liquid rubber roof material

[timprevost78]

hello new guy here my first question for this group is has anybody used liquid rubber roofing ? or any other suggestions. i have a 78 prevost conversion and the roof is flaking -peeling and every time  it rain i get white chaulk streeks runng down the side , so i am stripping roof and starting over. any suggestions will be greatly appriciated    thanks

[PP]

HI Tim and welcome to the board,
I'm not sure if you're talking about the real thing like they do on newer stick and staples or if you're talking about the rubberized roof coating that you buy in the can and roll or brush on. I use the brush on from the can and I never had a problem with white streaks until this year. It's never flaked, though. I went up with a brush during some nice weather in February and it took less than a gallon to recoat the entire roof. No more streaks for now and it took less than an hour to do it. I might have to make it part of my bi-annual maintenance. Now, if someone knows of a method for sealing the roof coating so it doesn't turn powdery, I'd like to hear about that. Good luck, Will

[Lin]

I have used Kool Kote on several RV's and thought it worked fine.  There are several similar roofing products available, but most will not state that they work for RV's.  Kool Kote backs its product for our application.

[JohnEd]

I have used Kool Coat and it worked well.....for awhile.  All that stuff will mildew and that means I have to scrub it down with Tide and bleach.  Every other year I repaint and that can't go on forever or I will be top heavy.

I would suggest that you are getting set up to "really" paint your roof.  After you strip that junk off go over the roof and seal the seams with auto sealer of some type that has min body.  Then paint the roof "brilliant" WHITE with something durable like "EMRON".  UPS does this and a whole host of other commercial vehicles.  Make sure it is a GLOSS and that it is mildew resistant.  High gloss leaves nothing for the mildew to get a grip on.  White reflects the suns radiant heat energy.  The roof being just a little discolored will reduce that heat rejection capability.

You would have to drape the side of the bus with plastic film from a taping machine but the stuff comes off the roll in a 10 foot width so a single run around the roof perimeter would do it for taping.  You can apply this paint yourself with a HF cheapo gun if you aren't concerned with a professional job and who will see your roof, anyway.  Roofs don't run or sag much either.

I would never use that Kool Coat again ..... if I had an option to paint the roof.  Without that paint option I wouldn't hesitate.

HTH,

John

[Zeroclearance]

This was recommended for roof applications a year ago on this forum.

http://www.hytechsales.com/prod2150.html

[gumpy]

I have 5 gallons of Kool Seal elastomeric coating available for someone who needs it. I decided not to use it after I bought it.

Sells for $25 a gallon. I'll take $15 per gallon plus shipping.

[jjrbus]

A high gloss paint is a poor choice for a roof!! (in my humble opinion and experience of course) Unless you never plan to go up there.  The only thing worse would be waxing the roof.

In hindsight I would mix in or spread sand over fresh paint. The whole roof does not need to be done, just two or three feet down the middle for a walkway.
                                                                          HTH  JIm

[Airbag]

Hey guys
I have spent many hours on the top of shiny gloss painted fuselages of airliners doing structural repairs and listen up, If you plan on working on top of your bus which we all do, take a sheet of foam rubber with you too sit on and you will not slip off. For some reason it grabs a gloss surface. Airlines now require safety harnesses because of the height.

[Jerry W Campbell]

Hi Tim,
   I used Bus Kote from Hitechsales. It is EXCELLENT. Very reflective and keeps the bus cooler. You must use the clear coat if you expect the brightness to last. It is a flat paint and impossible to keep clean without the clear coat.
Jerry

[JohnEd]

  WHAT?  Clear coat!!!!!?  Who said that?  I never heard of that and that grips me.  Why am I always the last to know?  Happened in my marriage, as well.  CRAP, all those years of scrubbing and cursing and repainting....fooey.  Orygun rain wins again.

Thanks!  I will look into that for this summer.

John

[NickRussell]

We put two coats of Kool Seal on our roof early in our conversion and it has worked out well. The only downside is that after it rains or we have a very humnid night, we get a chalky film that runs down the side of the bus in a couple of places

[loosenut]

Most exterior house type paints chalk.  It is how painted surfaces stay clean clean.  Otherwise homeowners would have to hose down their white house to keep it white then they would get a lot of black streaks on the porch.  It seems like it could be the same with RV roof paints, white chalk or black streaks.  Thanks for the clear coat tip.

Mike

[PP]

Next time I have to clean or redo the Kool Kote, I'm going to try some clear coat . Thanks for the tip, Will

[WEC4104]

Okay, so it sounds like we have several different products mentioned in this thread (Kool Kote, Kool Seal, Bus Kote, etc.)   Also "Emron", which I think is referring to DuPont Imron, a traditional automotive (non-rubberized) paint..

With the discussion of adding a clearcoat finish on top of the paint, it might be helpful to differentiate which products can take a clearcoat layer.  It seems to me that an elastrometric paint is designed to stretch in the heat expansion and/or mechanical flexing of the roof.  That has me wondering what will happen to the clearcoat riding on top.   Who can step up with actual experience with clear coating any of these specific products?  

[DaveG]

You might add the Imron is an two part mix that should not be applied without a breathing system.