What sealant to use

Budgie

Budgie

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Hi Guys would appreciate a little advice from all you knowledgeable lot, I have a little leak from the Heki roof light frame in the lounge of my Apache, I've taken the internal frame off to see where the leak is coming from and it looks like the area that the leak is there is little or no sealant, I am going to remove the external section and reseal, what I want to know is what sealant do I use for this job, the exsisting sealant is grey in colour.
Thanks in advance for any help.
 
I had to do this to two roof lights on my camper recently. Seems like the original sealant/adhesive lasted about 10 years. After some research on various forums, I went for this stuff - https://www.toolstation.com/puraflex-40-high-modulus-pu-sealant-adhesive/p85566. Can get it in either black or white. A lot of folks use Sikaflex. Whatever you go for, make sure you have a good thick bead.

Cleaning the old sealant from the external frame was the hardest bit of the job. Anyway, all good now!
 
I use a non setting compound 'Carafax IDL 99' but as said clean both surfaces thoroughly.
 
Budgie said:
Hi Guys would appreciate a little advice from all you knowledgeable lot, I have a little leak from the Heki roof light frame in the lounge of my Apache, I've taken the internal frame off to see where the leak is coming from and it looks like the area that the leak is there is little or no sealant, I am going to remove the external section and reseal, what I want to know is what sealant do I use for this job, the exsisting sealant is grey in colour.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Sikaflex is the best is used as adhesive and sealant all in one , reliable stuff, just make sure when you buy it, that it is in date as the tubes have a use by date and some dodgy dealers sell it when it's date is almost out. Hope you get it sorted
 
I used carafax as well in my self build, it is non setting, the others are adhesives, which will make it difficult to remove if required
if you use carafax have white spirit handy to clean up any mess. If you use PU40 have IPA handy as a solvent
 
Think there is some confusion about the need for sealant, adhesive or bedding compound. Roof vents are usually held in position with screws clamping the inner to the outer and need a bedding compound, not an adhesive.
Carafax (or similar) or the butyl strip that Chris recommended are made for this purpose and that is why manufacturers use them. If the vent needs replacing, it is a relatively easy job, but if you stick it down (assuming you can get sikaflex to bond to the plastic) you will have a nightmare job on your hands.
 
Everything on the roof moves as it gets hot and then cools. A non setting mastic tape is normally used. In the unlikely event that you need to remove it again it will be far easier than one that has been glued in place.
 
Eff... it's clear that I should have used a non setting sealant for my roof lights! Now I wonder how I ended up determining an adhesive sealant was the way to go? Here's hoping I don't need to try to get the roof lights off any time soon.
Diamond Dave video link for replacing rooflight:-
 
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Bigshug said:
I used carafax as well in my self build, it is non setting, the others are adhesives, which will make it difficult to remove if required
if you use carafax have white spirit handy to clean up any mess. If you use PU40 have IPA handy as a solvent
Click to expand...
I use IPA as a tonsil lubricant!
 
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