Mould on sealant (2 Viewers)

[Beemobile]

I've used TFR rather brutally in the past, bear with me, I use it neat from a spray bottle but only doing a tiny bit at a time then rinsing with copious amounts of water.
The TFR needs to be the caustic type, not the feeble ordinary stuff the snowflakes want us to use.
Gloves are required & the whole vehicle will need a polish or wax treatment as the TFR strips it back very quickly.
The good news is that it only takes 30 seconds per area, leave it on for about 15 seconds then rinse & it only needs doing once every couple of years.

I have an aversion to yellowing sealant or external plastic work on caravans or motorhomes & bought a Bessacarr caravan a number of years ago which was in a shocking state & had it looking like new in no time. Sadly I do not have before & after photo's but I'm sure you'll agree that it works.
I've been doing this for many years but, you must remember to rinse thoroughly.

I know this post will boggle the minds of the purists on here but, if you don't want to try it that is of course your decision.
View attachment 348837

Sounds OK but wet n forget is non caustic, I'd be worried around windows.

 

[ambulancekidd]

Sounds OK but wet n forget is non caustic, I'd be worried around windows.

I've found that the non caustic does not work.
The windows are fine with it, I owned an Award Transtar for 11 years & used the caustic TFR on it ever couple of years with no ill effects.
My old next door neighbour still owns the van which is now ancient but it looks like new, the windows are perfect.

 

[Nixdorfer]

Looks nice, think the problem some of us have is its got into the sealant so shows as stains

I managed to inprove ours but no matter how much cleaning with any products its still visible and lets the rest down. The only courses of actions seem to be replace, cover or live with it.

Ordered some of the Soudal RV61 as suggested for when I get round to having a go

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[ambulancekidd]

Looks nice, think the problem some of us have is its got into the sealant so shows as stains

I managed to inprove ours but no matter how much cleaning with any products its still visible and lets the rest down. The only courses of actions seem to be replace, cover or live with it.

Ordered some of the Soudal RV61 as suggested for when I get round to having a go

I currently have an elderly swift Kon-Tiki & the sealant looks horrible on it, but it does have a decent coating of wax which will see it through the winter.
I'll get to it in the spring, some sealant is poorly done & will need replacing but a lot of it is just badly stained, I'll probably do a wee video on cleaning it when I get round to it.

Here's another of my caravans which needed the treatment despite it being brand new, the rubber gaskets round the bottom awning rail looked terrible but, came up a treat with some TLC.
The van is now in New Zealand & the owner says it looks fantastic.

 

[wardj2010]

Mould stained silicone is an un-avoidable consequence of wet environment - have repaired many shower/bath areas - the only simple solution is to cut out the main body of silicone with very sharp (new blade) craft knife and then remove the residue by light scraping with sharp chisel (carefully) - finally wipe with white spirit cloth - dry fully (careful use of heat gun) - proprietary silicone removers are also good at this stage but need to be cleaned afterwards with white spirit and dried before re-application of silicone - not bother with expensive 'mould resistant' silicones as all perform the same

 

[Vipar]

Read on here in the past “elbow Grease”. 99p Tesco’s

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[Chris+Tracy]

While at a motorhome dealer i asked the guy who was preparing a motorhome what he was using to clean it with, reply
Elbow Grease.
Did a very good job from what i could see.

On our showet at home we use neat, cheap bleach.
Apply, leave for 10 mins then use a magic sponge.
Does a great job and could work well on that stained mould.
Worth a try but wash well with soapy water after to neutralise.

 

[Nixdorfer]

This is ours

Tried bleach, neat TFR (takes your fingerprints off), T-Cut, Some stuff a MH dealer gave me. Toothbrush and cillit bang mould remover worked best. But still didn't shift the worst of it

Admittedly some of it in photo will wipe off as haven't washed it for a bit. But a lot is engrained in the sealant. Suspect someone has used the wrong stuff in the past as seems a bit translucent so can see the stains behind it.

When I get time I'll have a go at removing the worst bits and replacing. If that works ok then will do the rest, failing that run a new bead over the top to freshen it up. Can't look any worse

 

[dochiley]

Interesting!! What are you going to use as replacement sealant? A Polyurethane rather than a silicone option seems to preferred by "them that know".

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[Nixdorfer]

Got some of the Soudal RV61

Datasheet claims it MS Polymer, hopefully the right stuff

 

[gwyntaxi]

2011 Dethleffs coach-built... the white sealant used to seal the join between the cab to the habitation, is 'mouldy', as in it has lots of black/grey staining. Is there a way to freshen this up without damaging the bodywork or the sealant? Also, l'm guessing this sealant eventually loses its flexibility. Is it common practice to strip it out and reseal?

Maybe try a thin layer over it over mould resistant silicone at least it would be white again or maybe carefully painting it with a white oil based paint, that should also seal it from future discolouration.

 

[Chris+Tracy]

Ok.
Remove all that you can and re-seal.
Beyond recovery.

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[Otter Spotter]

I've used TFR rather brutally in the past, bear with me, I use it neat from a spray bottle but only doing a tiny bit at a time then rinsing with copious amounts of water.
The TFR needs to be the caustic type, not the feeble ordinary stuff the snowflakes want us to use.
Gloves are required & the whole vehicle will need a polish or wax treatment as the TFR strips it back very quickly.
The good news is that it only takes 30 seconds per area, leave it on for about 15 seconds then rinse & it only needs doing once every couple of years.

I have an aversion to yellowing sealant or external plastic work on caravans or motorhomes & bought a Bessacarr caravan a number of years ago which was in a shocking state & had it looking like new in no time. Sadly I do not have before & after photo's but I'm sure you'll agree that it works.
I've been doing this for many years but, you must remember to rinse thoroughly.

I know this post will boggle the minds of the purists on here but, if you don't want to try it that is of course your decision.
View attachment 348837
Oh I meant to say, that I bought this caravan really cheaply due to the state of it, I had it for two years, never had to retreat it & sold it on for a £3k profit.

When using this stuff it can be alarming as the yellowing runs off in a one go & you can actually see it running down the van.
Its also brilliant at cleaning plastic garden chairs, or white plastic drain pipes on your house, brings them up like new.

What’s TFR ?

 

[fullfat]

Traffic Film Remover

 

[Falcon 269]

I used Autoglym polish on ours and it worked very well. Just rub it like you do when polishing the paintwork.

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[Baldeagle7470]

Believe it or not I have had good results with WD40,rubbed on with a rag.

 

[Raul]

Plus one on WD40, it removes chewing gum, tar, glue , etc. I’m surprised nobody uses Muck Off. I use it on bike, car and van. Cuts thru grime very well. As for silicone, I think you will struggle to find something better than CT1.