I'm sure that there is someone on here that's been there done that and has a better way of removing old caulking material.

We purchased a 1997 Merhow Alumistar from a dealer as is. We saw the signs of water leak (leaking plumbing, and tile flooring coming up) and hoped it was all plumbing issues. We repaired the plumbing, opened up the floor, still water standing between floor runners. We then ripped out the old flooring and insulation down to the aluminum floor. As we were trying to dry the floor out a heavy rain set in.....Augh!!

That's right roof leaks; someone has caulked and puttied the crap out of this. I waited till we finally had a warm sunny day to start removing the old caulk. From doing this on the last trailer I knew the sun was my friend to get the old calking more pliable to remove easier. Is there an easier way to remove the caulking? I tried finding a heated putty knife but no luck.

Once I do get down to clean aluminum I will be using flow able caulking my local vender recommended and then overlay with 4" or 6" aluminum seam tape.

Any thoughts or advice from veteran repair jobs would be appreciated.

I did try searching and didn't find a thread that helped.

Happy Riding!

Try a wire cup brush in an angle grinder.  Wear googles since the caulk comes off as tiny particles.  A light touch will get you to bare metal quickly.

Unless you're well experienced in handling an angle grinder, I would not recommend using a steel cup brush in one, to remove the caulking from an aluminum roof. They run at ~11000 rpm and the steel cup can cut through the soft metal in seconds if you're not careful. If you're working with a steel structure it's a perfect tool. If you do use this combination of tools, make sure the cup's strands are not the twisted knot, braded versions. Only use the softer resulting, crimped style.

I would recommend a brass wheel mounted on a mandrel, powered by a common electric drill. It runs at a much slower speed making the effort much more controllable, and the brass won't be as likely to erode the aluminum. It won't be as fast, but you will greatly reduce the chance of damaging the metal. They are availabel at WaltMart, most hardware and big box stores.

You might also consider the usage of an Elastomeric product instead of caulking. It is easily applied to inside angles and difficult spots with a brush, that a caulking gun can't reach. UV damage to it is much less than that of many caulking compounds. If you want to use a caulking material, marine grade caulks will provide the longest lasting sealant.

http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/forum/thread-view.asp?threadid=18350

Glad you're familiar with wire brushes... even with the angle grinder this is a slow, tedious job.   

If the sheets have voids between them, it's important to fasten the edges together.  It's the movement between sheets that destroys the seal.  I used pop rivets whenever I found movement at the sheet edge.  I also used the eternabond rv tape.  I used a small rubber caster wheel as a roller to press the tape down.  I found hand pressure alone didn't bond the tape to the surface well enough.