paint or not to paint roof

Angel73 · 05-23-2006, 02:48 PM

We're trying to decided weather or not to paint the roof to help control heat and to help seal the roof better....What do you all think?

Happycampers · 05-23-2006, 04:36 PM

Angel, I painted ours white when I painted the trailer, I am not sure if it helps or not, I think it might. It was a lot easier to do than paint the roof as I rolled the top. You can't see it unless you are at higher area looking down on the trailer. Here are some pictures. Marvin

tphan · 05-23-2006, 05:03 PM

man, what a nice looking coach! It makes me want to paint my A/S cream-colored, with white roof! Serious question: do argosies reflect heat and stay cooler in summer than airstreams? thanks- tim

dwightdi · 05-23-2006, 05:04 PM

I have a 77 soveriegn. I painted the roof five years ago. It is pealing a bit so I am going to redo it. We went to the Internationals in Huntsville once and Rapid city twice. No power for air cond. so we sweated. White roof helps some vs production plasticoat that was pealing and dull. I think it helped about 10 degrees on a 100 F day but difficult to actually measure under controlled circumstances. Which of course you can not control. Seen quite a few people from the west and south doing it. I painted from the awning strip to the end of the roof sheet on the other side and did not paint the ends. You hardly notice it when you walk past the trailer.

klevan · 05-23-2006, 05:27 PM

I'm convinced that painting the roof white will cut down on solar gain, but I remain unsure of best paint to use and best application process. Suggestions?

Happycampers · 05-23-2006, 06:35 PM

Ken.. we used a product called Snow Roof ... available at Ace hardware.. it takes about a gallon to do a 26' trailer... Marvin

klevan · 05-23-2006, 06:38 PM

Thanks, Marvin. You used a roller, correct? Standard 1/4 inch nap?

Angel73 · 05-23-2006, 07:25 PM

The main reason we was thinking about it is that hubby doesn't want to try to polishes the top now that we stripped it.Cause he doesn't want to dent the roof....Plus we normal use just batteries and it does get hot

Happycampers · 05-23-2006, 08:07 PM

Ken, Yes, did it with a roller, 3 coats. Two would have been enough but the rest would have went bad. It seals the seams and rivets good too.

lewster · 05-23-2006, 08:50 PM

Look into products by DICOR. I use their stuff to re-coat EPDM rubber roofs of SOB's that are about to disintegrate. It bonds really well with the existing rubber and might do so with the aluminum as well. Give them a call.

You might also try POR-15. Folks on this forum swear by their stuff as being very durable. I would also seriously consider a self-etching primer applied to theh bare aluminum before applying any type of paint. It will make the paiint last much longer.

Jim Clark · 05-23-2006, 09:08 PM

I have restored 2 sailboats in recent years and getting ready to do the last on again as Katrina totaled the boat. Don’t tell me you are sorry as the insurance paid me out and gave the boat back to me. I did want to suggest a paint that I use often and holds up very well in the marine environment and on decks. Look into Interlux Brightside Polyurethane. Brightside lays out like glass.http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa/

Select Paint finishes on the left side.

I also remember that painting the top white lowers the temp by 7 degreees.

scottanlily · 05-23-2006, 09:26 PM

Hello everyone,
I know inland andy had done some good tests with aluminum panel samples
painting them three different colors and the for one was plain aluminum .I don't know the link,but someone here might or contact andy himself at inland rv.The surprise was that the aluminum plain sample was cooler than even the white one by a small but surprising amount .The plain sample just reflected the heat away better the test revealed .I would check into that before I would paint the roof of your airstream .I myself thought the white would be cooler .

Scott

klevan · 05-23-2006, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

Look into products by DICOR. I use their stuff to re-coat EPDM rubber roofs of SOB's that are about to disintegrate. It bonds really well with the existing rubber and might do so with the aluminum as well. Give them a call.

You might also try POR-15. Folks on this forum swear by their stuff as being very durable. I would also seriously consider a self-etching primer applied to theh bare aluminum before applying any type of paint. It will make the paiint last much longer.

Thanks, Lew. I'll research DICOR. As for POR-15, I've had extensive, exhaustive, expensive experience with POR-15 in my restoration of Willys CJ2A #75863. http://spongedude.info/cgi-bin/willy...on=view&id=272

I'm not a fan of POR-15 nor would I recommend it. Besides, it will not hold up to UV. Even limited exposure to sunlight destroys it.

Jim Clark, thank for your suggestion re Interlux Brightside Polyurethane. I'll check it out. I've had good luck with exterior finishes designed for marine applications during my previous life before I left the water andreturned to the Land of Enchantment.

65GT · 05-23-2006, 09:52 PM

Here's a polishing article from the Wally Byam Caravan Club's Blue Beret magazine -- Phred Sez feature.

http://www.wbcci.org/documents/Phred...02004_0001.pdf

It's the footnote that I keep remembering. I've used Interlux on my boat for years and have hung on to this article because when I finally get to that roof, I'm using the paint mentioned here. Interlux self-leveling paints make a brush-on or roller-on job look like a spray on finish!

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