Removing old caulk tips

dalford · 03-03-2020, 02:35 PM

I need to do some maintenance to the 5th wheel. I’m going to re-caulk the seams around the outside of the unit. What methods/tools have others used to remove the old caulk without doing damage to the outside wall of the RV? Thx for any advice.

Thurman · 03-03-2020, 02:42 PM

What type outside walls do you have, metal or fiberglass? IF fiberglass I would be careful not to scratch the fiberglass while removing any caulk. Tools: 1) a heat gun. You might get by with a hair dryer but I have not had good luck with those warming up caulk. Use the heat gun to warm up the old caulk so that it will be easier to remove. 2) A painters putty knife. These are not just flat on the end, it will have a sort of "hook" to help get into seams to remove old caulk/sealant. 3) Lexel sealant to replace the old caulk. Lexel works better than silicone on outside surfaces of RV's and can be removed later. 4) Elbow grease, and you will need plenty of it.

dalford · 03-03-2020, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thurman

What type outside walls do you have, metal or fiberglass? IF fiberglass I would be careful not to scratch the fiberglass while removing any caulk. Tools: 1) a heat gun. You might get by with a hair dryer but I have not had good luck with those warming up caulk. Use the heat gun to warm up the old caulk so that it will be easier to remove. 2) A painters putty knife. These are not just flat on the end, it will have a sort of "hook" to help get into seams to remove old caulk/sealant. 3) Lexel sealant to replace the old caulk. Lexel works better than silicone on outside surfaces of RV's and can be removed later. 4) Elbow grease, and you will need plenty of it.

I guess it is not caulk but a product called Geocell. I think they use it at the Cedar Creek factory and Orvin gave me a tube when I visited his shop. Pretty hard right now.

I have fiberglass. I guess I can try the heat gun technique carefully. Thanks for the reply and tips..

dalford · 03-03-2020, 04:26 PM

This is what I have. Orvan gave me this tube when I visited. He re-sealed using this...

**Bama Rambler** · 03-03-2020, 04:51 PM

Get a set of auto trim tools with the wide scrapers and you won't damage the skin if you use those.

I just changed a baggage door on our RV and the caulking was really hard. I used a chisel to break a seam in the middle of it without touching the siding or the door frame, and then used the scrapers to lift it off the siding. It came off clean once I did that.

TitanMike · 03-03-2020, 05:02 PM

Just curious but has anyone ever used an oscillating multi-tool like a Fein, Dremel, Rigid, etc to remove caulk. I see calk removing tools sold for them. The blades on these tools oscillate back and forth very little but quite fast and it would seem that they could be controlled well enough to only cut the calk without damaging adjoining surfaces.

Just curious.

**Bama Rambler** · 03-03-2020, 05:08 PM

I have a couple of those and they're great for lots of tasks, but one slip and you'd have a gouged wall or roof.

I have used the smooth putty knife blades on them to remove caulking around the house and they work great, but I'm not brave enough to try it on the RV where paint won't hide it.

hobienick · 03-03-2020, 06:10 PM

It has not been mentioned yet in this thread. So... never use silicone based caulk anywhere you will need to remove it and replace with fresh caulk. Not even fresh silicone will stick to cured silicone.

c3prret · 03-04-2020, 06:16 AM

Have used the caulk removal tools at the hardware stores, there are metal and plastic. For the residue GooGone makes a caulk removal spray.

spicercars · 03-04-2020, 07:45 AM

Do not use a multi tool you will do more damage trying to remove the caulk. What I did on mine was waited for a sunny day and let the sun warm up one side of the unit. I used plastic tools that I found at Menards and it really worked well. Took me a couple of days to do the whole thing but it turned out great. Lots of patience.

PenJoe · 03-04-2020, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c3prret

Have used the caulk removal tools at the hardware stores, there are metal and plastic. For the residue GooGone makes a caulk removal spray.

Applying GooGone to caulk will soften it and make it easier to remove. It won't hurt the fiberglass.

rollscanardly · 03-04-2020, 01:47 PM

For removing old sealants, I've had the best results using a soldering gun with a rope cutting attachment.

See Post # 36...

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...-125403-2.html

https://www.parts-express.com/weller...g-gun--372-072

Rich

DRM796 · 03-04-2020, 01:47 PM

This might be a side bar but I am correct in saying the products like Geocel and Proflex will adhere to itself?

ChrisParise · 03-15-2020, 01:02 PM

Drm796,
Geocel is the company that makes Proflex. Looking at the tube directions now, it says to apply to clean dry surface free of any foreign matter.

It is all I use on the gel coated fiber glass vertical surfaces of my MH. It will adhere to itself following the above precautions but I only overlap recent or fresh work (at least let it be skimmed over which doesn't take long). But, for the most part because I tool using a finger dipped into a heavy concentration of Dawn with water, I find to get the smoothest tooling I need the old stuff gone.

To remove Proflex you can usually grab an edge and it pulls out in long pieces. Dont use a heat gun, there's too much plastic trim pieces which will melt, including your roofing. A hair dryer isn't necessary either for Proflex.

To tool, apply a thin bead a foot or two at a time and lightly tool as described above. Dont try to push Proflex into a seam, it just makes for a sloppy caulk job.

Chris

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRM796

This might be a side bar but I am correct in saying the products like Geocel and Proflex will adhere to itself?

DRM796 · 03-15-2020, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parise

Drm796,
Geocel is the company that makes Proflex. Looking at the tube directions now, it says to apply to clean dry surface free of any foreign matter.

It is all I use on the gel coated fiber glass vertical surfaces of my MH. It will adhere to itself following the above precautions but I only overlap recent or fresh work (at least let it be skimmed over which doesn't take long). But, for the most part because I tool using a finger dipped into a heavy concentration of Dawn with water, I find to get the smoothest tooling I need the old stuff gone.

To remove Proflex you can usually grab an edge and it pulls out in long pieces. Dont use a heat gun, there's too much plastic trim pieces which will melt, including your roofing. A hair dryer isn't necessary either for Proflex.

To tool, apply a thin bead a foot or two at a time and lightly tool as described above. Dont try to push Proflex into a seam, it just makes for a sloppy caulk job.

Chris

Good info. Thanks for sharing Chris

Hclarkx · 04-02-2020, 10:44 PM

Somewhere years ago I got a supply of bamboo paint stirring sticks. They are about 5/8" wide, 1/8" thick, and a foot long. I use my bench grinder to put a chisel end on them for scraping stuff off of plastic or other damageable surfaces. The bamboo is hard and holds an edge well, but not hard enough to dig into plastic unless the plastic is very soft which it usually is not. I re-sharpen as needed though the edge holds well. Before I ran into the bamboo paint stirring sticks, I used oak that I cut into strips of about the same dimension and made scraper out of them.

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