Keeping the roof clean

[neil omalley]

Anyone out there use a liquid wax(eg mop-n-glo) on their roof?  please don't tell me I'm relegated to my hands and knees with Mother's or Turtle.  What does everybody use to wax and shine the roof.  Thanks.

[Gerald Farris]

Neil,
Mop-n-Glo will not last very long in the sun exposure that your roof receives. Unless you intend on repeating the process on a regular interval, it is not the best choice for roof protection. Since you did not say what model your coach is, I can not tell you what you best option is.

A ten year old will probably need recoating, where a three year old coach will only need sealing at most. There are numerous threads on this forum that deal with both options.

Gerald  

[neil omalley]

Hi Gerald:  Didn't think the model made any difference.  Were different materials ,beside fiberglas , used for the roofs?  I have an '05 Thunder and it looks like a lot of work to get down and wax (or UP and wax,in this case) What do you use?

[Jim Skatzka]

neil, have it painted and forget about it, other than a normal wash!     jim

[Richard Cooper]

Mine has the fiberglass roof.  Do you mean paint that?  Paint with what?

[Jim Skatzka]

Take to any body shop that does motorhomes, like Precision in Bremen, IN.  They can do it one of two ways.  First they will prep the gelcoated roof, and do a single step white paint that will seal it and keep the roof from chalking and all the white gelcoat from running down the sides and also make it much easier to clean.  Second way would be do a two step, base coat white and a finish clearcoat. either way works well.  jim

[neil omalley]

Seems a little like overkill to me.  Fiberglass is in good shape just needs to be cleaned and was wondering-while I was up there should I put a coating on it.  And what coating do others use.  Thanks.

[LarryNCarolynShirk]

Neil,

You have the option of resealing the roof every few months, or coating it once.  After tiring of streaks and leaks, and Mop & Glo, or similar, every 3 months, I chose coating with Rapid Roof III.  It is non slip, no streaks and can be re-coated or patched in the future if necessary.  I would recommend it for any coach. The outside of your coach was painted except the roof.  That is the problem.

Larry

[Steve Huber]

I use Pro-Tech cleaner and treatment (Camping World). Only caveat is that if you let the cleaner dry it will show so best to do cleaning under a rook if possible. My experience is that it lasts for about a year when always exposed to elements. Then the "chalking" starts again. I'm going to look for a better product next time.
Steve

[Jeremy Parrett]

I painted the white area on the roof with Dicor Elastomeric Acrylic Roof Paint.  Easy to apply with roller and brush and good for 10 years.  Easy to remove if needed as well.  Has insulation properties and gives very good UV protection.

[Richard Cooper]

A fellow BAC member suggested this to me as he read about it in the FMCA magazine:

http://www.poliglow-int.com/

What do you think?

[Gerald Farris]

Neil,
All Beaver coaches have the same roof material. The difference is that as the coach ages the gel-coat on the unpainted roof will deteriorate, mostly from UV damage. So painting the roof to stop white streaks on the side of the coach is more important as the coach ages. That is why the coach age is important.

If your coach is 10 to 15 years old, painting the roof with a good grade of UV resistant paint will be less trouble and more effective than any thing else you can do in the long run. Since your coach is 7 years old, it may not need painting yet, if it has not been overly exposed to UV damage.

Gerald  

[neil omalley]

Thanks guys.  Just came off the roof. It neede a good cleaning and it got it.  I was just curious whether or not to be bothered waxing it or using some kinda sealant like mop -n .  I think for now I'll just leave it alone and maybe have the guys from Mexico wax it fo me this fall.  Thanks for all the replies.  'preciate them.

[Richard Cooper]

Neil,
All Beaver coaches have the same roof material. The difference is that as the coach ages the gel-coat on the unpainted roof will deteriorate, mostly from UV damage. So painting the roof to stop white streaks on the side of the coach is more important as the coach ages. That is why the coach age is important.

If your coach is 10 to 15 years old, painting the roof with a good grade of UV resistant paint will be less trouble and more effective than any thing else you can do in the long run. Since your coach is 7 years old, it may not need painting yet if it has not been overly exposed to UV damage.

Gerald  

Gerald,

How much should it cost to have this painting of the roof done?  Where would you go for it?  So, let me again get this straight.  Do all Beavers have fiberglass roofs cause I think my roof is fiberglass.

[Joel Ashley]

A search of this Forum will turn up the roof job that Ed Buker did on his coach a while back:    http://forum.bacrallies.com/m-1235438093/s-15/ .  He did it himself, it looks pretty darned good, and it will last a very long time.

Joel