Roof Drip Rail & Seam Sealer

After finishing the new headliner, I flipped the roof "right side up" and put it on our trailer for the trip over to Gord'ns and the long-awaited final assembly. Thats when I remember the paint on the roof wasn't in the best shape so I used compound to clean it up a bit (separate post). In the course of rinsing off the compound, I discovered the roof leaked along the drip rail. This should not have been a surprise since the original headliner frame was badly rusted.

This meant re-sealing where the aluminum roof is riveted to the galvanized drip rail. The first step was to chip and scrape out the old sealant. Most of it popped out in big brittle chunks by there was some that was still gooey. This suggests to me that spot repairs had been made over the past 33 years. Once I had nearly all of the old sealant out, I used the drill and wire wheel to remove the rest.

I found some 3M "Fast'n Firm" seam sealer at a local auto body store (Wesco) and had the choice between clear or beige. Since the first ingredient in the beige seam sealer is limestone, I had to chose that one! As you can see in the pictures below, it is actually a pretty close match to the original limestone paint.

The seam sealer is applied with a regular household caulking gun and is not quite as thick as household caulk. It took me about 45 minutes to apply it all around the roof and "tool" it with my finger. I will wait a full day before mounting the roof rack just to make sure it is fully set.