Painting roof What to use?

[Queens_Carriage]

I know this has been talked about 100000 times. But one last time.Going to scrub roof the best I can then put eternabond tape on all seams then paint the roof ( Tired of the white chalking running down the sides. So Wash, Wipe with assitone, apply tape, then paint roof. Now the big question?? What would you to paint the foof? I was told by one person He used Blackjack 1000, from Lowe's. What would you use? or what did you use? Want to get it right the first time' Just tired of the wite chalking down the sides of the RV.

[Alpenliter]

Same here! For the mess and trouble of the Liquid Roof, it looks like **** after 4 years. Went to Hengs, much easier to apply and looks great

[SuperD]

I know this is an old topic, but just adding my experience and .02.

I coated my RV roof around 3 years ago with liquid rubber epdm. Did all the prep but maybe should have done the coating thicker. I also used eterna bond on all seams and perimeter. 3 years later it began to flake in some areas, disappointing. So, I looked for an alternative and used Hengs to redo it. Hengs was much more affordable and easier to apply, much like painting a floor. Did 3 coats with 2 cans on a 28'RV. So far it looks great, and if I have to redo it again with Hengs in 3 years then so be it. Eterna bond shows no wear at all.

Hengs was easiest and more affordable, a win-win. Do a good job on the prep work!

[TeryT]

C Schomer wrote:
I used Henry 287 SF almost 4 years ago. $65 for 5 gal. and it did 3 coats. I was just up there and except for the dust, it still looks like I just put it on. It's holding up better than the rubber ever did and it's soooo nice to have some texture when it's wet. No chalking or any bad signs, whatsoever. I blocked up the AC (left the wiring connected) so I could coat underneath a ways. Craig

Just for the record, Henry's website says specifically that the 287 elastomeric product is NOT recommended for RVs. (Henry's 887 Tropi-Cool Silicone is recommended for RVs including TPO "vinyl" roofs.)

So how is your Henry 287 (elastomeric) holding up?

[BarneyS]

DiskDoctr wrote:
Barney- How is your roof looking this year? It should have about a year on that new coating.

From what I am reading...the primer is for "challenging surfaces" whereas Liquid Roof does not need a primer for straight EPDM that doesn't already have another product on it.

My roof looks like I just finished painting it! :B I think adding the primer was the key.

If I were you, I would go ahead and use the primer. It can only help and not hurt as far as I know. I would call the company first to make sure however. I was sure, when I did my roof the first time, that everything was fine but a couple of years later it turned to that Alligator roof. And Yes, paint right over the Eternabond tape.
Barney

[DiskDoctr]

Resurrecting this excellent thread as we are preparing to coat our roof this year. I'm working on Eternabond tape on the front and rear seams, roof vents, fridge vent, and probably drain vents.

Oh yeah, I also added a strip under the end of the antenna where it sits at the roof to avoid rubbing.

@Barney- How is your roof looking this year? It should have about a year on that new coating.

From what I am reading...the primer is for "challenging surfaces" whereas Liquid Roof does not need a primer for straight EPDM that doesn't already have another product on it.

Maybe they added that wording in response to your situation? Product improvement is a good thing.

So SINGLE COATING and NO PRIMER, right over the new Eternabond tape, correct?

[Alpenliter]

Sounds like a plan. I just ordered 2 gallons of Hengs rubber roof coating. Has to be easier to apply than Liquid Roof.

[jeffk14]

Alpenliter wrote:
Why take the chance? Use Dicor Self leveling Lap Sealant for touching up the existing sealant. Good luck on your project!

For what it's worth, I contacted Henry Technical Support and got an email back today, stating that the Henry 884 sealant IS compatible with their 887HS roof coating and with EPDM roofs. The email also recommended 2 or 3 days cure time on the 884 before doing the 887HS and to remove all the Dicor before applying the 884.

With that info, I'm just going to use Dicor and Eternabond as needed, followed by the 887HS.

[Alpenliter]

Why take the chance? Use Dicor Self leveling Lap Sealant for touching up the existing sealant. Good luck on your project!

[jeffk14]

sonora wrote:

Gjac wrote:

John&Joey wrote:
You know I saw when the thread was first posted and I said "what the heck?" Now I understand, thanks for your update. It has always been my opinion that liquid roof was overkill, now it also looks like it's not a 10-20 year fix either.

IMHO, you got a mess on your hands now. No way to fix that alligator roof without scrapping it off or replacing the whole thing. I paint my older 5'ver with that Heng's stuff. Lasts about 3-5 years then repeat. Not perfect, but seems to work.

Thanks for the update and the pictures. It really helps others when people do that. Two thumbs up.

This is my experience also. A friend bought a MH with a FG roof so he gave me a gallon of Kool Coat he had left over which is an acrylic like Heng's it looked good for about 3-4 years. I only had enough for 1 coat. I should have re coated it after 4 years but it is just getting to the point where I can see the primer and has worn off pretty evenly. I was going to re coat with Henry's Dura-White acrylic( has anyone tried Henry's). I coated it in 2006 so I think this extended the life of my roof for at least 11 years it may take another 5 years to completely wear off. But I think the right process is coat every 4 to 5 years to keep the roof white and prevent the top layer of EPDM from sloughing off. I have a friend with the same age roof that is completely black because he never coated it.

I used Henry Tropicool 887HS. So far I am impressed.

The Henry 887HS looks very interesting. I've got a 9 year-old rubber roof that could use a facelift. Do you know if the Henry 884 sealant would be a good alternative to Dicor to touch up cracks in the sealant before I apply the 887? I know that silicone sealant is supposed to be a no-no on rubber roofs but is the Henry 884 an exception?

[JBarca]

WOW Barney, It looks great once again!

Really glad the manufacture came through for ya. Gotta keep that SunnyBrook Titan TT a going a good long time yet.

I like the green machine in the pic too. 🙂

Thanks for sharing.

John

[BarneyS]

BillyW,
It would be challenging but doable in my opinion. You would have to work about 6 feet at a time from one side and then switch over to the other side for the other half. Then move on to the next 6 feet.

The reason I say 6 feet at a time is to put the material on at the correct rate. You mark the roof every 6 feet with a piece of masking tape. Then apply the material at the rate of one gallon every 6 feet. At least that was the directions I was given for my situation. No matter what distance make sure you find out how much coverage a gallon does and apply it at that rate. It makes it quite easy to do the job right if you know how many feet a gallon will cover. You just pour out 1/2 of the gallon on the right side and then the other 1/2 on the other. It is somewhat thick and is easily spread with a squeege and then followed up with a short nap roller. It is self leveling so the finish comes out very smooth. In my case, the self leveling filled all the valleys in the Alligator like finish to end up being very smooth and nice.

Not being able to walk on the roof would make the job quite a bit more difficult but I think it should be possible to do ok. My son did the final 6 feet of the trailer from the side so he would not have a problem getting down and it came out fine.

As was the case when I first did the roof some years ago, the job was not hard but the climbing up and down the ladder to tape, cut in, and paint was the hardest on me. Thought of using the tractor to lift but it would not go high enough and was too awkward to work from.
Barney

[TurnThePage]

Barney, it looks great. I think I will try your route a little later this Summer. I wonder how challenging it will be since my roof is not the walk on variety. At least it's not that big.

[sonora]

Gjac wrote:

John&Joey wrote:
You know I saw when the thread was first posted and I said "what the heck?" Now I understand, thanks for your update. It has always been my opinion that liquid roof was overkill, now it also looks like it's not a 10-20 year fix either.

IMHO, you got a mess on your hands now. No way to fix that alligator roof without scrapping it off or replacing the whole thing. I paint my older 5'ver with that Heng's stuff. Lasts about 3-5 years then repeat. Not perfect, but seems to work.

Thanks for the update and the pictures. It really helps others when people do that. Two thumbs up.

This is my experience also. A friend bought a MH with a FG roof so he gave me a gallon of Kool Coat he had left over which is an acrylic like Heng's it looked good for about 3-4 years. I only had enough for 1 coat. I should have re coated it after 4 years but it is just getting to the point where I can see the primer and has worn off pretty evenly. I was going to re coat with Henry's Dura-White acrylic( has anyone tried Henry's). I coated it in 2006 so I think this extended the life of my roof for at least 11 years it may take another 5 years to completely wear off. But I think the right process is coat every 4 to 5 years to keep the roof white and prevent the top layer of EPDM from sloughing off. I have a friend with the same age roof that is completely black because he never coated it.

I used Henry Tropicool 887HS. So far I am impressed.

[BarneyS]

John&Joey wrote:
Snip...
IMHO, you got a mess on your hands now. No way to fix that alligator roof without scrapping it off or replacing the whole thing. I paint my older 5'ver with that Heng's stuff. Lasts about 3-5 years then repeat. Not perfect, but seems to work.

Thanks for the update and the pictures. It really helps others when people do that. Two thumbs up.

I am happy to report that you are incorrect when you said I would have to scrape it all off and replace.

In looking at their website, it seems that one manufacturer of rubber roof sheeting, Alfa rubber, has a record of the exact type of problem I had after a couple of years after application. The symptoms described on the website match mine completely. Proguard has an improved product that eliminates this problem.

ProGuard provided me with enough of this new product to completely re-do my roof. My son, grandson, and I got the job done yesterday. I used the primer and topcoat that the manufacturer sent me and the roof look just as good now as it did when I purchased the trailer about 14 years ago. I am completely flabberglasted and happy that they were able to provide a solution to my problem and am 100 percent satisfied and happy with the result.

Here are some pictures of the process we went through and the final results. I climbed up on the roof today and replaced the vent covers that we removed for the painting.

Once again I would like to thank the manufacturer for stepping up to the plate and solving what I thought was going to be a huge problem.
Barney

Mixing Primer


Ready to paint. (grandson helping)


Applying Primer(Blue Proflex Primer). You can see the alligator type surface we are painting over.


Primer complete and my son is starting to apply white topcoat (Moisture Cure) after about a three hour wait.


Topcoat completed Note that the Alligator type surface is completely gone and the surface is now very smooth. 🙂


Over all view of roof minus MaxxFan vent covers.

[Gjac]

John&Joey wrote:
You know I saw when the thread was first posted and I said "what the heck?" Now I understand, thanks for your update. It has always been my opinion that liquid roof was overkill, now it also looks like it's not a 10-20 year fix either.

IMHO, you got a mess on your hands now. No way to fix that alligator roof without scrapping it off or replacing the whole thing. I paint my older 5'ver with that Heng's stuff. Lasts about 3-5 years then repeat. Not perfect, but seems to work.

Thanks for the update and the pictures. It really helps others when people do that. Two thumbs up.

This is my experience also. A friend bought a MH with a FG roof so he gave me a gallon of Kool Coat he had left over which is an acrylic like Heng's it looked good for about 3-4 years. I only had enough for 1 coat. I should have re coated it after 4 years but it is just getting to the point where I can see the primer and has worn off pretty evenly. I was going to re coat with Henry's Dura-White acrylic( has anyone tried Henry's). I coated it in 2006 so I think this extended the life of my roof for at least 11 years it may take another 5 years to completely wear off. But I think the right process is coat every 4 to 5 years to keep the roof white and prevent the top layer of EPDM from sloughing off. I have a friend with the same age roof that is completely black because he never coated it.