Sealing rain gutter to skin of the roof

[xsbowes]

I need to seal this all the way around:



And would like it to last more than a few months. I've thought about separating them but that's a lot of rivets and I don't think the pop rivets would cut it when its time to put it back together. I do plan on cleaning all this old stuff off.

Thanks

[SafeAirOne]

Hmm...That's a tough one. I dont' suppose you're willing to accept the fact that rovers just leak and wear a raincoat on rainy days like everyone else?

I just had a look at my rivets--The rivets look like some sort of low-profile specialty roll rivet, similar to ones used to hold brake linings on the shoe. Even if you drilled out the old rivets, you may have difficulty finding proper replacement rivets. Even if you found the replacement rivets, I believe you'd have a very hard time finding the appropriate squeezer for these rivets. Blind (or "pop") rivets aren't suitable here--they'd foul the rain gutter or stick down too much if you installed them the other way.

If it were me, I'd get all the old gunk off, strip the paint down to bare aluminum, prime the area with an etching primer, repaint the gutter, then apply a relatively small bead of suitable caulking around the join seam, then repaint after the caulking dries. I'd have to rethink the whole thing if there is a leakage problem around all the rivets. I don't think I really like the idea of sealant coating the entire bottom of the gutter channel, like it does in your photo. I don't know why--it's just an asthetic thing, I guess. Of course, nobody ever sees the inside of the rain gutters...

[alaskajosh]

I used a caulk product found at building supply stores called "Big Stretch". It's made for sealing exterior applications (UV OK, etc). There are many colors available and I found a great match for my roof. Otherwise it is paintable.
Another thing nice about it is that it is easily "tooled" (fingered in my case) meaning you can spead it neatly and easily.
I just went right over all the nasty.

Kind regards, Josh

[Eric W S]

Rivets are available from Big Flat Rivets as is the correct bucking bar. The gutters were originally galvanized and the edges left unpainted. Lots of work to properly replicate.

Any body shop should be able to get you a self leveling sealer that will properly seal the gutters. Have it sprayed over in limestone and your done if you decide not to re galvanize the gutter piece. There are also products for the seams in the roof as well. Most likely have to have the top removed and drop it off with your shop. Looks like your either using the wrong sealant or that it is degrading due to UV.

www.land-roverco.com has a decent pic in their restoration page of the gutter removed from the roof and re-galvanized. The pics of the Red Rover in the SWB show how the Galv is treated on the roof.

Also, surf ECR's site in both the Series and Defender restoration sections. Mike shows several pics of sealing roofs as well.

My old 90 had a leak in a seam and it drove me nuts. I eventually caved as the water was getting to the bulkhead and it was going to be easier in the long run to repair the seams than to replace the bulkhead down the road...

[Daurie]

If you're lookng to just reseal it I would use something like 3M 4000UV

http://www.shop3m.com/marine-adhesive-sealant-fast-cure.html?WT.z_xsell=1&WT.z_refSKU=3M-MARINE-ADHESIVE-SEALANT-FAST-CURE-5200

[luckyjoe]

do it right...

I separated my roof and gutter channel then reassembled. The more I dug into it, the more I realized it would never be right unless taken apart and cleaned. I did a 109 roof, which consists of ~171 semitubular rivets. It's simple enough to lop-off the rivet heads with a cold chisel, and with a tiny bit of heat you can easily seprate everything. Next you need to seriously clean everything - remove every trace of the original sealant as well as any other goop PO's may have slopped in there. I reassembled with correct semi-tubular rivets (from the link above) and 3M 5200 marine adhesive. I still used a urethane sealant on the exterior gutter channel as a second line of defense.

[rovertek]

looks like the old stuff will remove with a little work carefully picking at it with a small screw driver then scraping,you will not need to seperate the skin,but i would i would wash the area to be sealed with solvent like dupont 3812, i have used 3M ultrapro sealant (tan) for 30 yrs and never had it crack or peel and looks great.....

[Tim Smith]

Holy smokes! These guys are perfectionists.

Water wants to flow down, right? So make sure the old goop isn't stopping that from happening (a lip in the caulking before water makes it to the gutter spout) and then just clean it up for a good seal and caulk liberally from the inside.

So long as you get a good seal on the galvanizing on the inside, there really isn't any way the water would want to climb back up hill to get you on the knees. Of course you will want to use a sparing amount on the leading edge of the outside to stop ingress on those blistering highway runs. But oh what the heck, give a nice run around the outer edge while you are at it.

[alaskajosh]

Holy smokes! These guys are perfectionists.

No kidding

We've got the whole gammut here.. from the $10 fix on up to several hundred!

Good luck with whatever you do!!

[Tim Smith]

No kidding

We've got the whole gammut here.. from the $10 fix on up to several hundred!

Good luck with whatever you do!!

Didn't mean to sound anti perfection. I'm just cheap.

Healthy discussion about rovers is always good.

[xsbowes]

Thanks to all who responded to this. I found a silicon remover that after sitting for 24 hrs made this old stuff come off a lot easier.

http://www.mckanica.com/index.php/Silicone-Removers/View-all-Silicone-Removers-products.html

got it at ace. 3M and DAP sell something similar.

Thanks again

[SafeAirOne]

Thanks to all who responded to this. I found a silicon remover that after sitting for 24 hrs made this old stuff come off a lot easier.

I hope that isn't the "after" photo--It looks exactly the same as the "before" photo!

[xsbowes]

That is the before photo I'm still working on the old stuff. Not enough room in the garage to get to the Passenger side and I've got the drive shaft out and no oil in the tranny yet so I can't move it. I miss my 675 sq ft garage I had in WA down to less than 400 here in HI.

[greenmeanie]

Just to resurrect an old thread does anyone know the correct size for the rivets for the roof gutter. After stripping mine down to bare metal I found some problems and some nasty PO repairs. I've got a bit of welding to get done to repair a crack and those missing chunks and then on to the riveting and sealing game. I'd like to get the rivets on order today but I'm at work.

[Dav1550]

Semi-tubular as fitted to rain gutter.
3/16 dia. x 5/16 L are near perfect replacement.
3/16 dia x 3/8 L Would be the choice once the gutter is removed and resealed..... For if going to the trouble of removing the gutter it's a sure thing you'll not be stingy with the sealer and need a hair more tail length.

This is what was used to seal the gutter to the roof…http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/lord...e-p-15962.aspx Lord Fusor 800EZ (neutral)
Ironically, the neutral was near a dead match for limestone

Dave