Autosleeper Hightop rear roof seal

[Jeff J]

I noticed a spot of rust on my camper, just to the left of the tailgate hinge & after treating it peeled back the seal above to see where the water was getting in. After cleaning out 30 years of crud & dry sealer I ran a bead of silicon sealer into the bottom of the seal & spread it out by pressing the seal back into place & then cleaning off the excess. I considered it a job well done, but unfortunately the next morning the seal had cockled & was not sitting flush with the high top & therefore not providing any sort of seal. A body work expert friend tells me that he would suspect that the silicon sealer has caused the problem & I have stripped it out & re-cleaned the area. Any one know of a product that might rejuvenate the rubber seal & make it go flat again as replacing the seal would involve drilling out all the pop rivets & possibly causing a bigger rust problem. Thanks

[LittleMissSunshine]

Howdie Jeff - if Mike reads this he may elaborate on the repair he did to our seal, it's now watertight, not sure I can remember what he did though

Don't you love my helpful post?!!!

[R0B]

Silicone sealant should not be used.It eats into metal,as it contains acetic acid.

[vanisveryrusty]

Agree that silicone sealant should not be used because it prevents anything bonding to the surface after its been there.
Not all silicone sealant contains acetic acid, it depends whether its neutral cure or acetic cure silicone.
Best use polyurethane sealant anyhow.
Sikaflex or similar.

[Jeff J]

Thanks for the advice, I removed the old sealant, cleaned everything down with petrol & thinners, gave a thin coat of etch primer & then sealed & stuck down with polyurethane. Not the best looking job I've ever done but easier than drilling out all the pop rivets in order to replace the seal.

[kentishvanman]

Hi,
I removed the pop rivets a few years back, filled holes, applied Tiger Seal in the gap and painted.
Don

[Jeff J]

You obviously have more patience than me. Could you not have fitted a new seal after going to all that trouble?