Cooling Paint?

[chinchl143]

We are converting a BB TC2000 with no AC.

She's already white, but still warmer inside than out.
Any suggestions on an insulating or reflective paint to cool the roof? We mostly camp in the summer months.

How about inside on the ceiling? I'm over 6' tall and the Bird has the handicap raised floor so adding insulation to the ceiling will kill my back.

Lastly, has anyone used Por 15 on their floor?

New to the group thanks for the advise.

 

[thrifty1]

I only have the yellow roof to compare with, but We painted the top HALF of our bus with it yesterday and wowwww what a difference. Roof cool to the touch in the South Carolina sun. Also did you pull out your ceiling panels and insulation? If so, I would spray foam flush with the bus ribs after mounting some framing to connect a new ceiling to. Couple pics for reference.

 

[Booyah45828]

If your roof is already white, there isn't much more paint wise that you can do. Maybe a high gloss white or a chrome?

I'm leery of the "ceramic bead" paints and there usefulness.

As far as insulation goes, most skoolies come normally with thin fiberglass batting. Foam is a better choice but a lot more work.

If you're already white and still battling heat, I'd suggest more ventilation.

 

[PNW_Steve]

There is a member here that did a pretty thorough comparison of various roof coatings.

Hopefully someone can point it out here. As often as this subject comes up, it should be a sticky.

His results showed that making the roof white accounted for the biggest improvement. What kind of coating he use made a little difference but not huge.

The ceramic beads performed slightly better than white paint with sawdust mixed in.....

 

[o1marc]

I'm probably going to go with Henry's because they offer it in more than just white. I want a paint scheme that will hide itself in the woods without being came. Henry's makes a Tan color cool coating I will be using. I doubt the color difference makes any difference in it's cooling performance.
https://us.henry.com/roofing/reflec...roof-coatings/288-solar-flex-tan-roof-coating

 

[Rovobay]

I'm probably going to go with Henry's because they offer it in more than just white. I want a paint scheme that will hide itself in the woods without being came. Henry's makes a Tan color cool coating I will be using. I doubt the color difference makes any difference in it's cooling performance.
https://us.henry.com/roofing/reflec...roof-coatings/288-solar-flex-tan-roof-coating

o1marc I am planning a desert sand color for my bus for same reasons, but my roof is already white so I was going to leave it, but now that I see this product, I might do the roof too!

 

[1olfart]

ECCB did the comparative test, (not sure which thread) and his results were that a bright white roof paint was as good, or better than the elastomeric paints. He sampled several paints, on the same material, to get his results.

I have wondered if a white elastomeric paint used on the interior, topped by a bright white exterior paint, would gain any R value. Seems to me that it should.

 

[tobeamiss]

And I believe that ECCB said that flat white was the way to go. Don't quote me, I could be wrong. It's been a while but that's what I recall.

 

[EastCoastCB]

There is a member here that did a pretty thorough comparison of various roof coatings.

Hopefully someone can point it out here. As often as this subject comes up, it should be a sticky.

His results showed that making the roof white accounted for the biggest improvement. What kind of coating he use made a little difference but not huge.

The ceramic beads performed slightly better than white paint with sawdust mixed in.....

I thought it was the sawdust that performed the best.
But yeah just making it white is 98% of it. The rest is a bit of smoke and mirrors.:hide:

I vote for more ventilation and insulation!

 

[EastCoastCB]

And I believe that ECCB said that flat white was the way to go. Don't quote me, I could be wrong. It's been a while but that's what I recall.

YES! Flat white is the most reflective.

 

[EastCoastCB]

ECCB did the comparative test, (not sure which thread) and his results were that a bright white roof paint was as good, or better than the elastomeric paints. He sampled several paints, on the same material, to get his results.

I have wondered if a white elastomeric paint used on the interior, topped by a bright white exterior paint, would gain any R value. Seems to me that it should.

Nah that wasn't me. I'd quoted it a few times.
SuperDave and I did some testing of different colors and surfaces with an infrared thermometer and flat white paint was the coolest surface we could find on a bright sunny day.

 

[1olfart]

Well I got your name right. That's pretty good since I am a flat (broke) white guy. I had forgotten about the saw dust part.

 

[1olfart]

Any thoughts on the interior elastomeric paint with flat white on the outside?

 

[chinchl143]

I went with Henry's. Seems to be a great flat white finish with nice coverage. Bonus is it rolls on very easily and sets fast. Got mine at the local Home Depot

 

[carloschoolie]

I have a 1976 Newell Bus: I am several years into having painted the roof with Elastek 125 roof paint (which I also have on my flat roof house) in Arizona; Elastek is very solar-reflective and way more effective than any regular white paint and drmatically cheaper than rubberized RV roof paint and I suspect more solar-reflective as well. And I have inside of all windows 1 inch foam-removable. My inside temperature never exceeds the outside temperature while sitting (with no AC etc.)

 

[curtice99]

Elastomeric paint

I used an elastomeric paint on my roof, the inside temp dropped by 15 degrees almost immediately. It is late though and was really showing the dirt after a few days, so I painted over it with Rust-Oleum white. It works great!

 

[karrlot]

Here is that link to the

http://http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/insulating-paint-beads-feedback-from-real-people-please-9291.html
]
sawdust test.

 

[PNW_Steve]

I had trouble with the link. Try this one : http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f13/i...-feedback-from-real-people-please-9291-4.html


Jazty's test starts around Page 4 - post 38.

 

[boojiewoojie]

Again, I will say it: Adding 3M glass bubbles to your regular paint makes a difference. Fillers
I drive a bus for a living and I can tell the difference. It's not a huge difference but it's noticeable.
For $10 plus shipping it's not a big deal.

 

[EastCoastCB]

I used an elastomeric paint on my roof, the inside temp dropped by 15 degrees almost immediately. It is late though and was really showing the dirt after a few days, so I painted over it with Rust-Oleum white. It works great!

Regular white paint will have similar results. The dirt, yellowing, and peeling are why some of us avoid rubberized coatings.