Oxidation on roof

[Edward Buker]

After looking at several options and reading some boat forums, with users having favorable results painting decks of fiberglass boats using white Rustoleum Marine Deck paint, I opted for that paint system for my roof. The prep consisted of pressure washing the roof with a Simple Green solution. Once dry I scrubbed the roof surface with a Red Scotchbrite automotive prep pad and then washed the surface with an automotive wax and grease cleaning solvent by 3M. The prep took about 3 to 4 hours. I taped the perimeter and roof structures with two inch Scotch Blue Painters Tape (approx 1.5hrs) and then used a 1 inch by 6 inch roller to roll on two coats of deck paint. (less than 2 hours per coat and 3 quarts of paint total) This job can be completed for about $100 in about 8hrs spread over several days. Lowe's carrys the Rustoleum Marine Deck Paint and there is a sand grit system that can be added if you wanted. I opted to leave mine smooth for dirt shedding purposes and I did not find it to be any more slippery than the gel coated surface. Probably less slippery than a waxed surface. This paint is highly UV resistant and is made to hold up in marine environments. After one summer it still looks fine and no chaulking. I see no negative issues with this marine system. If needed after a number of years it could be lightly sanded and another coat of paint added, the same method that you would treat and refinish a boat deck. Hope this helps.
Regards Ed

[Eddie LeBlanc]

I've had the same problems with the paint breakdown on a 1992 Marquis roof. It is cleaned up a lot with a good scrubbing with any kind of cleaner, (I used Soft Scrub with Simple Green) and then an application of Mop and Glow. And currently all the white streaks have stopped.

I assume any good cleaning and a good wax is ok. But a better choice is a total repainting. There are a lot of choices, anywhere from paints to elastomeric coatings. I had posed this question on the FMCA forum sometime back, and several responses were helpful.

But the best product is a paint on elastomeric coating with ceramic insulating spheres in it. It is a white coating that has a high insulating factor due to the additition of hollow ceramic balls. About the consistancy of flour. I did find a product that was made for this, called Bus Kote .  
http://www.hytechsales.com/prod2150.html, the company also makes a clear coat that can be applied on top.

While this can be more costly, with an undercoat, then the Bus Kote, then the clearcoat, it is supposed to peform well and also increase the insulation effect by as much as 30 to 40 percent. And it can be rolled, brushed, or sprayed. I hope to try the process in the future. But untill then, the Mop and Glow works well.

Regards,

Eddie LeBlanc & Carole Miller
1992 Marquis Regent
Beaumont, Texas

[Edward Buker]

Eddie,

I had read about that product but a three coat system turned me off, too many interfaces to break down. Elastometric systems mean they do not harden very well and this is a coating that I think tends to build up and would not be very smooth. Smooth sheds the dirt better. As far as insulation I can understand that painting a metal bus roof white for reflective purposes and having a "rubberized" coating on it would help reduce the heat as opposed to a metal surface painted a darker color. As far as having insulative qualities for a fibergalss RV roof, it is hard to imagine an R value that would be high enough to provide any substantial insulating value when you are talking thicknesses in mils. Our roofs are already light colors from a reflective viewpoint.

Unless the gel coat is in absolutely terrible shape I think the problem we are working with is the same that the marine industry has worked on for years. The surface oxidizes and shed particles, which leave the surface more porous and rougher over time taking away the reflective surface characteristics. On a boat you see the dull oxidized decks and on our roofs we see the remnants of the sheded gelcoat particles in the form of streaks.

The sun and moisture that a boat deck sees is worse than our motorhomes sees and the paint system for boat decks is sealing the gelcoat, producing a highly reflective glossy surface, that is UV stabilized and durable. The application we have for our roofs is exactly the same as the marine industry. I would rather have a proven thin glossy paint coated surface to scuff and recoat (if ever required) somewhere down the road than a 3 coat elastometric system.

This is just one persons opinion after owning boats for years and having been happy with the quality of deck paints used. Maybe someone has used that elastometric system on an RV and can shed some light on it....

Regards Ed

[Keith Moffett Co-Admin]

Ed
Ive been lookikng for this system for a long time.  Congrats, your roof looks great.
Here's a couple of questions
1)  Did you continue this onto the end caps?
2)  Did you remove all the vents and sky light and A/C?
3)  Did this product cover the sealant (acrylar?) that was remaining on the roof like upto the drip rails which I assume were masked off?
Thanks for this pic
Keith

[Edward Buker]

My goal was to seal what sees sun all the time and not turn this project into more than it needed to be. I did not remove anything. I used a small diameter roller that could roll under some obstructions like the solar panel edges. I painted maybe 6 inches under the perimeter of the solar panels with some down pressure on the roller to get underneath. I taped around the base of the airconditioners and rollered and sometimes brushed to get under the edges. If I remove an airconditioner at some point I will paint that area. I taped an edge just overlapping the clearcoat by maybe 1/4 inch all the way around to seal and tack down those edges with deck paint. On my last motorhome that is the area of clearcoat that tended to fail first. I also rollered up over some of the acrilar sealant around edges of vents etc. My thinking is that it would also help keep the acrilar from degrading. In the application I did roller at a fairly quick rate to keep a wet edge going not that it is such a big deal to see a roller mark on a roof.

It will take time to see how many years this sort of paint treatment lasts before some additional paint work is needed, hopefully 5 or more years. It will do a good job of keeping the gel coat from degrading however long that is and the refinish should be quite managable. Hope this helps.

Later Ed

[Ron Langdon]

Let's hear it for Mop and Glo! And that yellow tint hasn't bothered me yet.
Ron
06 Monterey Laguna IV
C9

[Tom and Pat Fudale]

I use fiberglass cleaner, the kind made for shower stalls once a year and the top of my 05 Monterey still looks like new

[Edward Buker]

We arrived home several days ago and decided to wash the motorhome (really needed it) which includes a roof wash. I have been keeping tabs for the folks on the forum as to how the Rustoleum Marine Deck Paint as a roof finish was holding up. We have now been through two very sunny summers spending time in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona at temperatures over 100 degrees followed by some nights in the 30s up in the Tetons and all points in between. After 10k miles and five pressure washings there is still no oxidation, no peeling or delamination, and the finish has retained its gloss. After the first year I removed the original rather large footprint satellite system and it was easy to scuff the surface, solvent wash, and roller on several coats of the paint overlapping the existing paint edges that were ended at the original dish edge. One of the photos includes that area with a footprint of screws, residual wires, and lap sealant sealing the screw heads. You may need to click on a photo to enlarge it enough to see that. I cannot see where the paint lap was at this stage. That would indicate that any future painted surface repairs would blend in easily if that became necessary.

My net is that so far this roof finish has been trouble free and easy to clean. Keep you posted next fall...

Later Ed

[Jeremy Parrett]

before heading to Cabo San Lucas I paid $75 to Extreme RV in Chula Vista to clean,tape off and paint the white portions of the roof on my 2000 Marquis with Elastomeric paint. The 2 gallons used cost $30 each on EBay. It was applied with rollers and brushes and has held up very well.It has a 10 year guarantee. I am going to extend the white area to the caps when we get down to San Diego in November as well as refinishing the radius .
 No more white streaks. This paint is easy to use;clean up is with water; it is very non skid and if needed it can be sanded off in seconds.
This paint is flexible . Judging by the way the roof flexed with three big guys walking around applying the Elastomeric paint,I feel a hard paint might get cracks in it over time.