I had been planning on re-sealing the gutters and drip rail someday as some areas were cracked and causing light rust on the underside painted area of the gutter near the doors.
One day a couple weeks ago, I was walking by my truck and got curious and started picking at the original seam sealer a little bit. From there my destiny was written. I opened up a can of worms and I'm glad I did.
The hardest and most time consuming part was removing the old seam sealer and drip rail caulk. I think someone had put a additional layer of sealant down on too of the original because some of it was a breeze, however other areas were a straight up PITA.
The most useful tools to remove the seam sealer were:
Various picks (straight and angled)
1/4 and 3/8" cold chisels
Hammer
Dremel wire brush (used 2)
As you can see, it's basically a mess once you get started. Lots of patience was required. This photo was taken shortly after I started removing old sealant.
Some of it was pulverized away once I had some momentum going, other areas were almost like concrete
On my truck, the vertical edge of the channel had a good amount of sealant locked in. It took some effort at its particular location. The idea is too remove all of the old sealant so I recommend taking the time to do so.
Birds eye view
As I got to the rear of the truck, I ran into some rusty areas. Again, I'm glad I got curious that one day and started peeling up the sealant. This could have been worse.
After I cleaned out the old sealant I brushed Ospho throughout the whole gutter and let it convert the rust. Following that, I Dremel wire wheeled the rust and leftover bits of sealant. Finally, using compressed air, blew off dust and wiped gutter with alcohol to remove any residue.
Step one completed.....
Next up was the masking of the truck for primer. The seam sealer I used is Evercoat Self-Leveling Seam Sealer and requires the use of an epoxy primer. Nasty stuff. I used Eastwoods 2k aerosol epoxy primer, which is convenient for jobs like this.
Final sealing materials
One day a couple weeks ago, I was walking by my truck and got curious and started picking at the original seam sealer a little bit. From there my destiny was written. I opened up a can of worms and I'm glad I did.
The hardest and most time consuming part was removing the old seam sealer and drip rail caulk. I think someone had put a additional layer of sealant down on too of the original because some of it was a breeze, however other areas were a straight up PITA.
The most useful tools to remove the seam sealer were:
Various picks (straight and angled)
1/4 and 3/8" cold chisels
Hammer
Dremel wire brush (used 2)
As you can see, it's basically a mess once you get started. Lots of patience was required. This photo was taken shortly after I started removing old sealant.
Some of it was pulverized away once I had some momentum going, other areas were almost like concrete
On my truck, the vertical edge of the channel had a good amount of sealant locked in. It took some effort at its particular location. The idea is too remove all of the old sealant so I recommend taking the time to do so.
Birds eye view
As I got to the rear of the truck, I ran into some rusty areas. Again, I'm glad I got curious that one day and started peeling up the sealant. This could have been worse.
After I cleaned out the old sealant I brushed Ospho throughout the whole gutter and let it convert the rust. Following that, I Dremel wire wheeled the rust and leftover bits of sealant. Finally, using compressed air, blew off dust and wiped gutter with alcohol to remove any residue.
Step one completed.....
Next up was the masking of the truck for primer. The seam sealer I used is Evercoat Self-Leveling Seam Sealer and requires the use of an epoxy primer. Nasty stuff. I used Eastwoods 2k aerosol epoxy primer, which is convenient for jobs like this.
Final sealing materials
