/C oil leak and dealer put me on a new roof (Dometic paid for it). Turned out the roof is not equal to the OEM roof, and they covered up my Winegard "Drill Here" sticker, and they didn't caulk that seam correctly.

But since the leak wasn't in any of the places I put Flex Seal, I can't say that it will or won't stop a leak.

I found last wknd that I have a leak that is letting water drip out of my wall, into the storage compartment. I found it while running all 3 A/C's, and it didn't rain at all so I was thinking i had an A/C condensate drain clogged up. After checking and finding them to all be draining fine, I could not come up with any explanation. However, I did notice one seam on my gutter that was not caulked very good and it just happened to be right above the mysterious leak. In my mind, I still don't see how it could be the issue as I would think the gutter would be completely exterior and everything underneath it should be sealed regardless of the gutter. I have not taken any gutter off an RV though, so I can neither confirm nor deny how accurate that is. After reading your story, I have some hope that I solved the issue when I caulked it last weekend. I have not had a chance to test yet, and am a little worried to as I can't see it being good at all to have water running down the inside of the laminated wall.

Sorry for getting sidetracked from the original post. I have not used any flex seal, but I know that I haven't came across any sealant that is as adhesive as the RV specific silicone that I have. It's pretty impressive. Proflex RV flexible sealant is what I have been using.

rsdata · 07-24-2018, 08:40 PM

use Amazon's locker delivery service or have it ship to a local campground and get some eternabond tape delivered to you in 2 days...

guaranteed it will stick and stay if applied to a clean area... use acetone to clean and apply tape right over old sealant ... quick and lasting repair...

Puma26RLSS · 07-25-2018, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

they claim it will seal anything let the forum know how it works

Our first rainstorm after installation of the Flex Seal was very encouraging. We closed the vent, of course, that was near the "refrigerator" leak and monitored both areas that leaked a few nights before. The rain and storm were close to level of the ones that produced the "new" leaks. This time: NADA, ZIPPO, Nothing...no leaking at all. I know it is just the first test, but so far so good.

Puma26RLSS · 07-25-2018, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsdata

use Amazon's locker delivery service or have it ship to a local campground and get some eternabond tape delivered to you in 2 days... guaranteed it will stick and stay if applied to a clean area... use acetone to clean and apply tape right over old sealant ... quick and lasting repair...

Thank you for this recommendation. We are not familiar with the "locker service", nor have we tried to have things delivered to an unfamiliar campground while on the move. Honestly a little skittish about trying it. Could you give us a little more info about how that works? How does the unfamiliar campground know to accept a package for you and hold it? Do you call them and ask their permission first? Totally unfamiliar with Amazon locker service. Haven't noticed "lockers" around us as we traveled!

valleyduo · 07-25-2018, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puma26RLSS

Thank you for this recommendation. We are not familiar with the "locker service", nor have we tried to have things delivered to an unfamiliar campground while on the move. Honestly a little skittish about trying it. Could you give us a little more info about how that works? How does the unfamiliar campground know to accept a package for you and hold it? Do you call them and ask their permission first? Totally unfamiliar with Amazon locker service. Haven't noticed "lockers" around us as we traveled!

We've had Amazon deliveries to a couple campgrounds now. Usually if you just let the office know it's coming, they'll receive it and hold it for you.

merrykalia · 07-25-2018, 10:02 AM

We have used FlexSeal for lots of different things and it does great......for a little while. It does not stand up to the harsh UV rays that occur on the roof or, for that matter, just outside.

It should get you through for a few weeks, but you definitely need to get something that is specific for outdoor use (Eternabond or Dicor) and for the roofing materials.

It will be hard to remove the FlexSeal, but not impossible.

BeckyMax · 07-25-2018, 01:50 PM

I used flex seal on a roof leak about a year ago, got up there after a month or so it was already coming loose. You didn't mention if it was the flex seal tape or the flex seal spray. I was using the spray. Surface prep is key (in any repair job), but I had apparently scraped the corner of the roof under a tree and didn't know it, by the time I discovered it the surface I was applying to had gotten wet several times. It didn't hold up, likely due to my poor prep job. X2 on the Eternabond. I now keep 2 rolls of 4" Eternabond in my camper, a roll of white and a roll of black. I'm ready for any repair now.

Willbur · 07-25-2018, 04:48 PM

Flex Seal spray- Tho it did work on a metal roof emergency patch around a vent pipe it only held up for no more the 30 days then shriveled and cracked and was a pain to remove.

Larry-NC · 07-25-2018, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valleyduo

We've had Amazon deliveries to a couple campgrounds now. Usually if you just let the office know it's coming, they'll receive it and hold it for you.

X2

Larry

rsdata · 07-25-2018, 05:12 PM

Quote:

How does the unfamiliar campground know to accept a package for you and hold it? Do you call them and ask their permission first? Totally unfamiliar with Amazon locker service. Haven't noticed "lockers" around us as we traveled!

I have had Amazon deliveries made to me via campgrounds three times. Just use the campground address as a C/O address and add your last name and campsite number. I personally remind the camp office the day I expect the package. I check in with them no later then 5 PM as most deliveries are made by then. Never had a problem.

The locker service started last fall... certain commercial drop off points are designated by Amazon. Pick one in a city close to your travels then pick up small packages there.

read more here...
https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=6442600011

LUV THIS tag line
Cut it 3 times and it's still too short...

sgtsdj · 07-25-2018, 05:17 PM

Do not use Flex-Seal. I tried for maintenance on end cap and around vents. Looks terrible with all the small bubbles that appeared when it dried. Stick with tried and true, Dicor and Etherbond Tape!

Jim7059 · 07-25-2018, 07:41 PM

I used spray flex seal to seal around vent and the antenna. I went back up on the roof about a hour later and the rubber roofing material around the openings had gotten soft and was puffed up.
I did use the tape around the skylight and it seemed to work better.

rsdata · 07-25-2018, 08:37 PM

Quote:

I used spray flex seal to seal around vent and the antenna. I went back up on the roof about a hour later and the rubber roofing material around the openings had gotten soft and was puffed up.

I think that should serve as a warning to RV owners not to use Flex-Seal spray product on the roof material as it had to have petroleum distillates in the formula which caused the roof to pucker.

Puma26RLSS · 07-25-2018, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeckyMax

I used flex seal on a roof leak about a year ago, got up there after a month or so it was already coming loose. You didn't mention if it was the flex seal tape or the flex seal spray. I was using the spray. Surface prep is key (in any repair job), but I had apparently scraped the corner of the roof under a tree and didn't know it, by the time I discovered it the surface I was applying to had gotten wet several times. It didn't hold up, likely due to my poor prep job. X2 on the Eternabond. I now keep 2 rolls of 4" Eternabond in my camper, a roll of white and a roll of black. I'm ready for any repair now.

I used the liquid that comes in a can and brushed/slathered it on.

Puma26RLSS · 07-29-2018, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by merrykalia

We have used FlexSeal for lots of different things and it does great......for a little while. It does not stand up to the harsh UV rays that occur on the roof or, for that matter, just outside.

It should get you through for a few weeks, but you definitely need to get something that is specific for outdoor use (Eternabond or Dicor) and for the roofing materials.

It will be hard to remove the FlexSeal, but not impossible.

OK, I buy that Flex Seal is not the choice for lasting seals. But, if it is a good seal temporarily (and we had another heavy rain last night and no leaks), why can't I just lay the Eternabond tape or the Dicor self-leveling sealer over the top of the Flex Seal, if I can get up there soon before it deteriorates or cracks from exposure to the UV?

Larry-NC · 07-29-2018, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puma26RLSS

OK, I buy that Flex Seal is not the choice for lasting seals. But, if it is a good seal temporarily (and we had another heavy rain last night and no leaks), why can't I just lay the Eternabond tape or the Dicor self-leveling sealer over the top of the Flex Seal, if I can get up there soon before it deteriorates or cracks from exposure to the UV?

Would you put a fresh coat of paint over a flaking, peeling coat of paint without preparing the surface?

Larry

Puma26RLSS · 07-29-2018, 04:41 PM

Obviously not, but right now the sealer is not peeling and is not cracked. And, if not exposed to too much UV won't ever...I think. I worry that trying to scrape or chemically remove a perfectly good surface, I actually run a greater chance of messing up my roof. Not to mention adding to my work! I am no stranger to doing things the hard way (I have three sailboats

), but sometimes I just want to know what the gain is for doing it that way.

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