Resealing Fiberglass Roof

[JCat]

Hello RV'ers.

My rig is 18 years old and I need to reseal the seams on the roof once again. I have seen companies that will seal the seams and recoat the entire roof, and it looks great.

I have seen a few spider web cracks in the roof so i am wondering if I should do this ?

Is it the correct thing to do and have you done it with what results ?

Thanks

[Tom_Barb]

Bruce Brown wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
We just finished re-coating our Newmar's roof..
I sanded with 320 grit, and really cleaned the roof.
I removed all the old sealant around all vents and other openings.
After all the cleaning was done I applied 2 coats of white Flex-seal.

Looks great we will see how long it lasts.
cost was about the same as all the other coating on the markets ($109.00)

Our roof was not leaking, it simply looked horrible, looks great now.

Check that Flex Seal. Last I knew it didn't have a UV barrier in it, which obviously is bad for something like a MH roof.

They may have changed the formula, I do not know, but if I was using it on a roof I'd sure want to know!

**Update** I just looked, the description I read said it was UV resistant - assuming I was reading about the one you used.

It says it is..
If it gives us 10 years , I'm good. 🙂

Once cured, flex seal liquid forms a durable, breathable, weatherproof, non-slip barrier that's resistant to rain, snow, sun, wind, hail, air, moisture, UV degradation, extreme temperatures and natural weathering.

[Bruce_Brown]

Tom/Barb wrote:
We just finished re-coating our Newmar's roof..
I sanded with 320 grit, and really cleaned the roof.
I removed all the old sealant around all vents and other openings.
After all the cleaning was done I applied 2 coats of white Flex-seal.

Looks great we will see how long it lasts.
cost was about the same as all the other coating on the markets ($109.00)

Our roof was not leaking, it simply looked horrible, looks great now.

Check that Flex Seal. Last I knew it didn't have a UV barrier in it, which obviously is bad for something like a MH roof.

They may have changed the formula, I do not know, but if I was using it on a roof I'd sure want to know!

**Update** I just looked, the description I read said it was UV resistant - assuming I was reading about the one you used.

[steveh27]

My Class B fiberglass roof had a small gouge and a small spot of spider web cracking. I cleaned it and covered with eternabond tape 2 years ago. No problems.

[Tom_Barb]

We just finished re-coating our Newmar's roof..
I sanded with 320 grit, and really cleaned the roof.
I removed all the old sealant around all vents and other openings.
After all the cleaning was done I applied 2 coats of white Flex-seal.

Looks great we will see how long it lasts.
cost was about the same as all the other coating on the markets ($109.00)

Our roof was not leaking, it simply looked horrible, looks great now.

[Lwiddis]

“I guess everything needs a touch up after almost 20 years.”

Stand up and say that! I’m much better looking today. lol

[Bruce_Brown]

MountainAir05 wrote:
Its just like a boat. Once you get the cracks, the only way to proper fix it is grove the line cracks and then clean and wash very good. Then Resin and gel coat over. Should last many years. If you don't fix now water will get threw them over time and a bigger issues down the road.

You might ask about replacing with a new panel or clean and glue down a rubber membrane over the panel. Look at the cost each way.

I think you might find the fiberglass is so thin grooving it out really isn't an option. The material on many of these roofs is so darn thin there really isn't anything to groove.

[Bruce_Brown]

Blackdiamond wrote:

Rick Jay wrote:
Ok, I'm a bit puzzled.

As long as I've been on these forums, I have heard some folks say that they would only get an RV with a fiberglass roof and that they WOULD NEVER buy a rig with a rubber roof. The reason being was the extra maintenance required with a rubber roof, that they only last "X" years, yada yada.

Our rig, with a rubber roof, is about the same age as JCat's. I've sealed the original seams with Eternabond as needed over the years and generally just kept the roof clean, inspecting it Spring and Fall. I don't think it'll need to be replaced in the near future, but who knows?

So, I'm surprised that a fiberglass roof needs this type of attention after a similar time period.

Is this type of deterioration unusual for fiberglass roofs?

An inquiring mind would like to know. 🙂

Thanks,

~Rick

I'm in the same boat Rick, TPO roof 20 years old, used eternabond on the seams at the front and rear cap, sky lights, vents and I think I have many more years to go. I'm sure Bumpy will chime in.

To the OP, I would look into fiberglass resurfacing the areas that have cracks or see if something like liquid roof would work.

Same here. 15+ years on our Brite-Tek roof, still looks as good as the day we brought it home.

When we ordered our current MH we had the choice between Brite-Tek and fiberglass, based on our experience with Brite-Tek on our other MHs we chose it again.

If we were ordering today we'd make the same choice.

As to the OPs question, I used a coating once on an older TT, it worked OK for the time I owned it.

[JCat]

I guess everything needs a touch up after almost 20 years

[Blackdiamond]

Rick Jay wrote:
Ok, I'm a bit puzzled.

As long as I've been on these forums, I have heard some folks say that they would only get an RV with a fiberglass roof and that they WOULD NEVER buy a rig with a rubber roof. The reason being was the extra maintenance required with a rubber roof, that they only last "X" years, yada yada.

Our rig, with a rubber roof, is about the same age as JCat's. I've sealed the original seams with Eternabond as needed over the years and generally just kept the roof clean, inspecting it Spring and Fall. I don't think it'll need to be replaced in the near future, but who knows?

So, I'm surprised that a fiberglass roof needs this type of attention after a similar time period.

Is this type of deterioration unusual for fiberglass roofs?

An inquiring mind would like to know. 🙂

Thanks,

~Rick

I'm in the same boat Rick, TPO roof 20 years old, used eternabond on the seams at the front and rear cap, sky lights, vents and I think I have many more years to go. I'm sure Bumpy will chime in.

To the OP, I would look into fiberglass resurfacing the areas that have cracks or see if something like liquid roof would work.

[wildtoad]

Fiberglass will decay from UV rays so they should be maintained from time to time. Rubber roofs will also decay and also need protection from UV and cleaned. Just pick what you’re most comfortable with.

[Rick_Jay]

Ok, I'm a bit puzzled.

As long as I've been on these forums, I have heard some folks say that they would only get an RV with a fiberglass roof and that they WOULD NEVER buy a rig with a rubber roof. The reason being was the extra maintenance required with a rubber roof, that they only last "X" years, yada yada.

Our rig, with a rubber roof, is about the same age as JCat's. I've sealed the original seams with Eternabond as needed over the years and generally just kept the roof clean, inspecting it Spring and Fall. I don't think it'll need to be replaced in the near future, but who knows?

So, I'm surprised that a fiberglass roof needs this type of attention after a similar time period.

Is this type of deterioration unusual for fiberglass roofs?

An inquiring mind would like to know. 🙂

Thanks,

~Rick

[MountainAir05]

Its just like a boat. Once you get the cracks, the only way to proper fix it is grove the line cracks and then clean and wash very good. Then Resin and gel coat over. Should last many years. If you don't fix now water will get threw them over time and a bigger issues down the road.

You might ask about replacing with a new panel or clean and glue down a rubber membrane over the panel. Look at the cost each way.