Roof Coating - Finally applied bedliner to my roof & pics

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,
10-12-14 edit.

I really liked the idea of the herculiner roof, and many have asked how it worked out for me. Well it is peeling off in some sections, and that I was not to happy about. So I just got finished with cleaning the whole roof, and recoating it with some two part roof coating (second link in the original post).

Where I had taken the time and cleaned the roof really well, and applied a thick coat of Herculiner, it seems to be holding up. But then I got lazy and put on 4 more gallons to the rest of the roof, and did not clean it well, and in many locations it went on really thin. The thick herculiner is still there, and will not pull off the roof. Some thinner areas, I was able to scrub it off with a washcloth. I do know the first area I did around my bathroom skylight and towards the rearward solar panels, and I covered the side of the RV with plastic, and washed it really well. That area, and where it was applied thick is still in great shape.

However it was so much easier to apply the two part roof coating tonight. And I did have to scrub and dry each square foot of the roof really well. The coating was put on thick. I only bought 5 gallons, and think that I will need another 5 to finish the project.

Because my RV has been in covered RV storage for a year, I can not really walk around on the roof, but have about 3' clearance between the roof and some bird screen to keep birds out of the attic area of the storage place. So it is really difficult on my knees to work on it. But next weekend I should be able to finish the whole roof again. Sad that it only lasted a few years, I was very hopeful about it.




I have been talking about applying white bedliner to my roof for the past year or so, and collecting opinions of what to use, how it worked, ect. Even talked with a couple of people who had Rino Liner installed on their roof. White color is optional, and takes about 2 weeks to arrive. Cost for Rino Liner installed is around $3,000 - $4,250. Part of the high cost involves washing the old roof well, and having to remove the A/C covers, and roof vents. Masking anything that you don't want coated with the rino liner, and getting it into a huge spray booth with proper ventilation. It is a 3 day process too.

I decided to use Herculiner, do it yourself roll on white bedliner material. As the time got closer, and I started to collect the required equipment, I chickened out - two weekends in a row! Herculiner is rubber pellets disolved in Xyelene, and like acetone, will disolve normal govles, so special ones from Graingers that will last 16 hours when exposed to Acetone or Xyelene where ordered, along with a chemical carbon gas respirator. Chemical resistant coveralls and some other painting supplys from Home Depot (blue masking tape, .7 mil plastic to protect the sides of the RV, extra paint brushes, and metal paint stir for a drill to keep the rubber in suspension in the chemicals). These extra where about $150 in supplies.

Acetone is nothing to play around with, neither is Xyelene. Here is the website for Herculiner. I ordered white bedliner.

http://www.herculiner.com/product_info.html

My 14 year old rubber roof had almost all the white parts of the EPDM roof flake off, leaving behind large black areas, that all the white came off when scrubbed with some TSP soap. Instructions call for cleaning with TSP (Tri Sodioum Phosphate) a mild and great soap, then clean with acetone, then wait for that to evaperate, and apply the bed liner material.

The installation went really well. My fears where not founded, and it applied well, thick, and I was able to pour some material directly on the roof, move it around with a paint brush, then direct it over the side, to the masking tape line, and get it even and to the edge that I wanted, without any going down the side of the RV onto the plastic.

I put extra material around each solar panel mount, and covered those extra well. And also coated well around each roof vent, and the shower skylight. The skylight had been leaking, and there had been places where the old roof had shrunk, and hairline cracks up to 1/8" wide where in places.

I really should have done this 2-3 years ago, when the roof was in much better shape.

My friend did a similar roof repair, yet he used something else. His was much easier to apply, and took about 3 gallons to complete his 30' fifth wheel. It is also a bright white finish, and looks like it will last for years. Probably a lot thicker than the original roofing, and should be quiet in the rain, as well as better insulation, and no white streaks.

http://www.epdmcoatings.com/rv_roof_repair.html

By using a two part roof material, he has a roof that will not disolve in the rain. I had put a single part product on my old camper roof back in 1995, and it did disolve in the rain after sitting in Washington for a few years. It was a white roof coating sold by Home Depot at that time. Don't recall the brand name though.

So I wanted to use something a little harder, and I think the bedliner coating will be difficult to cut with a knife! All I need to do now is get 3 more gallons of the stuff, and apply it to the roof. The first gallon covered an area about 4' x 12' long, and around most of my roof vents, skylights, and solar panel mounts. Now I just have to cover the rest of the roof. It should go well, and take about 40 minutes per gallon, not including time to wash the roof, and relocate the solar panels.

IF I had known about the EPDM coating, and it does not require a chemical mask to install it, I might have used that. Yet I had already ordered the bedliner material, and I have my heart set on that super tough bedliner material now.

For those with white streaks on the RV sidewall, and wanting to get rid of them, the EPDM coating in the link above will not cause white streaks! For that, it is worth it. It would have been great to install the EPDM coating when my RV was only 8 - 9 years old, when the roof was still in great condition, because it makes the roof totally 1 peice, with no seams anymore. The same coating covers all the joints, right to the side of the roof vent, or to a certain part of the skylight. You protect the area you don't want coated with masking tape, and remove the masking tape while the product is still not fully cured, so it will come off cleanly.

Yet the EPDM coating is going to be slippery when wet. Not a problem for my friend, who does not get on his RV roof (until that plant was growing out of the roof material). With my solar panels, I wanted something a little more non-slip, and the Herculiner is non-slip, should be very quiet in the rain, and very durable.

And no more white streaks - Priiceless!

Fred.

[quingus]

Hello roof pros, I might have a dumb question, will any of those roof products work on a TPO. I have a 30ft Fleetwood Jamboree 2007. I read the manuals made the call to Fleetwood. So TPO. If those products aren't compatible what would work. That will be my next project when I get back from a two week fishorama in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks in advance for the info.

[robertbenita]

I had Rhyno Lining put on my Fleetwood Elkhorn Camper roof from one of their shops in Corona, CA. Continued to own that camper for 7 years and never had a problem.

I had Rhyno Lining put on my Fleetwood Tioga roof from the same shop and never had a problem during my time of owning and because the family that purchased it from us still keep in touch, it has lasted a little longer than the roof above. We used the roof for many NASCAR races as well.

Never any leaks and I did not have to go over it ever again. Both of mine were done in an off-white grayish color and very thick. On top of rubber roofs, but both were in good condition. Not sure I will need to use on my current RV, but if I do go down that path again, it will be Rhyno Lining again. If I find old pictures, I will post.

[Golden_HVAC]

Wow,

1.5 gallons for that large of a roof, it does not go on very thick. I would want something thicker, and I guess you have several coats by now. It is more labor to put on several thin coats than one really thick coat, as most the time is in the prep and washing the roof surface than application. I might suggest applying twice as thick (or 3 times) using 3-5 gallons. Then hopefully it will last for several years before needing to re-apply. That will save overall labor. . .

Good luck!

Fred.

[John_Joey]

Thanks Fred for the well wishes.

I made sure my roof coating was capable of not dissolving with a standing puddle. There is a term they use for that, but I can't remember what it is now. There are two spots on the 5'ver where this happens ever morning with the dew. Doesn't go away until early afternoon when the sun is at full force.

I have the same issues as you when it comes to adhesion and cure time even with my roof "paint." For me the long cure time is mostly due to being in a high humidity environment (salt air.) If I twist my heel on the roof the "paint" can peel away from the rubber in spots.

I'm coming to the conclusion there really isn't a good rubber roof patch job other then replace with new. I'll just accept the fact that I will keep applying the "paint" every couple of years. Found a place where I can buy it for $25/gallon and it takes 1.5 gallons.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

The two part stuff that I applied over the past few days looks like it will hold up well. I am having some hard times getting it to cure. It is under a cover (like being in a barn) and it is cold at night (46 - 55 overnights) with 70's in the day. So what I applied 7 days ago was not dry on Sunday, and where applied thick, I was able to move with my foot accidentally. It came off in a sheet about the side of a half dollar. I was able to re-coat with the second 5 gallon of stuff I was applying yesterday. It is a thick and flexible coating.

The Herculiner is still holding strong in areas where it was applied thick, and where I had spent time to clean the roof well. However much of the roof was kinda old when I started applying the coating in April 2011 (it was built in 1996, I took delivery November 8). So I would have been much better off applying the coating when the RV was only 10 or 12 years old in 2006 or at the latest 2008.

Some areas, like near my refrigerator vent, the Herculiner was really thick, say 1/8" and the thin area pealed up, but where it was thick was kinda like trying to rip apart a tennis ball. (yes had a pit bull a while back, so I have ripped apart tennis balls that she started to pull apart). . .

Herculiner is very flexible once it drys. (at 3 years old it is as dry as it will ever get). The cup I used to dip the material out of the 1 gallon containers I was able to let dry for a few weeks, then peeled the Herculiner off the coffee cup, and it was in one piece, still have it someplace in the RV.

Right now I have 1 gallon left of the second 5 gallon can (30' RV so 6 gallons would have applied at the recommended 20 mils thick, But I wanted it on thick this time). I have it in the freezer (no room in the refrigerator) to keep it from going solid on me, and extend the pot time. I hope to take it out of the freezer on Friday, allow it to warm to 55F (where the pot time starts ticking again) and apply some more to potential trouble areas of the roof on Saturday. Maybe even take it out in the sun, or if it starts to rain, leave it outside and check for possible leaks?

As I stated before, I am not liking any one part roof coating. My old camper was in Washington and it sat with a rain puddle on it, until it leaked. That destroyed it. It was a 72 Coachman, with a aluminum roof and seams every 4' or so along the roof from drivers to passenger side. I bought the coating at a local hardware store in 1994, and sold it to my sister in 95.

Good luck with your roofing projects!

Fred.

[John_Joey]

Thanks Golden_HVAC for your update. It's great that you took the time to do that.

IMO, anything that is hard when applied to a surface that will flex or twist is going to be a tough sell given enough time. I have an older 5'ver I leave down south and use in the winters. I've been using rubber roof coating which is easy to apply but may not have the longevity one would want.



I've heard the two part rubber roof coating eventually starts to crack and you will have the same issues as with the orginal rubber roof. Maybe the real answer is after 20 plus years the EPDM material should be ripped off, and replaced with new. No different then with a S&B.

[BarneyS]

I am very sorry to hear that your roof is starting to deteriorate again. It has been almost three years since I did mine with the Liquid Roof product and it still looks like it is holding up very well. It is somewhat dirty as it has been sitting uncovered for just about that whole time with mostly hosing off type of cleaning. There has been no shrinking or cracking at all.

I have been up on the roof frequently inspecting, cleaning the vents and air conditioner, and installing a new antenna and each time I looked it over pretty good. Did not see much, if any, deterioration of the coating. So far, so good! 🙂
Barney

[Bumpyroad]

yep, I'm a little skeptical about applying rhino lining, etc. stuff on top of the rubber roof. think if I was doing it I would put it on the plywood.
bumpy

[Golden_HVAC]

After only three years, the Herculiner that I applied to the roof is coming off and leaking around the seams where it did shrink, along with the EPDM that is under the Herculiner. I did not want to apply more herculiner, and decided to apply the stuff in the second link, EPDM two part coating.

http://www.epdmcoatings.com/rv_roof_repair.html is the link to get some.

I bought 5 gallons and it says will cover 20 mils thick at 42 square feet per gallon. Knowing how well the Herculiner stuck to the roof when cleaned well and applied thick, and not wanting to EVER coat the roof again! I put down a thick coat, and ran out of the 5 gallons before getting 1/2 of it done. Being tired (and lazy) I quickly gave up and decided to only coat the passenger side and will go back next weekend and recoat the areas that I missed.

Re-reading the original post, I did clean the area around the skylight really well, and then coated it with a "Trial" gallon of Herculiner. However the rest of the roof I was lazy and did not clean it well, and did not apply the herculiner nearly thick enough. In the thin areas, it came off with a washcloth, and was not sticking to the old EPDM roof that well. In the thick areas, I was able to pull off thin areas, but it ripped at the thick area, and I was not able to get that off at all!

Still the area near my skylight the material had shrunk, and needed to be recoated, because it had started to leak rain water.

I did scrub the roof well this time, and it came clean. I will need to order another 5 gallons of material, and apply that to the drivers side behind the antenna, and to the middle section of the roof. The first 5 gallons coated the front 6' really well, and I kept going all the way down the passenger side - coating the roof seam to the awning line, and it should be thick enough to last a long time.

I still need to remove the Maxx Air covers and A/C cover, then wash under those areas, and coat the rest of the roof. Raise the antenna, and get from there back to the ladder area. I guess I will also need to bring along a 6' ladder to be able to coat the roof near the RV ladder (without me standing on it). I don't have access to my old work ladders, that would be really handy to have a taller one.

Fred.




This is a place that I found has great prices on Eternabond.

Eternabond with 4"X50' at around $50.

[Johnnybgood]

Forgot the linky http://www.alsliner.com/

[Johnnybgood]

I am looking at using Al's bed-liner kit with an undercoating of the Heat and noise reducer. I have already talked to them and it will not adhere to the EDPM/rubber roof. I am going to replace the board under the roof anyway so this looks to me like the way to go.

[kutch2001]

I chose to use Grizzly Grip. Tried to document the process and will be doing a second coat within the next couple weeks I think. Am sure this process is similar no matter which roof coating is used, hence why sharing here.

One thing which disturbed me, not greatly, but still something to ponder, is that Grizzly Grip didn't soak through like HercuLiner did. It also caused some expanding of the dried underliner, which causes what looks like warping in the underlayment. Am not quite sure if it's extremely important to have a flat roof or the bubbles/warps are unimportant.

Overall am pleased how it all turned out. Have two posts related to this, one about cleaning and the other about the actual application. Once figure out what to do will have a third (maybe fourth) related to the final coat.

Cleaning

Application

[kutch2001]

Thanks Fred for the update and information. I did try JCWhitney couple months ago and pretty sure called them also, but no luck. Will check their website again to verify. Which is why thinking of using the alternative. Also went to auto parts stores on the Oregon Coast couple months ago, they found part number but couldn't get it.

Am in SoCal right now (chilly at night), heading to Palm Springs shortly for the FMCA Rally. Hopefully can get some ideas there, or at least tips and tricks. After that Rally will probably order whatever finally decide on and post here. Then heading southeast again, hoping to avoid rain much as possible, and find the warm weather.

RVUSA - Thanks a TON for idea on Ace Hardware. Those prices are very realistic in comparison to some of the RV stores I've been in. If choose to use Elastomeric they had some nice looking reflective coatings. I really do like idea of the HercuLiner. It just seems better for me.

- Richard

[RVUSA]

Hey just a note, Ace hardware is selling some good looking roof coatings, and eternabond "similar" tape for far lower than the standard rv pirate sellers.

clicky

A 5 gallon pail of "maximum stretch" will do a 40 foot rv with at least 3 coats, and the butyl tape is the eternabond similar tape.

way cheaper in both regards.

[Golden_HVAC]

Try looking up JCWhitney.com that is where I bought mine. Yet if the manufacture stopped making it, you are out of luck. You have to call JcWhitney, or use their online helper to look up the part number. Who knows the manufacture might still have a couple of gallons on hand? Worth asking for it. I used about 4 gallons on my 30' long RV.

As for the patch, I would not recommend coating the fresh sealant with Herculiner or anything else. If it comes off easy, take all you can get off now, and then coat the bare roof with Herculiner. If it is stuck there, don't try to remove it, just coat with Herculiner or another product.

I did find a couple of places where the Herculiner has leaked, mostly because I applied it thin in that location. Also beware the inside the RV will smell really badly once it is applied for about a week. I lived in mine, and had to run all 3 fantastic fans all night long, impossible in this 46F weather now, but worked great in So. California in May, with overnight temps hovering around 65.

My suggestion is if the Herculiner is not available in white, look at the video of the RV roof sealant at this site, and then apply that. One guy with a 38' Bounder mixed up 1 gallon for his roof, went around all the patches and sidewall seams, around the A/C. Then next morning mixed up a 5 gallon pail, then finished the roof, had some left over to re-seal the seams and sidewall joints, and seems to be holding up pretty good. This particular 2 part sealant has a "Pot" life of more than 4 hours, and can be extended by placing the container in a refrigerator. However it must be over 55F to cure, if it drops below that temperature, it will stop curing until it is warmer outside.

http://www.epdmcoatings.com/rv_roof_repair.html

Fred.