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Yellowing Sealant (silicone)


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I still think that the sealant got stained rather than UV damage, though that’s mostly a guess.  I wouldn’t draw any conclusions unless more people post about it.  I think it’s something for recent owners to look for and hopefully post back with their experience.

I will say though that after trying to clean it off, I’d prefer a non-silicone sealant.  It’s not terrible, but a good bit more difficult than the original.  

I’ve gone back with the 3M 4000UV, and we’ll see how long it lasts and how clean it stays.

Edited by Overland
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29 minutes ago, dbp05ret said:

The sealant around my windows are turning yellow. The Oliver Elite II Hull 412 was delivered December 2018, The rear window is the worse. The RV is kept stored inside my building when not being used. Attached is picture of rear window.

yellow.jpg

Strange only in one area not all the way down looks like rust in the photo maybe something going on behind  the frame I have hull 484 parked inside I had some black mold spots while outside  Florida humidity, while the garage was being built nothing like yours. Is your garage metal or wood? condensation drip from ceiling?  Just guessing, 

Edited by Landrover

Grant  2022 GMC Denali 2500 HD 2019  Elite 11😎

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It is metal. No condensation to speak of. We go to Florida for 6 weeks in February and March so I can't speak of condensation during those months . I think the close up photo makes it looks worse then what it appears. I have an appointment at the mother ship at the end of September. I told them about the yellow today. Pictures below are bathroom window and building.

bathroom.jpg

building.jpg

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oh my...Today is my first day of researching Oliver and as noted..not having a warranty to cover discoloration around the windows is ridiculous. I'll keep researching other issues that have occured before jumping on the Oliver bandwagon. I just sold our 2001 30IB Lazy Daze Class C and am looking for a smaller trailer in the distant future.

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2 hours ago, JimM said:

oh my...Today is my first day of researching Oliver and as noted..not having a warranty to cover discoloration around the windows is ridiculous. I'll keep researching other issues that have occured before jumping on the Oliver bandwagon. I just sold our 2001 30IB Lazy Daze Class C and am looking for a smaller trailer in the distant future.

I think your research should show that Oliver bends over backwards to ensure happy owners.  As far a discoloration goes, we’re going on 5 years and have none.  I’ll be interested in the resolution of this, too.  Also, welcome to the forum!  Mike

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

ALAZARCACOFLGAIDILKSKYLAMDMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKSCSDTNTXUTVAWVWYsm.jpgALAZARCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMS

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Overland: I read on the forum that you recently redid the caulk on your Ollie. Can you give details on how you did this, and which caulk you ended up using? And how long did it take you? I’d be very interested in exactly how you removed the old caulk; what tool, which chemical you applied to help removal and what was most difficult about the process? Our Ollie is about 2 years old, and we have, following the directions of Oliver Service reapplied caulk over the existing caulk. But Service suggests completely re-caulking  every so often, and we will either do it ourselves or have Service do it. Thanks in advance. 

Kim and David Thompson Nomads' Nest 2018 LE2 #366 2018 Toyota Tundra, 4x4, 5.7L

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I used one of these to scrape off the old caulk, then cleaned up with acetone.  I went back with 3M 4000UV sealant.  I'd say that it was an afternoon of scraping and maybe two hours to recaulk and clean up.  In addition to the windows, I did the water heater and furnace access panels and the outside electrical outlet.  It wasn't difficult at all, probably as much effort as it takes to wash and wax.  Having said that, I still need to go back and wax the areas I caulked.  

I should have gotten on a ladder and recaulked stuff up on the roof, too.  I just pulled the mat out of the front closet on Monday and discovered that I have a leak somewhere, probably the plumbing vent directly over.  Full points for fiberglass, since judging by the mold under the mat, that's been leaking for a while.

Edited by Overland
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My 2017 hull number 208 has the same issue. It’s around the rear window in two places and on the driver’s side rear most window in one small area. I first noticed this maybe a year after I had Oliver take all of the windows out and reseal them with a “new” method that they were starting to use. I am assuming that they used a black sealing putty that comes in a roll and so the color is bleeding through the white silicone that was smeared all around the window frames outside and (unfortunately) well onto the fiberglass. As an aside, does anyone have a good way to cleanly remove some of the white silicone that is smeared on the fiberglass?

Edited by mountainoliver

2017 Elite II, Hull #208

2019 Chevy HD 2500 Duramax

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I think the ASI is what Oliver recommends now, which makes me think that's what they used on the window that yellowed so badly.  In the past, they used 3M 4200FC, which is a polyurethane based sealant and never seemed to cause any problems.  The 4000UV is supposed to have much better UV protection than the 4200FC, so I'm hoping that it will be both problem free like the 4200, but as long lasting as the ASI.

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On 7/8/2020 at 5:25 PM, Overland said:

Something else I learned - I had tested some Duragloss 541 mildew and stain remover on a few small sections of caulk to see how well it worked.  It actually worked quite well, but I'm glad I did a test because when I scraped those areas, the caulk had turned gummy underneath a thin skin.  Like almost right out of the tube sticky.  Maybe it would have hardened back up with time, but this was maybe three days after, so it might not have re-cured well at all.

 

On 9/9/2020 at 3:26 PM, Overland said:

I should have gotten on a ladder and recaulked stuff up on the roof, too.  I just pulled the mat out of the front closet on Monday and discovered that I have a leak somewhere, probably the plumbing vent directly over.  Full points for fiberglass, since judging by the mold under the mat, that's been leaking for a while.

To update on all of this, last week I noticed that my newly recaulked rear window was leaking.  Of course, after some inspection and head scratching, it turned out not to be the window, but the Oliver light in the attic above.  So I recaulked that, along with a few other roof items.  Interestingly, though - when I scraped off the old caulk on the Oliver light, it was the same gummy stuff as above.  And since I hadn't cleaned that with the Duragloss, that doesn't seem to have been the culprit.  Instead, I think it must be just how the original caulk aged.  Odd.  

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Interesting observation. Since you are using the 3M now instead of the ASI, I wonder if a test with the Duragloss on the 3M is in order? Although it is early, what is your thinking regarding how well the 3M is performing compared to the ASI?

Kim and David Thompson Nomads' Nest 2018 LE2 #366 2018 Toyota Tundra, 4x4, 5.7L

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All I can say so far is that, just like other 3M marine sealants, this stuff is thick, sticky, and really hard to work with.  The first window took a while to get my technique down, but the others went quickly.  It seems to last longer in the opened tube than the 4200, so that's a bonus.  It dries very smooth and shiny, as you'd expect from silicone.  Or not, I guess - it's a silane modified polymer, which I assume is technically different than silicone, but related?  Any chemists on the forum? 

Edited by Overland
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2 hours ago, Overland said:

All I can say so far is that, just like other 3M marine sealants, this stuff is thick, sticky, and really hard to work with.  The first window took a while to get my technique down, but the others went quickly. 

If you tape around the joint, use a gloved finger to press and fair in the edges, then pull off the tape, the 4000 UV gives beautiful results and is not at all difficult, Lots of pics here: 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2082-how-to-install-a-big-bubble-level-no-drilling/
 

I resealed the roof fan over the summer, no worries.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited by John E Davies
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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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I'll have to give the tape a try next time, though it wasn't bad after the first one.  I could have used the tape on the Ollie sign, though - I found that to be tougher for some reason.  I guess with the curved corners on the windows, you'd have to roughly tape them and then smooth out the caulk after taking off the tape?

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The upper light is really tough, as the curves/corners are really tight.

It's also the main source of leaks, which often seem to be from the windows. I wish Oliver would change to an applied light, frankly.

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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So, back to sealant testing.

I found a few articles on various forums,  and more importantly,  testing by Practical Sailor, on a (relatively) inexpensive adhesive sealant, Loctite pl Marine fast cure. 

We had to order it, from our local Lowe's.  Not on the shelf. 

It has a 12 month shelf life from date of manufacture,  unopened, so important to read the date code. Opened, a few months, maybe, if sealed and refrigerated. I'll let you know. It's double sealed, in the workshop fridge, now.

Like 3m 4000 uv , it's polyether,  not silicone.  Cleanup is alcohol, uncured, or mechanical, cured. 

We'll see how it works out. It's supposed to be non yellowing,  and we used it next to butyl with a bead around the new maxxair bath vent, among other places. If it does yellow, we should see it earlier, on the roof, is my guess. I think it's a good place for a test, as appearances aren't much of a concern. Workability was ok, according to Paul. No worse than 3m 4000 uv.

https://www.practical-sailor.com/boat-maintenance/mildew-resistant-caulks-for-boats

https://www.practical-sailor.com/boat-maintenance/marine-sealant-adhesion-tests

I can't recommend at this point, but we'll see what it looks like in a year or two 

 

Edited by SeaDawg
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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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Btw, I've been looking at a number of years of reviews on marine sealants, teak to fiberglass, for a boat project.

Guess what? A number of posts lamenting 3m 4200 turning orange, or not curing properly.  Bad batches in past years . @Overland

I think we will continue with our Loctite Marine experiment,  now on the boat instead of the trailer. Polyether seems to give a good bond,  long life, and high elasticity. Future removal will probably require mechanical and a low heat gun, followed by a chemical,  as in 4200 or 4000 uv removal,  but that's ok. Hopefully,  it's far into the future.

Last caulk in this area was well over a decade ago. Wish I'd asked, and recorded, what our friend used. 😞 he's no longer in our area, (cruising sailor), and , heck,, he might not remember,  either.

Btw, I  am seeing a lot of recommendations for plexi and acrylic to fiberglass, structural and non structural,  for Dow 795, a single component silicon adhesive sealant. 

That might have been an option for the third tail light (except for my aversion to most things silicon.) Might have eliminated a couple steps for us. Though, even if butyl requires mechanical fastener backup, I'm happy with our choice for the third tail light, I think. We'll see how everything plays out.

Sherry

 

 

 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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