White roof preparation

[silver 67]

I am seriously thinking about painting the roof white as Andy with Inland Rv suggest. My question is in the sanding how in the world is the best way to sand around all of the rivets that are about 1" apart?

If you don't sand completely around each and every rivet and I mean completely up to the edges of the rivet the paint will more than likely lift off at the edges of the rivet.

I only want to do this once so i want to "get it done" right as the Cable Guy says.

Thanks,

silver 67

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by silver 67

I am seriously thinking about painting the roof white as Andy with Inland Rv suggest. My question is in the sanding how in the world is the best way to sand around all of the rivets that are about 1" apart?

If you don't sand completely around each and every rivet and I mean completely up to the edges of the rivet the paint will more than likely lift off at the edges of the rivet.

I only want to do this once so i want to "get it done" right as the Cable Guy says.

Thanks,

silver 67

You use an "air sander", CAREFULLY.

There is no trick, but a lot of patience is necessary.

Andy

[Tom Nugler]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

You use an "air sander"....

If you have access to right angle die grinder I'd be inclined to use a 3M roloc disc.
I use these for all types of metal finishing on irregular surfaces. I'd recommend the yellow or white bristle disc instead of a Green Corps sanding or Scotch Brite pad.

3M US: Roloc Bristle Disc

Tom

[Lumatic]

I don't know what kind of paint you are using, but I used Flex Seal/ Ceramiflex. Nothing in the prep instructions about sanding, but a good cleaning followed by acid etch primer is recommended. I know some people have skipped the primer.

Also I have enough extra primer and Ceramiflex to do at least another roof if anyone wants it. Might be kind of hard to ship though.

[tkasten]

silver 67- How much of the roof are you painting? The center 2 panels or all the way down to the awnings? Been thinking of doing the same thing just not sure how far down to bring it.

[BigAl]

Tim,
Yours is an older trailer that did not have a white painted roof. The curve of your roof is quite dramatic compared to the later trailers. I would be inclined to keep the white paint up on top where it is not too noticeable. That way it looks more original.
But it won't have quite the cooling effect.
By the way, has anyone who has done this any comments on how much cooler it seems to keep the trailer?
Al

[tkasten]

Al,
Thanks for the info as I was concerned that it might be show too much.

[ALANSD]

I am thinking about doing the center top panel on my 66. Its the only part I don't want to shine!

[Minno]

When we were at the Restoration Rally in June, Levon had done it with Kool-coat (sp?) on a trailer. He said it made a significant difference. We're probably going to do it at some point based on his recommendation. We have an older trailer so will keep it to the very top panel.

Kay

[dwightdi]

We painted our 1977 down to the awnings but not the hemispheres. You could walk by it and not notice. Difficult to run a scientific test but I think it was about 10 degrees cooler on a hot no cloud no air day at Rapid City the second time around. The first Rapid City International at 104 inside the trailer convinced me to give the white paint a try. It still was not pleasant even with the white paint but a little better.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Lumatic

I don't know what kind of paint you are using, but I used Flex Seal/ Ceramiflex. Nothing in the prep instructions about sanding, but a good cleaning followed by acid etch primer is recommended. I know some people have skipped the primer.

Also I have enough extra primer and Ceramiflex to do at least another roof if anyone wants it. Might be kind of hard to ship though.

Sorry, but any kind of acid, should never, EVER, be used on an Airstream.

Quite well, in time, you will have more water leaks around the rivets, "than you can count".

That's why sanding, "is the safe way".

Andy

[pmclemore]

I'm so pedestrian that if I needed to paint the roof white, I'd prep what I could and then just paint. If some of the paint flaked off later, it wouldn't affect the sun-reflecting properties at all.

Hard to see your defects from the street.

Pat

[BigAl]

Not to argue with you Andy, but that self etching primer is designed for prepping aluminum for finish paint. I would think that the amount of "acid" is not enough to remain active. This is not the same as the method I've seen before where there was talk of washing the aluminum with an acid wash.
By the way, my trailer is a '94 that was made with panels that were supplied by Alcoa prefinished to Airstream. Seems that there was a cleaner applied to the raw aluminum to prep for the clear coat. Not rinsed properly or neutralized and the finished trailer started to oxidize under the clearcoat on dealers lots. Evidently Airstream decided the only way to fix the problem was to strip the clearcoat and paint the affected trailers to be able to sell them. Mine was painted by Can-Am rv in 1994 and the paint job still looks like new except for one small area where the clearcoat has peeled. The primer and aluminum paint are still intact.
How should I go about touching up the failed clearcoat.
Al

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by BigAl

Not to argue with you Andy, but that self etching primer is designed for prepping aluminum for finish paint. I would think that the amount of "acid" is not enough to remain active. This is not the same as the method I've seen before where there was talk of washing the aluminum with an acid wash.
By the way, my trailer is a '94 that was made with panels that were supplied by Alcoa prefinished to Airstream. Seems that there was a cleaner applied to the raw aluminum to prep for the clear coat. Not rinsed properly or neutralized and the finished trailer started to oxidize under the clearcoat on dealers lots. Evidently Airstream decided the only way to fix the problem was to strip the clearcoat and paint the affected trailers to be able to sell them. Mine was painted by Can-Am rv in 1994 and the paint job still looks like new except for one small area where the clearcoat has peeled. The primer and aluminum paint are still intact.
How should I go about touching up the failed clearcoat.
Al

Self etching acids get underneath the rivet heads, causing water leaks.

Acid etching cannot possibly prepare the aluminum surface as well as sanding, to assure one's self of a proper primer bond.

We have seen way too many "paint failures" when acid etching was used, along with tons of leaks.

Make a test by making a small panel with the acid etch, and then another panel with proper sanding. Install the primer, then the color, and finally the clear coat.

Let those sample cure out in the sun, for a few days.

Then, bend the samples 45 degrees or better, and observe the results.

The acid eltch will fail, the sanded sample "won't fail".

When I get back to the office, if you wish, I could post a photo of the sanding preparation method, when the metal was bent more than 90 degrees, by an accident.

The paint is not even cracked, let alone chipped off.

Andy

[my3sonsdad]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

When I get back to the office, if you wish, I could post a photo of the sanding preparation method, when the metal was bent more than 90 degrees, by an accident.

The paint is not even cracked, let alone chipped off.

Andy

I recently came across the mentioned photo....very impressive:

http://cdn.airforums.com/forums/atta...6&d=1081371878

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by my3sonsdad

I recently came across the mentioned photo....very impressive:

http://cdn.airforums.com/forums/atta...6&d=1081371878

We keep that damaged motorhome door, for those that "gotta see it, in person".

As with many things in life, there's the cheap way, and the right way.

Everyone has the choice.

Andy

[twilder]

I'm on a ladder right now sanding my Argosy roof in prep for repaint. Not easy, but I like to do it once. my cheap tool store Harbor Freight has a nice little triangle head multi tool for going around the rivets. My question is: has anybody used snowroof on the top? They also have something called mobile roof. (snowroof.com) Seems to me the prep would be less as you are just getting the loose stuff off. Any experience in this? Thanks Tom

[Darkspeed]

I just sanded the top of my 71 31' and am taping off to coat it with SuperTherm. Was a lot of work but will be worth it.

[vswingfield]

I put Super Therm on the roof of my Excella this summer. Following the suggestion of the local representative, I scrubbed the roof with a green Scotch-Brite pad and dish detergent. Then I rolled on a couple of coats of Super Therm. I also covered the vent lids and the AC cover. I had a little left over from two gallons. Not bad for coating the top of a 34' Airstream.

[Darkspeed]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

I put Super Therm on the roof of my Excella this summer. Following the suggestion of the local representative, I scrubbed the roof with a green Scotch-Brite pad and dish detergent. Then I rolled on a couple of coats of Super Therm. I also covered the vent lids and the AC cover. I had a little left over from two gallons. Not bad for coating the top of a 34' Airstream.

eeeek... I guess I overshot ordering the three gallons