Ok I love this Ole Nose but enough, is enough! I looked on the roof yesterday and all that old aluminum tape from the center of the coach back had come loose and was bunched up in clumps.

I was just up on the roof pulled off the back half plus. Underneath the PO's had put several layers of some type of caulk or sealant, silicone and a layer of some white mastic that had turned black on the top side. They put sealant everywhere using many different chemicals. Some is soft most is hard and crusty.

I want to reseal the sheet metal seams, around the vents and any rivets, but how the heck am I going to get all this old stuff off! I am thinking scraping and a heat gun are my only hope, but I am 74 and I don't have a lot of years left, I might never get finished, any suggestions?

Going to do the back this fall and front next year. Front looks like it is ok if I seal the edges of the remaining tape with Flex Seal.

Anyone bored and want to help??? I have beer!!!

Looks like rain, gotta put up a tarp!!!

I'm tired just thinking about it. Wow! What a challenge.

Jim

Eternabond is your answer, lots of negatives on Flex Seal. Don't have any ideas on the removal. I had to remove the TV antenna on the '75. It was summer and very little old sealant to remove which I got off with a dull putty knife.

Make sure you get the eternabond in the right place there is no readjusting but it is still sealed.

The 72 had some thing of interest for sealants. I am a believer of work smarter not harder. Make friends with a vibratory tool. Sometime called a multitool. It takes a bit of practice. The key is to work under the sealants. Go parallel to the aluminum skin carefully. You are just removing the sealant. Don't gouge the aluminum.

I have used on many projects. Another hint is I use old flat smooth edge. Don't use a new toothed blade. Practice before you start. Don't wreck the skin.

I striped the entire roof (YES THE ENTIRE ROOF) from front to rear on Danny Zee's. It is a lot of work but I chased leaks for years from years of crappy patch jobs. It is a lot of work but well worth the effort. PM me I will tell you what I did

Clean with power washer and remove all devices (antennae and ac) then install a new rubber roof. Reinstall the stuff and your leaks cease. Build a mounting dam for the ac so it does not sit on the actual roof. You can ignore the old sealant.

By the time I got the tarp up, the down pour (tons of water) had stopped, I am afraid to go in the coach and have a look, but I guess I have to...Later!!

Thanks for all the advice, gonna give the multi-tool a shot! I have a few old worn out blades. I am afraid to power wash the top!

As for powerwash the roof: you could go to a truck wash - some got them long step ladders you do not have to step on the roof - and let them do it. Some DIY washes for semis got them steps too.
Be careful.

My fear of the power wash is, what it will do to the inside of the coach, where it leaks!

I tried the multi-tool, works fine but it took me about an hour+ to clear maybe 10 square inches!!!

So method #2 heat gun and a scraper, about the same as the multi-tool but if my wrist were in good shape, I think this might be faster.

Sorry my roof had no leaks so I didn't fear the pressure washer. All i was doing was removing things like the skylights, fan, sewer vents to put on the siphon 360's. I coated once with a dicor product I removed a year later with my pressure washer. I should have used Anvil 400 right away it lasted 20 years. Did the Anvil last year and it looks great.

My shoulder won't take the putty knife action...

Don't know if this will work. Just watched a show on getting undercoating off a car floor board. They used dry ice. Froze it so hard it chipped right off.

What an awful job, I do not understand why the PO put this crusty stuff over smooth aluminum that has not chance of leaking. On the seams the butyl tape under it is still soft and tough to remove.

Ok I am going to try the power wash and the dry ice trick too.

I keep thinking of the membrane but I do not think I have the skills to install it properly. Very costly too!

I have this railing around the back of the roof, the attachments are where PO went nuts with the crusty stuff.

Me too! Removed the railing and installed closed end rivets and eterna bond tape. No more leak.

There are a series of .25 holes that are spaced about 2 foot apart maybe a foot inboard of the outer walls going from front to back on both sides. They have been plugged with a big glob of silicone sealant these seem to be the major source of the leaks. Anyone know what they were used for, just holes now?

Do you think they could have been luggage rails?