Does Silicone work on the exterior?

[Ray-IN]

Actually there are several levels of marketed silicone products. I just purchased 100 percent silicone and it was 12.99 a tube.

If anyone chooses to use silicone sealants/caulking, they are gonna need this: RE-MOV SILICONE & ADHESIVE REMOVER - Dynasty Bathrooms
Yes there are many levels of silicone sealants, I won't use any of them: https://www.bestmaterials.com/searchresult.aspx?categoryid=1214

 

[Tileman]

Bonding issues depends on the silicone type.
However as others have said I would use a fresh tube of rv related sealant made for that purpose.

What is the difference between acetoxy and neutral cure silicone?

*** As acetoxy cure silicones release acetic acid whilst curing they can cause bonding/discoloring problems when used on certain substrates.

When used on natural stone they can cause discolouration, when used on certain metals they can cause corrosion and on bituminous surfaces they can cause "bleeding" of the bitumen.

So when applying sealant to sensitive surfaces we would always recommend using a neutral cure silicone over a acetoxy silicone as they will not react.

Generally acetoxy silicones are used for kitchens, bathrooms and other internal sealing applications as they are more cost effective and faster curing than their neutral curing counterparts.

Whereas neutral cure silicones have better adhesion and weatherproofing properties compared to acetoxy silicones making them the superior option for external applications.***

Wow!! Someone that actually knows silicone. I owned a silicone compounding plant in the 90s. I gave up replying to the silicone comments in here. They use a hardware store silicone that contains 17% petroleum distillates and then post that silicone doesn't work. They're learning that a good (oxime) neutral cure silicone, Henry Tropicool, Is an excellent roof coating. Unfortunately, most neutral cures won't be found at the hardware store. I'm currently running silicone adhesion tests for another industry. I might post it in here because it showes several places to buy neutral cure.

 

[Tileman]

If anyone chooses to use silicone sealants/caulking, they are gonna need this: RE-MOV SILICONE & ADHESIVE REMOVER - Dynasty Bathrooms
Yes there are many levels of silicone sealants, I won't use any of them: https://www.bestmaterials.com/searchresult.aspx?categoryid=1214

So poeple shouldn't be using that Silicone Henrys Tropicool roof sealent?

 

[Ray-IN]

So poeple shouldn't be using that Silicone Henrys Tropicool roof sealent?

Each individual is free to do as they choose with their money.

 

[Jayflight]

There are only a few types of caulking that works for an exposed bead in the elements long term, or for extended duty. While I rarely defend silicone for most projects because of the known failures when choosing the hardware store cheap stuff and rarely has any adhesive properties ,allowing water to penetrate or work its way under the it, the rv industry has proven that this is really an exception with their brands.

And the sticks and bricks brands are not that well built and going down the road they do work quite a bit. I am surprised that we don't hear more issues of leaks in the added components in the exterior shell, unless they do have some time on them.

While the regular dicor does have a way of grabbing the dirty elements in the air, my observation has been that the beads of silicone repeals it a lot more over a similar time frame.

 

[TheBar]

I've found silicone adhesive is a much higher quality than common silicone caulk. The application cone can create a very small but effective bead that lasts many years.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Unfortunately, most neutral cures won't be found at the hardware store.

Isn't that branded as Silicone II?

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Tulecreeper]

 

[Ray-IN]

Longhaul and Tileman, thanks for educating me some about the differences in silicone types. It changes my perspective.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Note that a "silicone blend" sealant/caulk is a much different animal than vanilla silicone. If the label says the silicone sealant is paintable, it's a blend and doesn't have the drawbacks of pure silicone.

 

[Dean_Reynolds]

Wow, such great info! Thank you guys!