dwaviation Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I need to take the plastic wheelarch off my MH to address some water ingress issues around that area. The wheel arch is plastic and is held in with both screws and a mastic sealant. Can anyone advise me on a suitable sealant to use when replacing it? I don't want to bond the thing in for life though as I might need to get it off again one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 You could try a non-setting mastic (eg. the Carafax product that many caravan accessory shops stock), but I think it would be preferable to use a adhesive/sealant like Sikaflex-512 Caravan. I know you'd rather not bond the wheelarch moulding too firmly, but non-setting mastic doesn't properly 'skin' and compllcates cleaning the vehicle. I guess, as a compromise measure, you might try a good quality contsruction-industry silicone sealant, as this will skin but won't bond with the vice-like grip of Sikaflex-512-type adhesives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tin Man Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Non-setting sealant is used to bed in the marker lights on my van, Stops water ingress and can be removed completely with a mixture of elbow grease and white spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Tin Man - 2012-10-01 3:52 PM Non-setting sealant is used to bed in the marker lights on my van, Stops water ingress and can be removed completely with a mixture of elbow grease and white spirit. Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forum. I fitted a larger gas-locker door to my previous motorhome using white non-setting mastic to seal the joint between the door's inner frame and the motorhome's bodywork, and to seal the joint between the door's outer frame and its 'infill panel'. This was a mistake as the mastic's non-setting characteristics meant that its top surface always remained slightly sticky and picked up dirt. This doesn't matter when a joint is invisible (eg. covered by a plastic moulding) or difficult to see (eg. in the case of high-level marker lights), but the joints on the gas-locker door were neither, rapidly became dirty, and - because the mastic's outer surface never properly hardened - cleaning the muck off wasn't really practicable. If the joint between David's motorhome's wheelarch and bodywork is such that the mastic won't be visible, then that's fine. The stuff isn't an adhesive and, as you say, it's not difficult to separate parts joined by it or to clean it off. But, when a joint is highly visible and/or subject to regular cleaning, it may not be the best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Thanks - I shall try some of the industrial exterior adhesive/sealant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Personally,I'd just get Sika'512...as it's tried and tested and it "behaves" as it should.... Sometime back I made the mistake of using some,decent but "non-sika" sealant,for a temporary repair...and it wasn't long before it went "chalky" and turned that tainted beige colour... *-) Just get the sikaflex... ;-) (...and if you're not going to use much,it'd be worth lining up several other jobs for it because it doesn't last very long,once the tube is open..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 pepe63 - 2012-10-03 12:16 PM Personally,I'd just get Sika'512...as it's tried and tested and it "behaves" as it should.... But it dosn't half stick, which is the very thing David wishes to avoid. A 2-stage approach might be worth considering, using non-setting mastic as the main sealant, and something that skins (Sikaflex or silicone) to provide a tidy cosmetic finish. Basically, that means a lot of non-setting mastic + a thin bead of skinable stuff along the visible wheelarch-moulding/bodywork joint. (David - still a 2007 Elddis Autoquest 115?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 If Sikaflex 512 is too much of an adhesive then why not try using the proper Sikaflex product for the job - BUTYL SEALANT SIKALASTOMER. Link Quote from CAK Tanks... Sikalastomer 710 butyl sealant is a high quality non setting sealant used for a variety of joints in caravans and motorhomes. It is especially suitable for those situations where there is the possibility of future disassembly, such as edge trim on motorhomes, caravans and boats, windows, rooflights and airvents etc. Due to its very sticky non-setting flexibility it is ideal for resealing of edge trims that have been sealed with ordinary non-setting mastics which dry out. Available in black, grey & white, size 300ml cartridge. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Yes,I suppose removing the arch again wouldn't be the easiest of tasks.. but used sparingly,it wouldn't be imposssible surely...:-D ..and as long as the repair that's being carried out is sound,I can't really see why it would need to come off again... But..if the OP *really* feels the need to take it off again,then as you say,sealing it with "non-setting" stuff and "capping" it with a bead of something that "skins over" is probably the way to go.... (..someone had used "non-setting" tacky stuff to bead around the arches on our previous Compass 120...and it looked a bl**dy mess! *-) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Why not try contacting "Loctite" at there Hemel Hempstead Office. Ask for someone who could advise you on Sealants The tel no would be 01442 XXXX (don't know the exact no now, sorry) PJay PS they supply to the automotive industry, and Fomular 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-10-03 1:54 PM ...A 2-stage approach might be worth considering, using non-setting mastic as the main sealant, and something that skins (Sikaflex or silicone) to provide a tidy cosmetic finish. Basically, that means a lot of non-setting mastic + a thin bead of skinable stuff along the visible wheelarch-moulding/bodywork joint. Exactly the approach I've used for rooflights, shower tray, and some random bits of aluminium trim. Works a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Thanks for the help. My little Autoquest 115 has exposed wood all round the rear wheel arches with the trim piece only covering about 3/4 of the exposed 1" thick wood skirt. As a result of this constant spray the wood has softened and the retaining screws on the trim are no longer secure. I plan to remove the wheel trim, clean and dry the area affected, harden it with Ronseal's 'wood hardener', fill where required with wood filler and then apply a paintable 'butyl rubber'. Before fixing the trim back into position my plan is to fix a two inch wide strip of plastic along the width of the skirt around the arch (it's actually a strip of thick plastic DP as used in brickwork) and then fix the trim into position. Whilst I have every confidence in this repair, being of wood construction I can't really rule out not having to inspect it again in a few years' time - Hence my question... I will give it some thought and pick one of the above.. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Probably stating the obvious...but by using a dp strip,I'd be careful that you don't just end up trapping moisture in... ..our previous 120 was the same...with bare edged,soft wood panel edges..but I just slapped(sorry..carefully applied!) a few coats of black paint on 'em... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 The 2" strip will be fiited alongside the 1" of wood edging with the other 1" of DPM err... rigidly sticking out inboard, this should act as a water deflector and stop the ram effect of water from the wheel. A sort of 140 degree mud flap. I don't think it will trap any more water than the plastic wheel trim would have which will be fitted over the top anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 PJay - 2012-10-03 3:18 PM Why not try contacting "Loctite" at there Hemel Hempstead Office. Ask for someone who could advise you on Sealants The tel no would be 01442 XXXX (don't know the exact no now, sorry) PJay PS they supply to the automotive industry, and Fomular 1 Loctite's Technical Hotline phone number is 01442 278100 (I've had helpful advice from them in the past) and the website is http://www.loctite.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/henkel_uke/hs.xsl/homepage.htm For structural bonding Teroson Terostat products would be appropriate, but these are likely to be more difficult to obtain (and probably more expensive) than equivalent SIKA adhesive/sealants. Presumably David will decide to remove both rear wheel-arches to address the water-damage problem, hence - whatever re-attachment method he eventually chooses - he will be able to ensure the appearance of the joint is the same for both wheel-arches. If just one arch were to be re-attached, it would be logical to use materials and method so that the new joint matched that of the wheel-arch that had not been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 Thank you all for your advice, very helpful. I am going to try some exterior industrial adhesive sealant first as suggested by Derek if this doesnt look right or doesn't work I shall be going for Keith's Sikalastomer Butyl sealant. I will be giving it a whizz in a few weeks' time ad shall report back :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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