Dear Dave,
Hi, there. I just put EternaBond tape on the side top of my RV running front to back. Talk about wrinkles galore. Very hard tape to work with. Any suggestions to remove and start over, or how to get rid of the wrinkles? Thanks for your time. —Tim, 2011 Heartland Edge M21
Dear Tim,
I have used EternaBond® and Flex Seal® Flex Tape® several times and found EternaBond to adhere better and last longer. I did have a few “trial and error” sessions when it came to a nice smooth installation.
My biggest tip for a smooth installation of sealant tape
The biggest tip I could give is spend some extra time on the prep stage. It seems EternaBond will enhance every bump or wave in the sealant that is still on the roof. If you overlapped the side, it would be almost impossible to get a smooth transition with a rocky horizonal application.
Take the time to heat the old sealant and get as smooth of a finish as possible. Then, during the application, I found applying it in a heated environment or using a heat gun on low helped to “mold” or stretch the tape and provided a superior installation.
However, now that you have the EternaBond applied, about the only way you can get it off is with a heat gun. I have not removed a large section before. However, I did use a heat gun to remove an 8-foot section that was applied as a band-aid on the road—and it took patience!
I have seen a few units that looked like they had EternaBond applied to the edge and then a layer of self-leveling sealant such as Dicor on the roof. It looked better, but was not perfectly smooth. It did nothing for the side, as it would just run off. I don’t think non-sag sealant would help at all.
Maybe cover the non-smooth tape
Another option would be to cover the tape with a trim piece such as an “L”-shaped painted metal or even chrome. We had a trailer that had a large gouge at the top almost the entire length of the unit. Rather than reskin, we applied EternaBond and then covered it with a strip of chrome the width of the tape. We did the same to the other side and it looked like it was meant to be there all the time.
I’m sure our many readers have had experience with EternaBond, so feel free help Tim out with your tips and tricks in the comments below.
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook” as well as the Managing Editor of the RV Repair Club.
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How did you fasten the chrome trim to the top of the Eterabond?
You want to have fun, attempt to remove “Diamond Shield.” It is a very tough removal process and takes an amazing amount of time. Then, you have to deal with the adhesive. Most of the removal liquids will not touch it. I had to use a rubber wheel.
Really hate the stuff.
I agree! If you can get the film off, Goo Gone does a nice job of removing the adhesive.
Had 3M film on the front cap. 1week later i was done. Heat gun to get the film off and 3 cans of 3M adhesive remover followed with 3 more cans of Goo Gone and 2 sets of plastic chisels all with a lot of elbow grease as the main ingredient. One PIA of a job.
Been there, Diamond Shield looks great new but several years down the road it becomes ugly. Spent a week on my coach getting the film off and probably spent another week getting the old glue off. I used Lacquer Thinner to get the old glue off. Never again.