Cleaned the roof of the caravan today, now looks lovely and shiny but I know it won't last.
The amount of sealant that has over the years oozed out of the frames of the roof lights is huge, at least half an inch that is now black with grime and dirt. As soon as it rains this is going to ruin my nice shiny roof.
Part of me wanted to get a silicone smoothing tool out and remove a lot of the excess, but I didn't. But still tempted.
Do I or don't I??
I feel your pain. We bought a two year old caravan and the roof is marked with sealant as the first owner ad a satellite dish and a solar panel on the roof. All that is left is marks of sealant where the cables ran.
------------- We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
I think you have already guessed what the advice will be - if it's not broke don't fix it. Removing the excess sealant may well cause water ingress. Complete removal of the roof lights removing all existing sealant then resealing the vents would give you a nice clean and hopefully waterproof finish. I wouldn't be tempted to touch it. It might clean with white spirits but as white spirit is used to remove sealant it has risks, if you do try white spirits it will soften the sealant, I would use very sparingly, wash the area with water after then smear the area you applied the white spirit with turps.
It's good to have sealant squeezing out. It shows they have used enough. The cause of damp in quite new caravans is usually gaps in the sealant application during production.
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Topic: Excess sealant
