Good Caulking or RTV Sealant for machine enclosures?

R

RedneckPhysics

Plastic

Joined

Apr 30, 2015

• Feb 14, 2016

• #1

Hey All,

What's everyone's favorite sealant of choice when making sealed joints on machine enclosures?

I'm looking for something to stand up to constant exposure to oil, coolant, etc. for years of use, on the wet joints of a Tormach 770 coolant sump and full enclosure. It came with some elastomer/putty sealant tape (butyl maybe?), and it currently has that installed on the major sump panel joints.
I'll be taking it apart eventually, so that stuff won't be re-usable. I figure a liquid/paste sealant like bathroom silicone caulking or RTV silicone gasket maker (like an auto grade) would be nice for using to patch leaks after assembly, and in other areas as well, such as around fasteners where necessary.

Thanks!

-Mike

 

IAMATT

Stainless

Joined

Aug 3, 2009

Location

LAS VEGAS, NV

• Feb 14, 2016

• #2

White silicone sealant...virtually any type. Haas uses Sikaflex but its so flexible it can move and leak.

 

bjorn toulouse

Titanium

Joined

Dec 26, 2007

Location

N.E. oHIo, USA

• Feb 14, 2016

• #3

The maintenance dept. at work uses Dap clear silicone. Seems to work well.


Rex

 

Mud

Diamond

Joined

May 20, 2002

Location

South Central PA

• Feb 14, 2016

• #4

Dow Corning RTV sticks better and lasts longer than auto grade RTV. I just searched for an image and found this solvent resistant grade 730 which looks interesting, i normally buy #732 but I do know they have many grades that i haven't tried yet.

 

V

Vancbiker

Diamond

Joined

Jan 5, 2014

Location

Vancouver, WA. USA

• Feb 14, 2016

• #5

3M 7200 is really good for "semi-permanent" seals as it is quite tough to peel or cut apart. Very slow curing though.

Regardless of the sealant used, cleanliness of the parts or joint to be sealed is critical to getting a good, long-lasting seal.

 

Last edited: Feb 14, 2016

S

swarf_rat

Titanium

Joined

Feb 24, 2004

Location

Napa, CA

• Feb 14, 2016

• #6

Someone here advised Permatek "Right Stuff" which is available from any automotive supplier. I have found it to be more solvent resistant than hardware store RTV silicone.

 

cnctoolcat

Diamond

Joined

Sep 18, 2006

Location

Abingdon, VA

• Feb 15, 2016

• #7

Lowes and Home Depot have the Loctite PL polyurethane caulk, and make no mistake, this is commercial grade, sticky stuff. It comes in black and white colors, and takes at least a couple of days to fully cure.
It's so sticky it can be messy to apply, so have some mineral spirits and scrap rags handy.

 

A

alphonso

Titanium

Joined

Feb 15, 2006

Location

Republic of Texas

• Feb 15, 2016

• #8

+1 on "The Right Stuff". Works better than any other product I have tried in the last 35 years.

 

wayneind

Aluminum

Joined

Sep 6, 2015

• Feb 15, 2016

• #9

The Permatex is real tough. I like to gang up on leak prone joints, put some black gorilla tape over the sealant joint and it will take quite a while for the coolant to get to the sealed joint so the gorilla tape is really tough sticky waterproof tape.

 

G

garyhlucas

Stainless

Joined

Oct 17, 2013

Location

New Jersey

• Feb 15, 2016

• #10

The problem with sealing most joints is that the joint isn't properly designed for sealing. Sheet metal joints in particular are tough because any motion shears the sealant off. If the joint is fairly large and can be filled with sealant it can move a very long way without breaking loose.

 

E

ewlsey

Diamond

Joined

Jul 14, 2009

Location

Peoria, IL

• Feb 15, 2016

• #11

swarf_rat said:

Someone here advised Permatek "Right Stuff" which is available from any automotive supplier. I have found it to be more solvent resistant than hardware store RTV silicone.

Click to expand...

Yes. This should be a sticky. We go over this about every other month.