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Air83 · 07-24-2015, 08:03 PM

Has anyone used Kool Seal Roof Coating ? My local RV dealer is selling this product. He said it will work on the AS.

J. Morgan · 07-25-2015, 09:07 AM

As a person who deals with refurbishing old stuff, I am going to make light of a situation that may or may not pertain to some coatings.

The only thing worse than having to deal with a peeling finish at repaint time, is dealing with a peeling finish that is thick or otherwise difficult to sand....

I want to say that ceramic and/or "rubberized" coatings will be difficult to deal with indeed.

Just food for thought.

JimGolden · 07-25-2015, 11:25 AM

White Aluminum Kool Seal is recommended by the Avion group for sealing the main seam that runs longitudinally down the length of the coach's roof. It is good stuff for sealing joints. It is not, however, a paint.

It sounds to me like these new "Wonder Coatings" are just what the Doctor ordered. I did my roof the "Old School" way.

Aluminum doesn't like paint. So you used to have to etch it first. Then prime it. Only then could you paint it and hope that the paint would hold.

On my own coach (Avion 34X which is actually 35'-11" long), I got tired of the single a/c unit (13,000 BTU Coleman) not being able to keep it cool in the hot FL sun. So I did some research into painting the roof white. Bear in mind that the Avion trailers were shaped like the current Airstreams....a bit more square than my '77 Excella was. So you can get a little more percentage of the roof painted white and not see it from the road than you can with the older Airstreams. Ok, all that being said....

I washed the trailer off very thoroughly and then masked off about 24" down from the top rectangle to be painted. I hosed the sides of the trailer down very "wetly" leaving the top dry, after the original cleansing. I then applied an etching chemical that I got from "Aircraft Spruce and Specialty" which etched the aluminum so that a primer would adhere to it. You let the chemical eat the aluminum (eat, er I mean etch...) for 15 minutes. Then you hose it all off, whereby I also hosed the sides down doubley well to make sure that there were not etcher streaks. Then, you apply the special primer. I used a Zinc Chromate primer that I got from U.S. Air (came out the back door of their maintenance hangar). I put it on with a hand roller, just like painting our living room wall. It might have actually been the more modern epoxy primer that they use on aircraft as Zinc Chromate is considered nasty enviromentally.....but it's good stuff for preservation of aluminum. I wore a real two element paint shop respirator when I put this stuff on. So I rolled the roof twice; still masked off, applying this primer. It was done by 8:00pm that night. I let it dry over night. The next morning, the roof was a solid dried yellow green of Zinc Chromate/Epoxy and hard as a brick. Now that it's etched and primed, I could paint it with any good paint. I used Rustoleum Bright White oil paint and put on two coats. After it was dry, I removed all of the masking tape and paper.

It made a stupendous job! I was super happy with it. But even better, it cut the inside temperature by a full ten degrees F. No kidding! It really works! I'd have thought that silver would reflect heat well, but the white does it so much better. My 34' triple axle would stay decent now in the hot FL sun with the old Coleman 13k btu a/c. But when she finally gave up the ghost, I replaced it with a new 15k btu a/c and it will freeze you out now.

Anyway, whichever process you choose, do it by the book and do it right, paint your roof bright reflective white, and be happy that you can now stay cool

See ya on the road,

J. Morgan · 07-25-2015, 07:08 PM

I have painted a lot of aluminum, I have seldom used an etch primer, and now I seldom even prime.

If the surface is clean and sanded to a nice 80 to 220 grit scratch, and painted with a quality coating, it will stick.

It is true that paint manufactures recommend a lot of different products to put down before paint,,,, and they sell all of em..

#JustSayin...

Lumatic · 07-25-2015, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

If the surface is clean and sanded to a nice 80 to 220 grit scratch, and painted with a quality coating, it will stick.

Do you sand the whole surface first with 80 and then 220? Do you use anything in between like 120/150?

J. Morgan · 07-26-2015, 12:34 PM

I cant remember which paper I used on my roof. It was likely 80 grit. Either will work (and anything in between) to get enough "tooth" to promote adhesion. It goes a lot faster with 80, I will say I likely used this on my DA because I am lazy that way...

JimGolden · 07-26-2015, 03:43 PM

t is true that paint manufactures recommend a lot of different products to put down before paint,,,, and they sell all of em..

J. Morgan, a very good point!

And probably more true than we'd care to admit!

When I think about it, all etching does is slightly roughen the surface. Which is exactly what you did with your DA sander.

The only caveat I'd say is that you have to be careful what type of sand paper you use. Some is aluminum oxide, some is silica carbide, some is garnet, and then you get into ceramics. You don't want to use silica carbide on aluminum. It can react with it and cause corrosion. I'd probably stick with aluminum oxide.

I was just following the procedure for airplanes. But, the FAA won't let you sand the paint off an airplane because you "might" sand through the rivet heads. If you sand that much, you've got other problems...but I guess they regulate to the lowest common denominator. On the next trailer I get, I may just use your procedure and call it good.

Cheers!

J. Morgan · 07-26-2015, 04:04 PM

And... Yep, you can sand the tops off of rivets real quick!

I know.

It doesn't take long to learn to be careful around the rivets.

I used to follow most of the recommended steps for painting aluminum, but I let a step go here and there on a trailer that didn't matter, and five or ten, or twenty years later it did not make a difference.

What did make a difference is when I allowed sanding to get sloppy.

A lot of these steps in painting aluminum I think has to do with factory production where sanding is too labor intensive, so they use chemicals.

Lumatic · 03-12-2018, 07:48 PM

OK this is an old post. I found some of my posts from years ago. The Ceramifles has held up very well and done it's job of reflecting sun and heat, but you can't get it anymore.

My 34 is a new addition to my fleet. I just did the rook with Bus Kote. Prep was easier than Ceramiflex.

Bus Kote sent me I gallon of primer and 3 gallons of Bus Kote for my 34. I ended up using half a gallon of primer and 2 gallons of Bus Kote. This gave me 3 coats of Bus Kote. They would take back the 3rd gallon, but I would have to eat the shipping.

A post above says Bus kote recommends 2 coats of Bus Kote. Actually Bus Kote recommends "at least 2 coats.

Bus Kote also makes a final coat called "FLEXI CLEAR". They say it protects the Bus Kote and is "self cleaning". Has any Bus Koters out there used it?

Bus Kote says I can use my extra gallon for an extra coat over my Ceramiflex but prime it first. I am still thinking about that.

Airtandem · 03-12-2018, 08:18 PM

As I read this, my AS is in having the roof coated with BUS KOTE. The shop is preparing the top and removing the FFs and vents and recaulking. In the process, they found that the screws holding the FFs have completely rusted off and the shrouds of the fans cracked.
Will follow up at a later date.
mj

Lumatic · 03-12-2018, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airtandem

As I read this, my AS is in having the roof coated with BUS KOTE. The shop is preparing the top and removing the FFs and vents and recaulking. In the process, they found that the screws holding the FFs have completely rusted off and the shrouds of the fans cracked.
Will follow up at a later date.
mj

Well I found the top of my AC shroud was damaged. Fixed with fiberglass.

I did not remove the fans and vents, just scraped away old cracked caulk and recaulked

I hope they replace the screws with stainless. But if you are going through the work of removing the fan, I would replace the whole unit.

Are putting a finish coat of Flexi Clear over the Bus Kote?

Airtandem · 03-12-2018, 09:58 PM

Replacing the FF's and glue/taping down. I said to use some ss screws I heard that AS is NOT screwing down do to cracking the shroud. Also replacing the Vent pipe shrouds
I'm using the Flex Clear finish coat. Suppose to be finished by Friday and we have rain forecast for Saturday. Good test.
mike

Joyman · 05-11-2020, 03:53 PM

Cleaned my 2009 classic 30' roof off today.(The paint was chalking pretty bad.) Took off the solar panels and the big covers for the Maxi-fans. Washed it then Sanded with 150 grit and rewashed it. The sealant around the Maxi-fans ( where the fans come in contact with the airstream) is getting pretty chalky and cracking and chalking on my hands) I am cleaning it off scraping and cleaning with mineral spirits. should I prime and paint( 2) coats i'm using Bus kote. then reseal the fans down OR reseal with sealant then prime and paint the top.? I do not know what's recommended?

Thanks.

Airtandem · 05-12-2020, 08:22 AM

Mine, washed good with T S P and rinsed WELL, inc sides. Removed the A/C cover and Fantastic fans, taped off vents. Two coats of Bus Kote and no sealer. It's going on 3rd season and no visual wear. Installed NEW FF and covers as they were the problem of leaks.
We just had a bad hail storm and small dents in coated area and very few larger in uncoated. Not enough to file insurance.
mj

featherbedder · 05-12-2020, 08:33 AM

Many AS owners painted roofs white in late 60s, early 70s, as for material used I don't think buskote invented yet also Imron or any other brands that formulated to use hardener, not made that time era. The ones painte held up very well, but IMO buskote way to do now. AS factory started painting roofs many yrs. later, does any body no what they use for coating at this time. If any one wants to use a paint that uses hardener additive, be aware w/out proper breathing equipment it will kill you. Bill

Lonnajp · 05-20-2020, 10:08 PM

I am following this thread and others like it with great interest...and some frustration. All the good stuff you all are recommending is not readily available in Canada. Bus-Kote, which is my front runner now, costs more to ship up here than the product itself! Any Canadians reading this have product suggestions? I can get Sta-Kool locally at the big box store but it is silicone-based and that seems rather scary, given all the effort required to clean off all the silicone crap used by the PO. Thoughts?