Sealing wet leaks

[schnackj]

I'm trying to seal a leak around the skylight in the 79 dolphin, I'm in Western Oregon so its just non stop raining and in the 40s and I cant take it inside. I got some of this Henrys 208r wet patch stuff that is basically a ruberized tar to try to seal around the skylight and it doesn't seem to want to stick where any of the older sealants have been used. It does stick great to my hands and the cleaner aluminum though. I tried cleaning with dawn dish soap and a scrub brush but it doesn't seem to help.

Does anyone have good suggestions for sealing a leak like this when you cant seem to get away from mother nature?

[90toydolphin]

cover the whole coach with black plastic or any water proof tarp?

[WME]

www.prosealproducts.com

Proseal 34 works through standing oil/water

[linda s]

Remove as much of the old sealant as possible and push a fat rope of butyl tape all around the edge. It doesn't need to dry and will seal in the pouring rain. I know I have had to get on the roof in the pouring rain and do just this. When the rain stops, remove the vent and seal it properly underneath the edge with butyl tape

Linda S

[Totem]

^ what she said in a pinch I go to butyl also. cheap and easy to get too. plus when done it can double as silly putty for the kids (just kidding)

[TacomaSue]

I'm in Western WA and I can sympathize with the difficulty you are having sealing your vent leak. I resealed my vent three times before I got the leaks. The vent was added by some previous owner and the hole is 15 x 15 for the 14" square vent so the vent flange only covers the hole a little bit on two sides. What worked best for me was 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant, Fast Cure 4200. It is a bit pricey, but made for wet marine environments. It is available from marine supply stores and ACE Hardware. When working with it, you'll need to wear rubber gloves as it is very sticky and difficult to get off skin.

Here's the process I followed: Take vent off and scrape or otherwise clean the old stuff off really well. As a last cleaning, rub the area with alcohol. The area has to be really clean for #4200 to stick well. I put down a strip of blue painters tape about an 1/8 inch beyond the edge of the vent so I could get a sharp caulk line and not have caulk everywhere. Put a generous bead of #4200 around the edge of the hole and into all the screw holes. Squish the vent down into the caulk, screw the vent down and smooth the caulk around the edges of the vent.

Despite the fact that the vent was sealed onto the roof, I still had water coming in. What I found was that the rubber seal around the top inside edge of the vent had rolled over and allowed water to come over the top of the inside part of the vent. You could not see the problem when the inside screen was on. I added household weather stripping all the way around the inside edge of the vent and that seems to have finally caught the last of the water leak. As a last protection for the heavy rains and wind we have been having, I put a tarp over the motorhome.