Roof Coating For a Fiberglass Roof

[Kstills]

Welp, seek and ye shall find:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/mic...of-139889.html

Appears to be the gel coat, either age or too thin a coating from new. Paint would definitely help the situation, so now it's on to which one would be best. I'm thinking a marine grade product myself. I wonder if I can get reflective silver to keep in tune with the Airstream branding?

BTW, only issue is with my flat roof, the sides of the topper are pristine.

[Steverino]

Originally Posted by Kstills

Welp, seek and ye shall find:

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/mic...of-139889.html

Appears to be the gel coat, either age or too thin a coating from new. Paint would definitely help the situation, so now it's on to which one would be best. I'm thinking a marine grade product myself. I wonder if I can get reflective silver to keep in tune with the Airstream branding?

BTW, only issue is with my flat roof, the sides of the topper are pristine.

Good job! That's a different thread than the one I saw, but it is nice to have additional confirmation & info. I wish the picture link still worked as I'd be interested in comparing it to mine. If I had a smooth roof I'd try the wet sand / compound / buff process first - at least a test section. But that's not an option for my surface, so I'm gonna go for a thorough cleaning and probably the Topside paint. Our rig is mostly stored indoors, so once painted I'm hoping it will last for as long as we have it.

[Kstills]

Originally Posted by Steverino

Good job! That's a different thread than the one I saw, but it is nice to have additional confirmation & info. I wish the picture link still worked as I'd be interested in comparing it to mine. If I had a smooth roof I'd try the wet sand / compound / buff process first - at least a test section. But that's not an option for my surface, so I'm gonna go for a thorough cleaning and probably the Topside paint. Our rig is mostly stored indoors, so once painted I'm hoping it will last for as long as we have it.

This is from the boat guys:

https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/w...painted.66773/

Some try to revive an oxidized surface with wax. Wax over oxidation is short lived.
If if polishes to semi-gloss without wax, then it is good to go. Now wax will lengthen the life of the un-oxidized gelcoat.
Eventually, some fiberglass will appear after trying to polish. Then it's time to paint.

Do not paint over waxed gelcoat.

[RVRoofMagic]

hello for fiberglass the important thing is making sure any surface cracks are fixed first otherwise a coatings will eventually crack. we have a product that does that but here is a link to a couple articles that should help you prep your roof and make a sound decision on what to use


https://www.rvroofmagic.com/blog/how...v-roof-repair/


https://www.rvroofmagic.com/blog/sea...ut-not-always/

[Kstills]

Originally Posted by RVRoofMagic

hello for fiberglass the important thing is making sure any surface cracks are fixed first otherwise a coatings will eventually crack. we have a product that does that but here is a link to a couple articles that should help you prep your roof and make a sound decision on what to use


https://www.rvroofmagic.com/blog/how...v-roof-repair/


https://www.rvroofmagic.com/blog/sea...ut-not-always/

Thanks for joining the discussion.

The cracks in my roof are tiny, you actually need to be right on top of them to see them. From what I'm reading about fiberglass roofs, the issue seems to be in the gel coat, not the structure of the fiberglass itself. I'm unclear at this point whether or not these can be compounded out or not, so I'm still trying to figure that angle out. Painting is the safest option, and I have looked at your stuff since you're a site sponsor, but I haven't found a good explanation of the application process yet.

[RVRoofMagic]

hi so regarding the application process you can see several good videos sent in by rv owners showing them applying the product https://www.rvroofmagic.com/application-process.php
also regarding the crack filler here is the link to the Seal Sealer product i was referring to in the first post https://www.rvroofmagic.com/seam-tight.php

Many of our rv repair shops we sell to swear seam tight for prepping all the seams and joints.
hope that helps !
thank you
Greg

[Rob_M]

Originally Posted by Kstills

I looked into this stuff, it's a silicone based product. If you use it, make sure you keep up with the recoat-maintenance aspect of the roof, as putting anything else over it would require stripping the entire coating off.

Thus my hesitation to use it without seeing how well it’s holding up on other rv’s. It’s also VERY slick to walk on. Like ice when wet. Im not sure how adding traction strips will effect it’s longevity.

[RVRoofMagic]

No there is no silicone in the product it is the only Butyl Liquid rubber in the world. and it is solvent based this link should provide all the details on the product as well as why it has stood out for all these years
thank you!

[Rob_M]

Originally Posted by RVRoofMagic

No there is no silicone in the product it is the only Butyl Liquid rubber in the world. and it is solvent based this link should provide all the details on the product as well as why it has stood out for all these years
thank you!

We were talking about the Henri Tropicool it’s pure silicone

[Tim Adam]

Which ever coating you choose be aware that surface prep and primer is crucial when coating fiberglass. Sand the surface well to remove all shine and roughen the surface and then before primer application, lightly wipe the surface with a rag dampened with acetone. This will remove fine dust and won't leave any residue.