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Old 04-28-2012, 02:41 PM   #1
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Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

Has anyone painted the INSIDE of their bus with the Henry Solarflex paint?

Am I wrong in thinking a painted ceiling would help keep the heat inside during the winter just as well as a painted roof keeps the heat outside during the summer?

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Old 04-28-2012, 02:55 PM   #2
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

i would think styrofoam insualtion with foil on it would be what to use.. although i have thought about how well the solarflex might work inside... btw.. if one adds it to the roof, i would think that it should be added to the sides as well. an hour ago, i checked the temp on the sun side of the bus, and it was almost as hot as the exterior roof. i have styrofoam insulation inside on my roof, and part of the walls.
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Old 04-28-2012, 05:12 PM   #3
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

I think it would not be a great idea to paint the inside of the bus with SolarFlex. It dries to a somewhat latexy slightly textured finish (like reptile eggs?). I think it would hold dust and dirt. While my exterior roof isn't exactly dirty (except where the stupid birds are roosting in the tree... ick). It isn't what I would call clean either.

I only have two coats of SolarFlex on my roof. With only box fans running (I added pleated Filtrete brand dust filters to make them into air cleaners so my air movement is low even on HIGH) and parked under shade of a tree. Exterior temp says 85 (weatherunderground.com). Interior thermometer sitting on a roof rib at the peak of the bow is showing 83.7. My ceiling is the same temp anywhere you touch it. It seems to stay warmer in the winter (my thermometer has a magnet glued to the back. I stick the thing all over the ceiling). So in winter, I do not have a cold ceiling and in the heat so far, I do not have a hot ceiling. The only insulation is the stock fiberglass batts from BlueBird...measures 2" of rather dense stuff... looks more like the stuff they put in ovens and ranges than the house batts). I rolled the SolarFlex down to the tops (eyebrow awnings) of the side windows. Front & rear was stopped 1/2" past the roof panel rivet line on top of the bus.

You can buy a tan and a light tan tinted SolarFlex . Tinted a colour would hide the dirt a bit unlike white which makes it stand out. You would have to contact Henry's to find a retailer. I've only seen the white. Home Depot carries the Henry's but not the 286 or 288. And it's not on their website either. You may check with the Pro Desk to see if your store can special order it. Took 5 gallons to cover the roof with 2 coats (40 ft bus). I would think the sides would need at least three coats to look good. The dark navy blue on the roof shadows thru in some spots on my roof.

BEFORE you go and paint the sidewalls of your bus, roll out a test panel on some scrap. Leave it out and see how it dirties up. For the side, I would use a smooth foam roller (not the fuzzy ones like recommended for roof application). After I rolled the bus roof (1 coat) my daughter (the one with the house... it's white and needs a paint job) stood in the bus and exclaimed how cool it was over the previous day. Then wanted to know if she could paint her stuccoed house with the stuff. Her thoughts were SolarFlex would have sealed up the fine cracks in the siding and kept the heat down in the hot NM summers. We told her to watch how the roof looked over the next couple of months before going out to buy the stuff to paint her house. She watched and changed her mind. the roof when from bright white to a slightly dirty white from all the dust storms and general dirt in the air. Looks fine from the ground, but if you look at it really close up, it looks a little grubby.
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Old 04-28-2012, 06:35 PM   #4
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

The company that sells BusKote also sells a clear topcoat finish that they recommend for their elastometric paint. Not that I necessarily recommend BusKote, but that topcoat sure keeps stuff from sticking to it and staining it.
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Old 04-29-2012, 02:07 AM   #5
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

Thanks guys. I guess I'll just stick with using regular white paint. I really want a bright colored ceiling to help bounce the light and keep it feeling open. I'll have jewel tones for the cushions and curtains, and dark walnut cabinets with light colored counter tops. Sounds odd, I know, but the heavy contrasts appeals to me. And if it gets to be too much 'dark' I can always paint the cabinets a lighter color later.

It will be interesting to see how many gallons it takes to do the roof on mine. It's only 25 foot, but I'd like to do at least 2 coats, and the can says one gallon covers 50 square feet. That's only a 2 foot wide strip! If I take the instructions at face value, then four gallons would be adequate, but I'd be better off buying the 5 gallon bucket and just using it all! ... 'cause... ya know... I can be a bit messy. *
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Old 04-29-2012, 09:16 AM   #6
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

Buy the 5 gallon bucket. Roll all seams and rivets first. Let dry. Roll whole roof and count that as your first coat. Let dry. Roll 2nd coat and let dry.. After a couple days peek at the roof and see if you have any light spots. You may have to look at it a couple times at different times of the day. Then you can roll the remainder over the light spots or just roll the remainder all over starting in the center and working your way out. The small amount did not hold well in the bucket. We had under a gallon left (also rolled two coats on the roof of the food cart). My daughter peeled the dried over skin off and rolled the remainder on the roof of her chicken coop to keep from having roast chickens this summer.

I have noticed our roof/ceiling holds within a certain range of temps no matter what the exterior temps are. I am curious to know if this is just our experience or is it the same for others. So far (since late last summer) daytime ceiling temps have not dropped below 80 and above 93 without any cooling except box fans. This is with exterior ambient temps of over 100°F. I think I will start keeping a spread sheet to see what this stuff is really doing for the ceiling temps. Just going by my saying "it really helps a lot and makes a huge difference" isn't really a reliable thing to do. And I'm curious too.

Spreadsheet needs the following headings:
date
time
ambient temps
interior temp at floor level
interior temp at 36" from floor
ceiling temp at roof rib
ceiling temp between roof ribs


Anything else?
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Old 04-29-2012, 08:35 PM   #7
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

Maybe add relative humidity? Don't know if that will make a difference except explain personal perception of heat.

Do you have an infrared thermal reader? I picked up one from Northern Tool to gauge my wheel temperatures (the front wheels are still running hotter than I think they should and have started keeping a log to take with me to the mechanic).

<edit> Now that I think of it, I could always paint half the roof and leave the other half as it is and start keeping a log using the same method you mentioned (rib + middle of the roof). That would give folks a real-world scale. I'll end up painting the whole thing, but it can wait until just before I leave.
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Old 04-29-2012, 11:19 PM   #8
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

On the brakes; anything I ever drove or rode stopped a lot more on the front, than the back. Never had no IR gun.
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Old 04-30-2012, 10:05 AM   #9
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

Perhaps a slightly dragging brake pad? Or intermittent drag? My Jeep was doing that for a while. Some times after using the brake, one of the brake pads would not retract quite far enough. Pad only dragged sometimes. Always seems to be the front passenger side that does it. I need to just win the Powerball or Megamillions and buy a Tesla Roadster to tow behind the bus. Wouldn't one look nice behind the bus?

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Old 04-30-2012, 03:31 PM   #10
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Re: Painting interior roof with Solarflex?

here is the tanhttp://henry.com/roofing/coolroofcoa...s/288solarflex
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