Exterior Sunny Side up -Roof Paint

[Drover]

Have scrubbed the roof down to replace sealant at corners, strangely the straight bits are still good just with a bit of crazing BUT the rest of the roof the paint/gelcoat ?? whatever, whilst having a few scratches from low trees has the crazed pattern all over it as well as a few light dents from a hail storm that came a bit close once.

Now would a nice thick rubberised paint job be worthwhile for sealing, hail protection and possibly a bit of insulation ???? or should I go just a good spray of a marine gloss with a couple of coats of clear ??
I have found the bitumen/ rubberised stuff to be good but really needs good prep and another sealing coat of paint to make it last, a lot of work for dubious benefit. I just don't know.

 

[chartrock]

@Drover, when they repaired the cracks in my roof, they just repaired the problem area then two- packed the whole roof to prevent differences in colour or finish. Did a great job.

 

[Drover]

When I closed my shed up awhile ago I spotted the tin of Dulux roof paint that I used on my roof last year and was thinking same, same really, it's tough, it's out in the sun more than the van, so maybe.......!!!!!!

 

[Crusty181]

I recall seeing some product advertised in a caravan mag, that was a gleaming white task purposed rubberised caravan roof membrane which was hail resistant, water proof and sound deadener I think ..... there was no cost attached to it, but might be worth asking

 

[wizzerwazza]

Has anyone ever used this stuff?
http://www.diywaterproofing.com.au/waterproof-caravan-roof
Looks good....maybe.
Warren

 

[Drover]

That looks like the stuff I'd heard about awhile back. Will have to look into it a bit more.

 

[Bmhdg76]

Too bad it is black.

BJ.

 

[wizzerwazza]

oh well, it was a good idea lol

 

[chartrock]

It's a shame this product is not available for consumer use.

 

[1756mick]

You shouldn't worry too much it is only cosmetic.
(I'm sure you know most of below as you seem to know what you are doing)
Gelcoat is sprayed on to a flat mould at about .5 thick. Gelcoat won't ever harden without being sealed from air. So it is sprayed down first which is basically a white pigmented resin. Then it needs it strength in the chopped strand mat that is layer over it and bonded with std polyester resin.
The craze cracks you see are purely in the gelcoat layer which is the cosmetic layer that has zero strength. This is the white finish you see on every glass van skin or boat hull. Sand too deep and you will find a clear finish underneath like a surfboard. To repair it Most will sand it, high build prime it and 2 Pack it to hide it, but again only for cosmetics.
The total skin thickness on An Expanda is about 1.8mm.

Regarding paint, being white it needs no clear. If you want a protective layer spray it with stone guard then two pack over the top.
Stone guard is the same product used on the nose cone lower half. This can be painted over.
Interthane 379 in Mercedes actross white is a pretty good match in colour. It is a one stage 2K paint, great gloss off the gun. 4:1ratio, 30%thinners, use a gravity gun 1.3 tip, max 40psi. (If in Qld I can sell you some out of our paint shed at work)

 

[Drover]

Thanks for that @1756 the clarification I needed, I was thinking about using some stone gaurd just for hail protection and using just some white to finish it off, wasn't going to be too particular with the top coat as nobody see's it. Just put it on the To Do list , so it will be done before the Must Do list gets going.

 

[1756mick]

I have a stone guard gun if you need to borrow. You can actually get it in white. Not sure about the colour match however

 

[Drover]

Thanks for the offer but I have a gun which does it, somewhere, I wonder where it is ? well its an attachment thing which fits onto can set up.