Butyl putty tape

[Franklin1]

G'day All,

Anybody had any first-hand experience using butyl putty tape?

Looks like this...




Plenty of blurb can be read here

Various sellers listing it on the UNO auction site in USA (check both normal and ebay Motors over there)

I'm wondering if this stuff would be a better proposition than messy cartridges for sealing window frames etc. to bondwood surfaces?

cheers,
Al.

[barbarab]

Hi,
I looked online and there seem to be a lot of brands available here too.
Has anyone used it on their caravans? If so, where?
Barbara B

[Franklin1]

G'day Barbarab,

I'm curious to know how "squishy" this stuff is, and how easily it moulds to the gap between the two surfaces.

One of the problems I found with the cartridge sealant method, is how much is wasted when it oozes out of the gap as you screw the fitting in. In my non-vintage restoration, I used 29 cartridges around the van. People were staggered. "29cartridges??!! You can bet your life the manufacturers didn't use that many!!" But the corrugated profile on my cladding meant there were many valleys to fill correctly. I probably wasted about a quarter of the cartridges with the amount that oozed out and was then scraped off. I recently read on this forum, that if you're not wasting 1 in 4 cartridges, then you're not doing the job properly. Small consolation at $6 per cartridge, even worse at $18 per cartridge.

Once upon a time, you could get Denso tape from the caravan parts suppliers. This sort of tape was what they apparently used in the old days for sealing under the J-mould on bondwood vans. But they don't stock it anymore. It came in a roll similar to the butyl tape...





I see in the various listings for the butyl putty tape that it comes in a few different thicknesses and widths. The 1/8" thick butyl tape should be good for when you've got two perfectly flat surfaces to seal. But when you've got dips and hollows in the joint, I'd be wanting to make sure the tape fully filled in all the air pockets. Maybe I could buy the 1/4" thick stuff and squeeze the guts out of it when I'm fixing the two surfaces together. Then I could just clean the excess off with a paint scraper, rather than the more fussier method of tissue pads and turps. I reckon the tape would also eliminate the need for all the masking tape that is used around the fittings when using cartridges.

I might end up buying a roll of the 1/4" thick stuff and see how it goes, if nobody on this forum 'fesses up to having already tried it.

cheers,
Al.

[philouise]

G'day Al.

I used that stuff on the "classic franklin."

I stuck it on the back of the aluminium windows then placed the windows into the caravan aluminium opening.

Gently replaced the screws all around the frame and kept going till i thought it was tight enough.

Scraped off the small excess - works well.

I bought it from a Jayco repair shop and it was readilly available last year.

Mind you, i dont like water coming in so i still placed a smear of "silicone" against the join.. - just to be sure.

Cheers.

Phil

[seeshell]

HI there

I bought a little of the butyl tape but haven't used it yet. Got it from CARAC in Dandenong because I just wanted to try it out before I hoe in.

Many years ago, I was given good advice about polite conversation:

• Never talk about politics.
  
• Never talk about religion.
  
• Never talk about sealants.
  

I haven't used the tape yet, but I wondered about what you said about using it in uneven situations.

If the panels you are joining aren't even (once is say a window frame and the other is aluminum cladding profile) could you lay the tape where you want it and cut shorter pieces to go into the low points? This might effectively mean that the sealant is "flat/level" before you very rightly screw the two pieces down tight as you can.

Just a thought
Seeshell

[Franklin1]

G'day seeshell,

Were you given that good advice before Ebay started up??


Ok, since you are the custodian of some of said butyl putty, then you are now officially the resident EXPERT about said putty! ;D

And so, could you tell me if it is really squishy when you press on a layer of it, or does it take a fair bit of pressure to make it spread out?

I understand what you are saying about layering it. Hence my curiosity about how easy or difficult it is to compress the stuff.

If you break a bit off the roll, can you roll it around in your fingers and squeeze it easily like plasticine?

Over to you, seeshell, for a full scientific report...

Thanking you in anticipation, ;D
cheers,
Al.

[seeshell]

Hi there

*ducks out to the shed*

It's pretty tacky and has the consistency of pliable chewing gum.

Can easily press into it with my fingernail, and pretty easily formed/rolled in my hand - so I assume it would also conform under pressure?

It's easy to peel off the backing and lay down too, if that matters. Not too dirty to handle.

Hope that helps!
Seeshell

[philouise]

G'day again.

I was goint to amend my post to say "do not use on uneven surfaces" but my memory is coming back.

The aluminium walls on the franklin were fairly shaped so i didn't flatten the putty while applying and some rolls were slightly fatter than others.

I squished the putty to make it fatter but not narrower and when the window was screwed in, i made sure that all the putty did flatten, some areas more so than others depending on the wall shape.

I didn't add bits to make it fatter.

Cheers.
Phil

[Franklin1]

G'day seeshell,

Yep, it does! Thanks for that.

I need to clarify the expression "squeeze the guts out of it" that I used above, and relate it to your words "screw the two pieces down tight as you can."

My demented logic tells me that sealant works best if it has a reasonable thickness to it in the finished product. What is a "reasonable thickness"? I have no idea.

When I reinstalled the windows in my van, I decided the thickness of a paddle pop stick would be my "reasonable thickness", and so I stuck said stick between the window and the cladding, and tightened the screws until the stick just "held" in the gap...




I tried to do the same all around the van, with water inlet, power inlet, edge moulding, fridge vents, door frame, etc etc. I wasn't always successful, and sometimes screwed in too far. I'm predicting that if I ever get water leaks in the future, it will be in those areas where I've screwed in too far, and the sealant is "too thin". Time will tell...

And so, my words "squeeze the guts out of it" meant in this case to squeeze the original putty tape thickness of 1/4" down to about the thickness of a paddle pop stick (about 1mm or slightly more). Does that make sense?


Ooh, Phil, I just realised you slotted in another post after I hit the [Send] button. Thanks also to you for your information. I'm gonna get some of this stuff and give it a go. ;D

What's the worst that can happen...another leaking bondwood? Ha!...dime a dozen

cheers,
Al.

[barbarab]

Hi,
Tony's going to go to Carac maybe Friday and have a go too. We'll give you as progress report.
Barbara B

[seeshell]

Hmmm.

I've been thinking about this this afternoon since you asked me to look at the tape. If form follows function this tape really is set up to be laid out on a flat surface as a single line. It is pliable, but that is probably just to make a seal.

Thinking about what you wanted to use it for, that didn't seem as fit for purpose as it could be.

I had a bit of an idea. What about closed cell foam? Closed cell foam is rugged, easy to get, and comes in all kinds of thicknesses and compression strengths. I know you can get it at Clark rubber.

Let's say you have a difference of 3/8" at the deepest point between your aluminum body profile and the flat window frame. You could buy slightly larger thickness closed cell foam (1/2") and put it between the window and the wall. Screw it down until you have the right seal.

Being closed cell it won't take up water - you could even add a bit of sealant or adhesive under it to make sure it wouldn't move or ensure any last little variance was truly closed - and in future it would be easy to remove if you wanted to (for whatever reason). Basically you would be making a special gasket that was more contoured to your body skin profile.

Food for thought
Seeshell

[Franklin1]

Yep, seeshell, I can understand what you're saying. I used the closed cell foam around the louvre windows on the van to seal them when they're wound in and closed onto the frame. So far so good in terms of waterproofing. Certainly an option worth considering.

Funnily enough, you can get the closed cell foam with an outer layer of butyl sealant, so it looks like all sorts of different products are being developed for sealing end-uses.

I think the majority of the sealing I'll be doing on the bondwood project is flat on flat so I might give the butyl tape a go. Maybe I could do one half of the van in tape, and the other half in foam Sort of be a travelling experiment! If it all fails, I know you'll let me sleep under your van where it's nice and dry. ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[joey]

Hello,
Does anyone know if this butyl tape has any negative side effects to fibreglass?

Thanks,
Joey

[seeshell]

Hi all

Ah well, Al, I was looking at your picture of sealant and popsicle sticks, thinking that was your project van - the aluminium one. Actually my next move was to propose you buy a box of Paddle Pops and try out a full seal with those. ;D

For a Bondy the tape would work a treat I reckon!

I think your mixed media proposal for your van would have some kind of Olympic difficulty rating! The East German judge is going to pip you for non-conformity. But you're just here to compete, and you don't care about the medals, do you?...just an honour to be nominated, blah blah

And Joey - no, no negative effects from the tape on fibreglass I've ever heard of (I plan to try it out).

Cheers
Seeshell

[boblor]

Hi All
I use a modified Butyl mastic from a tube, and apply with a gun, and it compatiable with fibreglass not like silicone. The one I use is made by Sika --- 511. This product allows movement between the window and the body without breaking down the seal. When I bought it a couple of years ago I had to buy a carton of 12 tubes @ $84 , a tube will do the average van, I looked at it like ,$84 to seal the van for a long time was cheap, and I have given a number of tubes away to fellow vanners.
Cheers boblor