Poll: elastomeric vs. white paint on roof
 

I want to know if it's worth the extra money to buy elastomeric paint for the roof. It would take two five-gallon buckets to do two coats, costing $150 for the lower-quality version at Lowes.

I'd like to know a few things from people who have experience with white roofs of both types.

1. If you have just white paint, how much difference in temperature do you generally see in your bus (without the AC on, and in the sun).

2. If you have just white paint, do you have problems with it cracking and peeling? If so, how long did it last?

3. If you have just white paint, did you use oil based or latex?

4. If you have elastomeric paint, how much temperature difference do you see (no AC, in sunlight)

5. If you have elastomeric, how many coats did you use? If you only did one, was it sufficient?

6. Has anyone tried doing a layer or two of regular paint under the elastomeric, or vice-versa? Did it work, or did it peel?

(I don't actually know how to put this in real poll format. :facepalm:)

Here's my thread that primarily discusses elastomeric paint and ceramic beads, but also discusses normal white paint: http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/in...ease-9291.html

Some discussion of this in the thread mentioned above.

If you use the right paint and do the job properly you will never see cracking. Peeling will eventually come with rust, but that'll be far down the road.

As mentioned, a proper paint job will last the life of the bus. In my opinion, latex has no place on the exterior of a skoolie, or anything metal. Use automotive paint. Some people have had good results with products such as Tremclad (Rustoleum). My biggest problem with Tremclad is the dry time.. It can still be soft after a month of drying.

See thread mentioned above.

See thread mentioned above. I put down as many layers as would empty the pail: 5 coats for my shortie.

I can't see any point.. Do you have a reason for doing this?
The elastomeric paint goes on top of the existing bus paint. No peeling if the proper prep work is done.

I'll say this- the white sure helps.
Here in Florida almost every bus has a white roof for this very reason.

I'm not gonna lie... from my experience Bus Kote has got to be the best.

I went from a blistering (literally - my leg while installing the AC) hot roof - to a cool to the touch roof. THE most important thing I did. Second most important in my opinion was the additional spray in insulation. That was $500 and I regretted it at the time. But it transfers zero heat. In Houston that is important - in west Texas I could heat the whole bus with one small floor heater and my electric fireplace which doesn't crank out much heat.

But for the small investment I can't sing the NASA Technology praises enough about BUS KOTE... They some how put a super vacuum on microscopic beads of ceramic and it creates a void inside which has no matter - with no matter there is not heat transfer. It goes on easy and sticks like nothing else.

Anyhoo... that's my thoughts on roofs. Because my behind was frying inside with a Coleman Mach 15 pumping away on the roof and I was still sweating inside.

Another thing I did was on my windows I layered as follows:

Dark Window Tent
Bubble Foil
3/4" Foam Board
Paneling
Closet Cedar Planks

Also no heat transfer after that.

I have to run my AC between blue and red or else you can hang meat in there...

My Floor is 3/4" Foam Board
3/4" Plywood
Solid Bamboo Flooring

Windows though they be nice are killers of coolness... But that's here in the Coastal regions of the South!~

Sure, it works. Not any better than any other elastomeric paint, though. I advise people to skip the Bus Kote with magic beans... I mean beads... and just get an elastomeric paint.
You say it has got to be the best, but have you tried it against any others? I found it to be nothing special.

Snake oil, I says. We haven't yet been able to harness black hole physics for our insulation products. I'm working on it, though.. In the meantime, sawdust is equally as impressive as anti-matter beads.

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/in...ease-9291.html
^ I'll mention this thread again.

can you elaborate?
did you have it sprayed by someone, or spray it yourself?
what were the processes involved?

you can post it over at your Rockin' RV thread if you want, so's we don't jack this one too bad:greetings:

http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/ne...ne-7399-2.html

Poll: elastomeric vs. white paint on roof
 

When it comes to BUS KOTE - I've never had anything better... LOL

and real quick on the Spray in... I framed my Walls from the seat back with 2x3's taped everything off and had a guy commercially spray it - then the knock it down with an air tool to make it flush then I covered it all with Bead board. The bead board is just bead board - no NASA technology involved - Hahaha

My only area that heats up is my front window - when it's parked I have a rolled up Black Mesh Screen, bubble foil, and then a curtain... So THEN it's just my drivers window - I have a cutout of 3/4" Foam Board for that - and a pull / roll up Black Mesh Screen for my walk in door I got from IKEA~
And I put a fold down floor for my steps.

All that to say when I'm parked - I'm as good as a walk in cooler... But mostly that has to do with the NASA technology and some Rain Dancing... LOL

The only application I have personally seen using the bead technology in paint absolutely sold me. Was added to cheap HD latex and applied to the interior of an 80 year old corrugated metal roof in an old industrial building. It was in Houston, in August and about 104 outside. The inside of the tin roof felt barely above skin temperature when I put my hand on it.

There has been a fair amount of discussion & chatter here that has ranged from it being a miracle cure for cancer to it being the aforementioned "snake oil". All I know for cetain is what I have seen in person and it was damned impressive. Yes...I am using it in many places on my bus.

As for"elastomeric paint"...it's only real purpose is to form a monolithic water barrier...i.e., seal/prevent leaks.

NOTE...the bead application referenced above was NOT "BusKote" but rather the HyTech beads added to conventional paint at a ratio of about 25%.

I, and Henrys, disagree with that. White elastomeric paint is the functional component in buskote. It's sold worldwide specifically as a roof coating to keep roof temperatures down. In fact, the product data sheets specify that it shouldn't be used where water pools. It works to seal things up better, but it isn't necessarily a waterproof membrane like a rubber roof.
Henry Company
Sta-Kool- SK-7805
^ those are just two products. There are many more.