The brand Scotch Coat if not covered after it dries, will crack under
sunlight and weathering. It is no good as a top coating. In FORTY (can I
believe it?) years of coating antenna fittings, I can say I have used
about everything but dog dung.
The best is still the Cushcraft plastic bootie with Coax Seal at either
end of the boot. The boot keeps the Coax Seal out of the threads-- in
fact off the plug entirely-- and leaves the plug easily unscrewed. The
Coax Seal seals the places where the boot stops at either end of the boot.
Once u use it , u will never go to any kind of tape except as a
mechanical holding device on the coax plug (to keep it from vibrating and
backing off--i.e., unintended unscrewing).
Hey Steve Tower guy, u should stock the Cushcraft booties. Try it, u'll
like it!
Also, the sillycone sealer sold for windshields --also called RTV-- is ok
(even tho it excretes a mild acid) if u use it in thin layers. U can
build up a big glob of the stuff if u apply a thin layer and let that dry.
Then,
lay on McDuff the big gob and the thin layer should seal against the acid
of the later application. I have joints like this with copper, brass, and
stainless steel, and plated steel all on one bolt joint with a glob of
sillycone over it and taken it off 12 years later and no change in any of
these metals. However, I followed Cushcraft's OLD advice years ago and
applied their supplied sillycone over my coax fitting and 2 years later,
poured a clear liquid out of the coax plug/socket joint when removed.
Caution is needed on that. de K4VUD
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