bodywork joint seal going black

I am noticing that the joint seal between the main body and the skirt is turning grey/black in places. I guess this is silicone sealant and will need removing and resealing ....... like the seal around the edge of the bath.
Not the easiest job to do and to get a neat finish from my experience!
Has anyone done this or found a better solution?
Would appreciate any ideas.
Thanks

Yes I have have had this, and have just persevered and cleaned it. I suppose there is an age where all this should be replaced as you have thought but not something I would look forward to doing. The side bit may be ok but the areas around the running board on the cab would be a right pain

Treat it the same as the bath edge sealant, thick bleach applied with a toothbrush, leave it for a few minutes then wash off. Mine came up as good as new.
Al.

Mine is like it already and only two years old. Cheap sealant ?

Second that Jaytee.

At three years old the van looks pristine but the sealer especially on the rear panel has a lot of staining and even shrinkage holes in places. Tried bleach, barkeepers friend etc but nothing seems to make a difference.

I will be cutting ours out and replacing it with white sikaflex but not even thinking about it until the weather is warm and sunny.

I don't know what A/S use but it isn't up to much....

When I had a tour of the factory in 2013 I saw how the skirts are attached. They use a LOT of that sealant and then tape across to hold it in place while the sealant cures. So I would bet that it is Sikafex and I would not try to cut any of mine out. Cleaning is the answer but I don't know what with - Ask Mark?

hi All
i have used HG mould spray for this and black mould and it works a treat.  you must read all the instructions before use as it is a strong bleach.  i water it down 50 50 and use a toothbrush to apply washing off and then reapplying leaving it on as it works over several hours.  i would test a small area first.
geof

Picked up our van last December, so it was impossible to avoid getting road salt all over it. Some of the sealant immediately turned blackish, some of it is still pristine white. This seems to indicate that there is no single sealing product(s) they use. It is not simply different "runs" of sealant that are either blackish or white, some runs change part way along, wherever the cartridge ran out, perhaps.

Very disappointing.

gef wrote:HG mould spray

Thanks Geof - I'll try to get hold of some and give it a go.

Pete Taylor wrote:Picked up our van last December, so it was impossible to avoid getting road salt all over it. Some of the sealant immediately turned blackish, some of it is still pristine white. This seems to indicate that there is no single sealing product(s) they use. It is not simply different "runs" of sealant that are either blackish or white, some runs change part way along, wherever the cartridge ran out, perhaps.

Very disappointing.

As we were in Broadway last week I called into the A-S Service dept, on the off-chance, to show them my "black bits". They could not have been more helpful. It turns out that the seams are not sealed after the skirts are fitted, as I had supposed (therefore I was wrong about tube of sealant running out) and in fact the skirt is a three-piece alluminium section. The uppermost section goes on first and is pre-covered with sealant, the bolts are nipped up and sealant is squeezed out, the surplus being wiped off. Then the second and third alluminium sections slide in sideways (lengthways).

It looks like the sections where it was most difficult to wipe off the surplus- under the badge next to the hab door and under the side-locker door are the main areas where the black-stuff has appeared. Gentle prodding with a little piece of rounded wood loosened the black-stuff, which appears to be some sort of algae which has formed along these sections where water has gathered.

I have invested in a  child's soft toothbrush (with a rather-fetching green dinosaur handle) which is an excellent means of removing the black-stuff from the harder to reach areas, without resorting to any chemicals, bleach etc.

In the fullness of time, of course, it might be necessary to resort to some of the suggestions already made.

Glad that Mark could help. That sounds lke what I saw in progress at the factory but I guess that I saw it after the bolts had been nipped up.  I did not notice any bolts which made me think that they were simply glued on with the sealant!

The worst algae on my 2012 Nuevo is the drainage holes of the front decor strip over the cab. Loads of algae gets in there and has to be gently teased out with a small brush and a gentle rinse from above.

When we took delivery of our new Broadway in March 2014, on inspecting the roof, the sealant on all the windows (which was still sticky) was deeply ingrained with dust and leaf debris, as though the van had been immediately stored outside, possibly under trees, as soon as the sealing work was complete. I have spent ages trying to get the unsightly roof sealant cleaned without damaging its integrity. Also soon after we received the van, it was back at the dealers for repairs to the two strips of sealant front and back on the roof, as whoever had worked on it in the AS factory had impressed his fingers or tools into it leaving deep holes!
Apart from that and a few other snags, our Broadway is brilliant.

Mark and his team have been great.

Pete

Since first reporting the problem the mould is cultivating well on my motorhome sealant joints. See pic. Got the HG Mould Spray now as recommended above so will get it sorted this coming week.

Hi Steve 
Looking forward to seeing the results of your HG mould remover spray,, my last van a 09 Nuevo was plagued with mould above the gray skirting.
Replaced the sealant twice in three years, my Sigma isn't as bad, however I find the brake dust and exhaust soot leaves black oily deposits on the sealant above the skirting .
Season greetings 
Boaby

Yes, looking fwd to the results programme Steve  oops sorry been watching too much TV. I just meant results 

The final wash down of 2015, the mould on the sealant isn't to bad so far this winter, however theres alot of muck in and around the joints.
Boaby

The sealant joint seems to breakdown over time and on the Broadway ours had black mould actually ingrained into the sealant. I've carefully cut the sealant out using the edge of a credit card or store card as recommended by Auto-Sleepers and then re-sealed the joints, It's easy enough to do but time consuming. The sealant needs several days to fully cure before driving to prevent road dirt / debris clinging to it.

I've used Sikaflex & Soudaseal but you can get sealants that have an anti mould additive built into such as this here:  http://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/pub/pdfs/Aquaseal_mSEAL-595_Technical_Datasheet.pdf

Hi CC
Hope you had a nice Christmas ? The sealant on the rear quarter panels have black mould, dirt ? ingrained  into the sealant like on your van CC.
I will have to wait until spring time to remove the mouldy sealant, I'm using 512
Boaby

I wondered about using frog tape to get the edges nice and straight but maybe this would make the job harder. I planned to use sikaflex but will have a look here in Canada if there is something different available.Anyway a job for the late spring when we get back.

steve00136 wrote:

gef wrote:HG mould spray

Thanks Geof - I'll try to get hold of some and give it a go.

Used the HG Mould Spray for the first time today and really impressed. Saves a lot of work digging the old sealant out and resealing it.
Thanks for the tip Geof

How would you feel about an 'after' picture Steve having seen the 'before'? Might try some of that myself!

I bought some fly and insect remover spray from a Pound shop for guess what, 1 pound.
I think its called 'astonish'. They also do cheap polish etc in the same brand.
Sprayed it on the joints and wiped it off, did it a couple of times, all nice and white and clean now.
Dave

After picture as requested

Thanks..... that is a big improvement!

All the sealant was going black on mine, I used Geof's tip and used bleach, a small paintbrush and a bucket of water after I had thoroughly washed the van.
It almost all came up as new!  There are a few bits that I need to do again, but it's amazing the difference it makes, the van looks new again!