Coating EPDM rubber roof

[J_E]

Has anyone recently coated their rubber roof? I would be interested in what product you used and what advice you have to share about the project. I only have one spot about ten inches square that has turned black. I don't know if I should only coat that spot for now.

[biskit6]

I have white flaking from my 10 year old roof. Probably about 10% of the black is showing through. More came off from foot traffic while I was working on the AC recently. So, this summer, I probably need to take care of the problem. With only a few years of RV experience, I tend to cling to the standard Dicor products. However, after reading the rave reviews on here, considering using the Liquid Rubber. The Dicor recommends a serious cleaning and pressure washing. What surface prep did you Liquid Rubber folks do? I will likely clean up the dicor lap sealant and eternabond the seams prior to applying the roof. I'd love to avoid pressure washing the roof.

[Chopperbob]

Check Google for Bus Kote.
I've done one aluminum and one rubber roof.
Clean then primer then two finish coats.
Worked well for me. It's white reflective, elastimerik
and it insulates.
.

[eric1514]

On sale now at Camping World

Dicor Rubber Roof Coating

[2500HDee]

Almot wrote:
Aha, they are the same, I knew it :)... Thanks...

2500Hdee - replacing membrane is a lot more labor, not everybody can. If there is no mechanical damage like rips, I wouldn't bother.

Thanks I was curious about that since it seemed like a lot of work to pull the old one off and put a new one down.

[Almot]

Aha, they are the same, I knew it :)... Thanks...

2500Hdee - replacing membrane is a lot more labor, not everybody can. If there is no mechanical damage like rips, I wouldn't bother.

[BarneyS]

Almot,
Both the "Liquid Rubber" that you linked to, and the "Liquid Roof" product that I used are both made by the same company - ProGuard. I suspect that they are the exact same product but can't say for sure.
Both product guides say they are to be applied as a 20mil thick coating and the coverage is the same for both.
However, the warranty for the Liquid Rubber product is two years, while the warranty for the Liquid Roof product is five years.

Here is a copy/paste from their website about the two.

"EPDM Liquid Rubber®

Liquid Rubber has the same chemical make up as Liquid Roof and therefore can be used for applications where you would use Liquid Roof. The differences between the two are a slight color difference, where you can purchase the product and warranty."
Barney

[Almot]

Barney, that's some good guide, thanks, saved it for future. You used more expensive "RV"-version called Liquid Roof, rather than non-RV version called Liquid Rubber. Asked different people, nobody could explain the difference. Manufacturer itself doesn't provide any technical data for their RV-version of this goo, only for non-RV version.

I often have doubts that product marketed as RV-something is necessarily better. Same as "marine"-something. Sometimes it is, but when they can't tell exactly how it is different - nah...

Have some doubts in Dicor being "industry standard" too. Last year bought a tube of EPDM Roof Sealant by Geocel, was a dollar or two cheaper than Dicor Lap Sealant, though normally Geocell costs more. Couldn't tell the difference. Geocel had "RV" letters on the tube, while venerable Dicor didn't.

[2500HDee]

Is this better than replacing the rubber membrane? It sure looks easier.

[BarneyS]

Yes, I coated my rubber roof a couple of years ago and posted about it, with pictures, here. It should give you some help.
Barney

[Oldme]

Dicor is viewed as the industry standard.
It is available from CW and most RV supply outlets.


Liquid Rubber is one of many available products from many manufacturers.
One of the toughest coating is reported to be used by the bed-liner companies that now coat RV roofs.
http://liners.rhinolinings.com/en/p/home

[Almot]

eric1514 wrote:
I used this product Dicor Rubber roof Coating a couple of years ago when the black started to show through on my roof.

No personal experience, but everybody is raving about Liquid Rubber. Haven't heard of this Dicor coating before, probably something similar. No wonder CW discounted it to $70, hard to beat the competitor price. Here is the company website, and if you click on the product there is more and technical info. Their "Liquid Roof" is reportedly identical, with a markup for "RV" letters on the label. Seeing this all the time, call it RV-something and jack the price up.

Whatever you choose, make sure you order White color :)...

PS: if it's just one patch 3"x3", it could be too early to re-coat the entire roof and/or use rubber-like coating. Original paint is unstable, it's oxidizing and coming off in a form of powder all the time, black spot doesn't mean you need more rubber on top of the original rubber. If the roof is less than 10 years, I would paint the spot and give it another year or two.

[eric1514]

I used this product Dicor Rubber roof Coating a couple of years ago when the black started to show through on my roof. I am very pleased with the results and it was not difficult to do. It took all of a very long day because, according to the instructions, the cleaning, priming and coating all need to be done without delay, but it looks fantastic and saved me a ton of money on a new roof.

Eric

[Almot]

Your paint has come off. Paint this spot over. Black is the natural color of rubber, white is a paint. It's been slowly shedding the paint all the time, from the day you bought it, all of them are. Wet some rug and rub where it's still white, and rug will become white.

[wirenutz]

I'm going to watch this post, mine is 7 years old