White Roof coating, would you do it again?

[TinyTin]

Just did mine with TRUCO 7140 white. Discussed it with the company. Great fit for Airstreams:

[88Limited]

We're renovating our '88 34' Limited and haven't had it out camping yet (soon!!!). We removed everything from the roof, cleaned and sanded and applied 2 coats of the buskote and 2 coats of the sealant. Anecdotaly, in the full sun I can't leave my hand on the aluminum, but I can on the buskote. I have not taken any temp readings. But yes, I would do it again.

[NOAZRK2690]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

You should probably use a real roof coating, not regular paint. They're thicker, more elastic, and meant to be placed on a roof.

Obviously I want to put the right product on my AS roof the first time. I am retired as a commercial painting contractor, painting & decorating vo-tech school teacher and facilities manager. I know exactly what I want my AS roof to be like when it is finished. Does Bus Kote or any other known product leave a high gloss surface that does not turn black with mold or absorb sap and dirt? What's the track record 5 to 10 years out?

[NOAZRK2690]

Gluv-It specs sound great for an AS roof.

Originally Posted by ThermoProf

I just purchased a 1969 Overlander and am preparing a strip down and roof redo. I've researched aluminum drift boat bottom coatings and Gluv-It is a commonly used product for protecting and sealing bare aluminum: http://marinetex.com/products/marine...oducts/gluvit/ it is equal parts epoxy and quartz, yet still flexible and durable enough to handle the scraping, flexing, and beating of river rocks against aluminum.

Since Gluv-It is mostly quartz the thermal conductance is low and the reflectivity is high, which combined with the sealing seams like it should be ideal for airstream roofs. But I can't find any examples of folks trying this on forums.

Anybody tried or considered Gluv-It?

[DaveP]

Originally Posted by NOAZRK2690

Obviously I want to put the right product on my AS roof the first time. I am retired as a commercial painting contractor, painting & decorating vo-tech school teacher and facilities manager. I know exactly what I want my AS roof to be like when it is finished. Does Bus Kote or any other known product leave a high gloss surface that does not turn black with mold or absorb sap and dirt? What's the track record 5 to 10 years out?

Bus Kote has a clear, shiny coating you put over the main coating. They carry it on Amazon. I do not know the specs.

[flyerboy]

Finally repainted my 2008 31" Classic Limited in 2017 with Imron 3.5 HG+. Phenomenal paint. Still looks as nice and glossy as the day I did it. Seals over caulk and sealant and seals rivets and seams superbly. No cracking, no lifting, no problems whatsoever, just a superior finish. I will not use anything else if the time ever comes for a recoat. Can't say enough good about the product. If it's good enough for the custom "show" trucks and custom airplane and jet paint jobs, you know this stuff is good. Other coatings may be good but this has to be the best!

[featherbedder]

Imron is very durable but if you do not have breathing mask [respirator] for painting it will kill you as it is very toxic & gov. mandates painters like auto body repair have to have high end spray booths with filtration systems. Bottom line individual using it can suffer severe lung damage or death w/out proper equip, also any auto type paint that uses hardener like Imron uses same deal as to hazards.

[flyerboy]

IF you spray IMRON AND atomize the paint AND put those droplets into the air AND inhale them, then yes, you are jeopardizing your health.
However, if you gently roll and brush IMRON and don’t create any atomized droplets, AND you plan out your application and do it on a slightly breezy day and start at the downwind end of the roof and work your way upwind, not only are you not going to inhale ANY atomized droplets, you’ll most likely not even smell the odor of the paint.
All you need to do is plan and THINK about what you are doing and execute your plan.
The entire thought process is to avoid inhaling any DROPLETS! If you don’t create any (by spraying) then you aren’t going to be able to inhale any!
I now have for the last few years, the best coating I could have on my roof. It is still as glossy and white as the day I applied it. I put it on over the caulk and seams and rivets and I don’t have any cracks or separation whatsoever! If I EVER need to re-coat, a light scuffing is all the prep I’ll need. I won’t be scraping off a thick, “rubberized” disaster that has dried out and gone chalky. If you don’t think this will flex well enough for a trailer, you need to ask the top corporate jet painters why they use IMRON. An airplane flexes waaaay the hell more than your trailer will ever flex. ((I’m a retired airline pilot with over 26,000 hours of “flexing” aluminum tubes)
I also really doubt that AXALTA Coatings, who owns IMRON, could get well over $250 a gallon if this stuff didn’t work.
This is my own experience. I gain nothing if you use IMRON but I believe you will lose considerably if you use anything different. Painting a 31’ Classic roof is a pain in the ass. I like to do things right the first time…

[NOAZRK2690]

Flyers,

Originally Posted by flyerboy

IF you spray IMRON AND atomize the paint AND put those droplets into the air AND inhale them, then yes, you are jeopardizing your health.
However, if you gently roll and brush IMRON and don’t create any atomized droplets, AND you plan out your application and do it on a slightly breezy day and start at the downwind end of the roof and work your way upwind, not only are you not going to inhale ANY atomized droplets, you’ll most likely not even smell the odor of the paint.
All you need to do is plan and THINK about what you are doing and execute your plan.
The entire thought process is to avoid inhaling any DROPLETS! If you don’t create any (by spraying) then you aren’t going to be able to inhale any!
I now have for the last few years, the best coating I could have on my roof. It is still as glossy and white as the day I applied it. I put it on over the caulk and seams and rivets and I don’t have any cracks or separation whatsoever! If I EVER need to re-coat, a light scuffing is all the prep I’ll need. I won’t be scraping off a thick, “rubberized” disaster that has dried out and gone chalky. If you don’t think this will flex well enough for a trailer, you need to ask the top corporate jet painters why they use IMRON. An airplane flexes waaaay the hell more than your trailer will ever flex. ((I’m a retired airline pilot with over 26,000 hours of “flexing” aluminum tubes)
I also really doubt that AXALTA Coatings, who owns IMRON, could get well over $250 a gallon if this stuff didn’t work.
This is my own experience. I gain nothing if you use IMRON but I believe you will lose considerably if you use anything different. Painting a 31’ Classic roof is a pain in the ass. I like to do things right the first time…

Flyers, thanks! That's exactly the finish I'm looking for.

[nvestysly]

Originally Posted by flyerboy

Finally repainted my 2008 31" Classic Limited in 2017 with Imron 3.5 HG+. Phenomenal paint. Still looks as nice and glossy as the day I did it. Seals over caulk and sealant and seals rivets and seams superbly. No cracking, no lifting, no problems whatsoever, just a superior finish. I will not use anything else if the time ever comes for a recoat. Can't say enough good about the product. If it's good enough for the custom "show" trucks and custom airplane and jet paint jobs, you know this stuff is good. Other coatings may be good but this has to be the best!

Originally Posted by flyerboy

IF you spray IMRON AND atomize the paint AND put those droplets into the air AND inhale them, then yes, you are jeopardizing your health.
However, if you gently roll and brush IMRON and don’t create any atomized droplets, AND you plan out your application and do it on a slightly breezy day and start at the downwind end of the roof and work your way upwind, not only are you not going to inhale ANY atomized droplets, you’ll most likely not even smell the odor of the paint.
All you need to do is plan and THINK about what you are doing and execute your plan.
The entire thought process is to avoid inhaling any DROPLETS! If you don’t create any (by spraying) then you aren’t going to be able to inhale any!
I now have for the last few years, the best coating I could have on my roof. It is still as glossy and white as the day I applied it. I put it on over the caulk and seams and rivets and I don’t have any cracks or separation whatsoever! If I EVER need to re-coat, a light scuffing is all the prep I’ll need. I won’t be scraping off a thick, “rubberized” disaster that has dried out and gone chalky. If you don’t think this will flex well enough for a trailer, you need to ask the top corporate jet painters why they use IMRON. An airplane flexes waaaay the hell more than your trailer will ever flex. ((I’m a retired airline pilot with over 26,000 hours of “flexing” aluminum tubes)
I also really doubt that AXALTA Coatings, who owns IMRON, could get well over $250 a gallon if this stuff didn’t work.
This is my own experience. I gain nothing if you use IMRON but I believe you will lose considerably if you use anything different. Painting a 31’ Classic roof is a pain in the ass. I like to do things right the first time…

flyerboy, I may have missed something... when did you apply the Imron coating? You mentioned white. Did you consider another color? Do you have any pictures?

Going on a related tangent... Many of us are interested in coating the roof of our trailer in order to reduce the temperature inside the trailer. It's not entirely the color of the coating that aids in reducing the temperature of the trailer, it's the fact that there is a coating, and the coating rejects more light/heat than the clearcoat. Coatings such as Imron, and many others, generally have a much higher emissivity value (regardless of color) compared to clear coat. My guess is you could use a silver Imron to match the skin of the Airstream and accomplish essentially the same reduction in temperature compared to using a white color.

[whypanic]

I need to do my whole roof and replace most of the penetrations. I am looking at utilizing the Truco 7140 and also Eternabond around all the penetrations. Would you utilize the tape and then the Truco or the other way around? Also, were you able to find the Truco in gallon containers or just the 5 gallon?

[flyerboy]

I did my Airstream roof in summer of 2017. I chose white because there is a profound difference in emissivity between white and silver in particular. I was at a utility trailer dealer years ago and they had a white, a silver and a black trailer side by side and all slightly offset in their parallel and diagonal parking. It was afternoon and all three sides were facing the same sun exposure. I could leave my hand on the side of the white trailer indefinitely, a short (5 seconds) time on the silver that was basically very warm to hot and the black, not at all, HOT! All three displayed the same interior conditions commensurate with their respective colors. No discussion, white ruled the day!