Ultra Black RTV. Is this going to work?

[Sumboodie]

The way I was taught, you lay down a bead of RTV but don’t smear/spread it. Let the parts do that job or you won’t get enough bead height to seal.

Don't need much on most applications. 0.0625" at most.
I've pulled plenty of stuff apart that someone used WAY too much and there's RTV that came off and in pump screens, coolant passages, etc.
I've always run a small bead and then spread it evenly unless I need a thick bead. Like the "china wall" on some intake manifolds

 

[The Critic]

Was watching South Main Auto the other day, not sure if rerun or new. Talking about RTV and such. Showed how he used a device to lay down a nice bead on a demo pan cover. He then took his finger and immediately smeared the bead flat for the entire perimeter. He talked about all the pros for doing this. Made sense to me. Not gonna argue with Mr O.

He's a good guy, but he isn't an engineer who designed the components. Every OEM service information has you lay a bead in a specific manner, there's a reason for this.

 

[Nukeman7]

Is there any product that is not such a pain to remove? I once had to deal with a valve cover gasket that had only RTV. It was torture.

I didn’t want to use a dissolver, since I didn’t want this stuff running into the valve train.
Any suggestions?

Permatex has read your mind! They have a new RTV product line called OPTIMUM Gasket Maker that is designed to be removed without a major struggle. How durable the seal will last remains to be determined.