Jim and Chris,
Personally, I would be very uncomfortable applying a putty knife or
razor
blade to my coach's exterior - even very carefully. I use an ordinary
popsicle stick - you can get them at most craft stores. . . or eat a lot
of
popsicles :^). I put the bead down with the caulking gun, then draw the
popsicle stick along the bead to press the sealer or silicone into the
crack. If you press hard enough, this will produce a neat, concave bead
with two rows of excess material separated from the bead by the edges of
the stick/depressor against the surfaces. The excess silicone will pull
off easily after semi-curing, leaving a neat, clean bead and the soft
wood
of the popsicle stick won't damage your paint. . . .well, it has never
damaged mine anyway :^). If you need a larger concave bead, use a tongue
depressor from the local drug store. This works for angles but for flats
or odd shaped beads, just shape the stick or depressor with a pocket
knife
or, if you want to get fancy, a belt sander.
Works for me.
Cheers y'all,
Marion Hope
77 Kingsley
Marion, I agree with your methods for adding sealer to seams on your
GMC. I have used the same procedure for several years, with one
exception. There have been numerous comments on the net about sealing
leaks with silicone. I would caution anyone to never use silicone on the
painted surfaced of your GMC if you ever have any plans of repainting
your coach. Once silicone is applied in a seam,it is almost impossible
to remove it when you get ready to paint your coach, and paint will not
stick to silicone. There are lots of excellent sealers on the market
that are compatible with paint and they will also seal better than
silicone. A good place to get info on the best type of sealer to use on
painted surfaces is at your local automotive paint supply store. Jim
Bounds talked about several excellent sealers at the GMCWS rally last
fall in NM. A lot of good paint shops will not paint your coach if they
see a lot of silicone has been used on it. Silicon is a great sealer but
not for sealing leaks on your GMC.
Chuck Aulgur
La Mesa CA
GMCWS Tech V. P.
Personally, I would be very uncomfortable applying a putty knife or
razor
blade to my coach's exterior - even very carefully. I use an ordinary
popsicle stick - you can get them at most craft stores. . . or eat a lot
of
popsicles :^). I put the bead down with the caulking gun, then draw the
popsicle stick along the bead to press the sealer or silicone into the
crack. If you press hard enough, this will produce a neat, concave bead
with two rows of excess material separated from the bead by the edges of
the stick/depressor against the surfaces. The excess silicone will pull
off easily after semi-curing, leaving a neat, clean bead and the soft
wood
of the popsicle stick won't damage your paint. . . .well, it has never
damaged mine anyway :^). If you need a larger concave bead, use a tongue
depressor from the local drug store. This works for angles but for flats
or odd shaped beads, just shape the stick or depressor with a pocket
knife
or, if you want to get fancy, a belt sander.
Works for me.
Cheers y'all,
Marion Hope
77 Kingsley
Marion, I agree with your methods for adding sealer to seams on your
GMC. I have used the same procedure for several years, with one
exception. There have been numerous comments on the net about sealing
leaks with silicone. I would caution anyone to never use silicone on the
painted surfaced of your GMC if you ever have any plans of repainting
your coach. Once silicone is applied in a seam,it is almost impossible
to remove it when you get ready to paint your coach, and paint will not
stick to silicone. There are lots of excellent sealers on the market
that are compatible with paint and they will also seal better than
silicone. A good place to get info on the best type of sealer to use on
painted surfaces is at your local automotive paint supply store. Jim
Bounds talked about several excellent sealers at the GMCWS rally last
fall in NM. A lot of good paint shops will not paint your coach if they
see a lot of silicone has been used on it. Silicon is a great sealer but
not for sealing leaks on your GMC.
Chuck Aulgur
La Mesa CA
GMCWS Tech V. P.
