outside roof

[chano524]

The top of our camper roof out side has lost it's shine, coating, so what ever leaf of debris that falls on it sticks and leaves marks. Can I just put a coat of house hold outdoor clear coat on it to stop the problem??

[Old Goat]

The top of our camper roof out side has lost it's shine, coating, so what ever leaf of debris that falls on it sticks and leaves marks. Can I just put a coat of house hold outdoor clear coat on it to stop the problem??

What is the make and year of your popup? What is the roof made of, ABS or aluminum etc? This will determine what type of exterior paint is best for it......

[chano524]

Well my roof is not aluminum, not sure what ABS stands for. The roof has no coating/shine left at all and has a soft feel. Last weekend we drove where it's stored outside and set up for a few hours to get some air in, when we took the tarp(breathing tarp over whole body/plastic tarp over top only) off and it looks pretty bad. With a light bleach solution and med scrub brush it will come clean but WHAT KIND OF PAINT DO I USE ON TOP,ACTUALLY WAS THINKING OF CLEAR COAT ONLY,CAN I USE INDOOR OUT DOOR STUFF MADE FOR PATIO FURNATURE???

Thanks you all have been lots of help.

[wavery]

Well my roof is not aluminum, not sure what ABS stands for. The roof has no coating/shine left at all and has a soft feel. Last weekend we drove where it's stored outside and set up for a few hours to get some air in, when we took the tarp(breathing tarp over whole body/plastic tarp over top only) off and it looks pretty bad. With a light bleach solution and med scrub brush it will come clean but WHAT KIND OF PAINT DO I USE ON TOP,ACTUALLY WAS THINKING OF CLEAR COAT ONLY,CAN I USE INDOOR OUT DOOR STUFF MADE FOR PATIO FURNATURE???

Thanks you all have been lots of help.

First off.....never use bleach on your paint. It is extremely oxidizing.

You may want to try putting a couple coats of automotive wax on your PU (by hand). Wash it thoroughly with a car wash soap first. I'd wash the frame real good to. Bleach is very harsh.

If you don't get the finish that you desire with wax, you may have to paint the camper. In order to apply a clear-coat, you would need to sand the surface with 220 grit sand paper. That will probably remove a lot of paint and the clear coat won't do the job.

If you tell us the year make and model of your PU, we may be of more help.

[chano524]

Hi, It's a 91 palamino pinto, there is no paint thats whyI thought  bleach may work, it's a kinda like rubbery top, what ever finish or clear coat was on there is totaly off not even a sign of old coating. I haven't used the bleach yet. Think I may try the car soap. It is the origional top hasn't been redone, just old.

[flyfisherman]

Hi, It's a 91 palamino pinto, there is no paint thats whyI thought  bleach may work, it's a kinda like rubbery top, what ever finish or clear coat was on there is totaly off not even a sign of old coating. I haven't used the bleach yet. Think I may try the car soap. It is the origional top hasn't been redone, just old.

Besides aluminum and ABS (plastic) roofs, there has been other roofing  materials, too.  For example, Starcraft also has a molded fiberglass roof. Coachman was advertising they had a "exterior filon" roof ... whatever that is. Have no idea what Palomino has. Might be a real good idea to find out before you get too far involved in order to make sure it will not end up looking worse.
Could you not call Palomino?  Just some thoughts.



Fly

[wavery]

If you have stagnated water setiment on the surface, you might try Lime-Away (Phosphoric Acid). It will totally disolve any alkaline residue.

I would try it on a small spot and see how it reacts. When Phosphoric Acid comes in contact with anything alkaline, it will foam up. That's just the way that it "eats" away the residue. Rinse it thoroughly with water after you let it sit for about 20 seconds. If it works well, do small areas at a time so that it doesn't sit more than a minute.

In most cases, it won't hurt the paint. However, I don't know what kind of surface that you are working with. If it is alkaline, Lime-Away will attack it.

I use it on my car that I park in a subterranean garage. When it rains, water seeps through the concrete and leaves a horrible looking stain on my hood. I took it to a couple of body shops when it first happened. They told me that it had to be sanded off. Nothing would touch it. They gave me estimates for re-painting the hood. I showed it to a friend of mine, he laughed and went to the garage and brought out a bottle of Lime-Away. He put it on a rag and smeared it all over my hood before I could even protest. The stuff bubbled all up and he hosed it off to leave a beautiful finish.

I've repeated that exact same procedure on the same spot on my hood at least 10 times in the last 3 years. Still no problem. I've even used it on the clear plastic lenses over my headlamps. No problem there either.