EPDM Paint

Manufacturers recommend just cleaning a rubber roof with a mild soap and soft brush, but no coatings are recommended.

My coach is 20 years old and has a rubber roof. I had it coated with a non-petroleum coating made for that purpose about 10 years ago as a preventive measure, and haven't had any problems. It has never leaked. I plan to have it recoated this next summer.

Although some have no issues with it, it appears my son may be right and it is not highly favored by applying a coating by many others also. My roof is not leaking although the roof shows some of the black in the rubber. Not real bad, but shows some black on it. I though applying the coating would help preserve the roof, however, maybe it would be an issue if we decide to sell in a few years with an upgrade down the road upon retirement.

My roof was showing black so I covered it with Bus Kote.
Google it.
Bob

ScottG wrote:
Personally, I would not want an EPDM roof that was coated with anything. It's not part of any normal maint. and makes it look like leaks were covered up.
IMHO, it just looks like an amateurish way of taking care of roof issues.

x2
bumpy

path1 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Personally, I would not want an EPDM roof that was coated with anything. It's not part of any normal maint. and makes it look like leaks were covered up.
IMHO, it just looks like an amateurish way of taking care of roof issues.

ScottG look around at all your vents, something is coated around them to make a weather tight seal. Where I think people get into trouble is when they use something other than a EPDM product, like the old "snow white" roof coating or believe it or not some people using O'Henrys roof mastic(black tar mix stuff). How else could you get the roof water tight other than a EPDM rubber roof coating at least around the trim (vents, skylight, roof edges, etc) I've had to many branches and pine cones land on roof to not give mine a coat every 4 or 5 years, just to make sure it is water tight. I do also wish the RV roofs were thicker then what I have. I think all of my RV's are 45 or 60 mil thickness right from factory. That is not very thick. When I thought about replacing roof I was going to with 90 mil. But tried (see above post) and I'm real happy. But I can see your point with some folks layering on the roof whatever material they can get their hands on.

The product used around vents and such is a sealant and not ever advertised as a "coating".
Really the only time a coating would be needed at all is when the sacrificial protective white coating has weathered away to the point that the black rubber membrane underneath is showing. The manufacturer of EPDM roofs suggest this the end of the useful life of the roof and to replace it. I admit a coating would help the roof to last a few more years but using it prematurely would only suggest to a potential buyer that the roof is on its last legs. This is probably why some dealers would shy away from it or reduce trade in value.

ScottG wrote:
Personally, I would not want an EPDM roof that was coated with anything. It's not part of any normal maint. and makes it look like leaks were covered up.
IMHO, it just looks like an amateurish way of taking care of roof issues.

ScottG look around at all your vents, something is coated around them to make a weather tight seal. Where I think people get into trouble is when they use something other than a EPDM product, like the old "snow white" roof coating or believe it or not some people using O'Henrys roof mastic(black tar mix stuff). How else could you get the roof water tight other than a EPDM rubber roof coating at least around the trim (vents, skylight, roof edges, etc) I've had to many branches and pine cones land on roof to not give mine a coat every 4 or 5 years, just to make sure it is water tight. I do also wish the RV roofs were thicker then what I have. I think all of my RV's are 45 or 60 mil thickness right from factory. That is not very thick. When I thought about replacing roof I was going to with 90 mil. But tried (see above post) and I'm real happy. But I can see your point with some folks layering on the roof whatever material they can get their hands on.

I think you wan to call it "Rubber roof coating" not paint.
I use Inland coatings RC 2000. First I was just going to use it around vents, flashings etc. But after seeing how it went on and looked I did the whole roof. In their web site they did a couple commercial buildings in my area that gets a lot of rain, and their product held up good on my stuff. The only thing I don't like is it took longer than I thought it should to dry. Don't know if it was because I put it on pretty thick or weather or what. It has been holding up real good. Messing with the A/C, getting it out and back in by myself was my biggest hassle. I had some tinted to match our older RV that is a carmel color. I called Inland coatings and they said any standard brands paint store can stain to "their 855 or 955 series". Out of can it looks just like any other roof coating (polar white color). I called around and was able to get for $85.00 a gallon. Store wanted $128.00 when I first called them. Smallest size was gallon and no way was I going to pay that much, store said OK $85.00 I've done a 5th wheel 37 feet and 33 ft trailer and 26 foot class C and have about 1/4 left of gallon. So a little goes a long way. I used a paint brush so don't know about using roller. Check out their web site. They have numbers for scientific stuff that I have no idea what they are really saying. Other than I think temperature has a lot do with drying time. Maybe you might be able to tell what they are getting at by looking at there spec sheets. I was made aware of this product by a guy that has an RV rental fleet. If you're still interested after reading the spec sheets send me a PM and I'll explain what I used to remove old caulking (I didn't peel or scrap for months) and what I used to wash the roof prior to using. I think prep work is very important. What convinced me to give it a try was him telling me "a monkey can put it on and not mess it up" OK I'm interested.
Now only if some RV manufacture would come out with a roof system that is like a big coffee can lid and just snap a new lid on every 10 years, I would really be interested.
http://www.inlandcoatings.com/rc2000.htm
Nobody has asked me what I used on roof. Looks just like the true RV stuff. This stuff hasn't peeled or bubbled like the dicor stuff I used about 5 years ago did. (No I'm not connected to them other than I like their product)

Personally, I would not want an EPDM roof that was coated with anything. It's not part of any normal maint. and makes it look like leaks were covered up.
IMHO, it just looks like an amateurish way of taking care of roof issues.

I see no problem.
A well maintained RV will worth more that one that was neglected.
Re-coating the roof is normal.

There are many products out there. just make sure it is comparable with the roof material.