Best Roof Coating

qtla9111 wrote:

JBarca wrote:

TECMike wrote:
And I also should have used 303 Protectant on mine through the years. Your roof is a testimony to that product.

I never knew how much the 303 really does for the good of the caulk and the rubber, by cleaning the roof correctly and using the 303, until I saw it with my own eyes, on the same age roofing system, that is not washed, and not cared for on the caulk.

John

John,

Could you share your process for cleaning the roof correctly?

Thanks

Hi,

Here is the process I use on Dicor EPDM Brite Ply roofing. In my case I do not have a walk on roof so I do this from the side of the camper. I would do it from the side even if I had a walk on roof. The roof is too slippery when wet. The key for cleaning is, you want to remove the dirt but not over scrub to take off the white shed layer. Mold is cleaned differently and is not dirt, one needs to learn what is mold and what is dirt. If the detergent did not touch it, odds are high, it's mold.

1. Rinse roof with hose sprayer to rinse off loose dirt and fully wet the work area.

2. Using laundry detergent (I use Tide) water mixture and a "soft" car wash brush on a pole, wash the roof like you do your high end sports car. All this is trying to do it get the dirt as that is all the detergent will take off.

3. I clean the inside of the gutter rail with a tooth brush. The dirt/dust buildup can be bad in there and the dirt slows down water draining from the gutter.

4. Rinse the work area well. Move ladder down to the next work area and repeat. Rinse side of camper as you move from the stuff that flows off as you go. Do not let it dry on.

5. I can only reach a little past half way across the camper, so I need to go down both sides to do the total roof. The work area is about 4 1/2 ft across the 8 ft wide roof, and about 6 feet down the length of the camper for each ladder setting.

If you live in an area, the midwest or northeast, where mold grows, (in Ohio it grows fast) I do a mold clean on the roof every so often. This removes the black specs that can look like dirt. This is separate from the detergent washing.

Mold kill process. This is not done after every wash, only when needed. For Ohio and camper living outside, this may be once a year, maybe twice for heavy mold growing times.

6. After the detergent cleaning is over, and the conditions of day are right, I start the mold kill process. You want to avoid the high sun, high temperature and a high wind part of the day. Everything evaporates too fast in those conditions. The ideal condition is a cloudy day with low, to no wind, temps below 78 F ish. Early morning or later after dinner in the summer can work.

7. Hose wet the work area you are working on.

8. Using a non scented standard bleach and water solution in a 5 gallon bucket. (I use 2 gal water to 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fresh bleach to do a 32 ft camper) Spread the mixture on the roof with the car wash brush and you want it on wet. Do "not" scrub, scrubbing will not help, just brush it on, good and wet. And let it sit and soak for 10 to, most times no more then 15 minutes. Rewet it with solution if it starts drying during this time. You do not want it to dry onto the roof intentionally. The bleach needs time to work.

9. Before leaving that work area to go to the next, rinse the sides of the camper well for any bleach solution that runs down the side of the camper.

10. Move to the next work area and repeat the above. Ideally you can get the whole camper at once before it starts drying. But if you can't, then just do the left and right side and half the camper at once or what ever length you can do. You just do not want to rinse off the treated area until it has had time to do the mold kill work.

11. After the mold kill time is up, rinse the area well and the sides of the camper again. If there are some areas still not killed, repeat those areas. The roof will come back white.

12. Treat roof with 303 after it has dried after every cleaning/mold kill.

Notes:

Do not over scrub, that is what can take off excess white shed layer on the EPDM.

If the camper lives outside, 3 to 4 cleanings a year helps keep the dirt in check and build up bonded to the roof. The dirt comes off a lot easier, especially with the 303 on the roof. If the camper is stored inside, then about 2 cleanings per year.

If you have not done a cleaning in a few years, you most likely need to do 2 detergent washes, sometimes 3. You may even need to use a different cleaner if 2 washes with Tide do not remove the bonded on dirt buildup. On my project camper that have not been cleaned in many years, (some 10 years), 2 to 3 detergent washes plus a different detergent is really needed before the mold kill is common to bring the roof back to life. I have pics of that if wanted.

I really did not invent this process, maybe embellished it. Below is what came in my owners manual from Dicor in 2003. They state full strength bleach is OK, but I would never do that due to the decals on the camper.

A few pics from the process.




Directions that came in my manual.




This does take time. The bigger the camper, the longer the time.

Hope this helps

John