What coating to buy

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Barry J

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Joined
Jun 20, 2018
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31
Ok so some people are saying do not use silicone to coat the camper roof and around the vents. I was looking at the Henry products because someone told me it works great, but the product that the Henry people suggested was the 887 which is 100% silicone, another roofing product they have is 100% acrylic,  can someone help me to get the right product to re-coat the roof and seal around the vents, with hopefully the same stuff
Thanks
Barry
 
Go to YouTube and search on Dicor.  Excellent  videos, including one on how to determine what kind of roof you have.

Dicor makes different products for TPO and EPDM  roofs and a third product for metal or fiberglass roofs.
 
The roof looks like it never was replaced so guessing it is the original EPDM roof that comes with Four Winds 2003 27BH.
The question is do I use a silicone base
 
Barry J said:
...
The question is do I use a silicone base
The big problem with using silicone is that nothing sticks to silicone (even more silicone), so if you later need to touch it up or recaulk you have a huge cleanup job to get rid of the silicone before putting something else on. But if you use one of the Dicor products (or similar) then the caulking can be touched up as needed.
 
So I get that silicone is not good to use on camper roofs, but why then does Dicor sell a roof coating that is 100% silicone
 
The confusion is pure silicone caulk vs other silicone-based products.  There are silicone-acrylic caulks that are fine to use, and silicone-based coatings that work fine as well.  One good litmus test is whether the silicone-based product is paintable. If it is, have no fears about putting something else over it in the future.

Since you mentioned Henry's and coating, I'm assuming you are talking a paint-on roof coat rather than caulk (aka lap sealant).  If so, the Henry's product is probably fine, but they make a dozen or more and you didn't identify a specific product.  As long as it is compatible with EPDM roofing, it should be OK.
 
Barry J said:
The roof looks like it never was replaced so guessing it is the original EPDM roof that comes with Four Winds 2003 27BH.
The question is do I use a silicone base

Do not use a silicone base as silicone is not very abrasive resistant product.  Whether you walk on your roof or not, silicone should not be used for this application, any sort of debris can damage your silicone.  Trees in parks or at home, birds love it, flying grit in the air, any falling object landing on it and rubbing against it all are probable causes of failure.
 
Larry N. said:
The big problem with using silicone is that nothing sticks to silicone (even more silicone), so if you later need to touch it up or recaulk you have a huge cleanup job to get rid of the silicone before putting something else on. But if you use one of the Dicor products (or similar) then the caulking can be touched up as needed.

" nothing sticks to silicone (even more silicone), ".  Not true!  Only silicone sticks to silicone Period!!
It does have to be cleaned very well and actually should be removed before replacing.

I have written quite a bit on the caulking and sealant subject that is posted on this forum.  'Touch up' is not a solution, it is only a band aid.
 
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