# Rubber Roof Paint



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

A roof leak would cause serious and expensive repair. Does anyone here periodically paint his/her roof as preventive maintenance? Perhaps once every three years?


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

I think most roof leaks occur where the roof has been caulked or lap sealed, normally around the edges and at the seams where holes have been cut (such as for vents). The best roof maintenance you can possible do is to keep this caulking in excellent condition. Inspect every month or so, scrap off worn and old caulk and lap sealant and redo with new sealant. Keep your roof clean, wash and treat twice a year and the rubber should last longer than the trailer.

I don't think painting is necessary unless you have a specific problem with the rubber roof.

DAN


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## Leedek (Nov 28, 2010)

2x with Twoelkhounds. I used a "Snow Coat" product on a previous trailer. I thought I cleaned and prepped the roof per instructions. I applied the coating and it looked great. The next time I checked my roof and washed it I ended up with bits of Snow Coat all over the driveway. I admit that my prep may have been inadequate but I will not ever use this kind of product again. I am doing my roof maintenance checks this week. I will inspect as Twoelkhounds suggest and do needed spot repairs with self-leveling lap sealant.

There are a number of Youtube vids concerning roof repairs. I perused them a while back and got some useful info. Good luck with your maintenance.


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

I too have been researching a rubber roof coating since the sun here is brutal and Califoria had a lot of crud in the air. I just got back from a Oregon/Washing trip and I stayed at my dads house in Spokane and had my trailer parked next to Dads trailer and while sitting on the deck my roof looked horrible next to his. I wash my roof a couple time a year and he has never washed his and his roof is Snow White and mine is brown.

I have been looking at Dicor brand, they have 2 coatings one is elastomeric and the other is a ceramic coating. There are a lot of other brands of coatings for EPDM roof so I have a lot of research to do..I read a article where a guy compared the chemicals in a rv roof coating and a industrial one like you can buy at Home Depot and found out it was the exact same chemicals but at half the price. He used the cheaper one with excellent results. Anyway like I said I have lot of research to do.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

I wash and inspect mine once a year. I do not worry about stains and the only maintenance is to repair caulk that looks suspect on inspection after I wash the trailer. I use no treatment on the roof and it is more or less white except for the occasional sap stain.

Bill - I would suspect yours has discolored (darkened) partially due to supplemental treatments you have used on the roof. The white material normal sheds slowly and this would normally keep the roof nice and white. The shedding is one of the main contributors to black streak below the gutters.


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

CamperAndy said:


> I wash and inspect mine once a year. I do not worry about stains and the only maintenance is to repair caulk that looks suspect on inspection after I wash the trailer. I use no treatment on the roof and it is more or less white except for the occasional sap stain.
> 
> Bill - I would suspect yours has discolored (darkened) partially due to supplemental treatments you have used on the roof. The white material normal sheds slowly and this would normally keep the roof nice and white. The shedding is one of the main contributors to black streak below the gutters.


You are correct Andy under the white it is black but it gets darker after a long storage peroid, we just have crappy air, comes from Sacramento you can see the smog coming from that direction starting in the AM and getting worse through out the day. And so true on the black streaks . We just don't have that clean air you enjoy in the PNW, sure wish I could get the wife to move haha.


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

If you think the air is bad in Northern California, try So Cal! The combination of heat, air pollution and lack of rain is deadly to rubber roofs. I try to wash mine 3-4 times per year with a cleaner/conditioner, but there are some stains that just don't come off and at 2 years of age it's already starting to chalk. I'd be surprised if the rubber lasts 10 years in this environment.


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## Metal Dad (Jun 4, 2013)

We bought our 2005 28BHS used back in early June. The roof had never been touched. I did a bit of homework and found that the high-end elastomeric from Home Depot would suit our needs. I'm in Florida, land of the mobile home, and roof rubber gets a lot of action around these parts. I was able to get the big bucket of 10-year rated roofing, which was about $80, for $40 with some supersonic coupon my wife had in her purse.

It took me a couple of weeks to get it on the camper, as we've had a very rainy summer, almost every single day. In fact, after applying the second coat, I came down the ladder and by the time I hit the front door the skies unexpectedly opened up. I sat on the front porch in the rain with a beer watching a little white river wash my rubber roof down the storm sewer.

I eventually finished with 4 good coats, covered up the three vents with some brand new Maxxair vent covers, unclogged the gutters from a bad awning/caulking replacement job while I was up there, and it came out great.

I even had enough elastomeric left to put three coats on my old popup that I'm selling, and just enough to do a refresher coat next year or so.

The only problem, other than the rain, that I encountered is the heat. I had to apply quickly because on one of the early coats, if the elastomeric starts to dry, you get that skin effect (like homemade chocolate pudding as it starts to cool, only refrence I can think of...)and it would would wad up on the roller, or imbed in the roof as a bump.

So far so good. It's clean, white, and dry!


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

Metal Dad said:


> We bought our 2005 28BHS used back in early June. The roof had never been touched. I did a bit of homework and found that the high-end elastomeric from Home Depot would suit our needs. I'm in Florida, land of the mobile home, and roof rubber gets a lot of action around these parts. I was able to get the big bucket of 10-year rated roofing, which was about $80, for $40 with some supersonic coupon my wife had in her purse.
> 
> It took me a couple of weeks to get it on the camper, as we've had a very rainy summer, almost every single day. In fact, after applying the second coat, I came down the ladder and by the time I hit the front door the skies unexpectedly opened up. I sat on the front porch in the rain with a beer watching a little white river wash my rubber roof down the storm sewer.
> 
> ...


Very nice was wondering what brand you used. We don't get much rain here from may to November so that is not a problem but it does get hot, so,thanks for,the skin tip, guess I will have to work fast or break it up into small blocks.


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## Metal Dad (Jun 4, 2013)

Home Depot stocks - "Gardner 4.75-Gal. Sta Kool 10-Year Ultra White Siliconized Elastomeric Roof Coating"

Lowes stocks - "BLACK JACK 4.75-Gallon Elastomeric Roof Coating 10-Year"

Going back over my records, we purchased the Black Jack from Lowe's

http://www.lowes.com/pd_139941-29-5530-1-30_0__

In terms of working fast, I invited a friend over to help and coat 3 was a actually a double coat! I started in one corner, he started in the opposite corner and we worked around the whole camper, so that by the time I got to where he started, it was dry and ready for another coat, and he would just be getting to where I started, and was dry, good system if you can find the help!


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## TXJax (Dec 24, 2017)




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