Date:         Fri, 23 Jun 1995 10:44:39 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         nrubin@s1.csuhayward.edu (Martha Rubin)
Subject:      elastomeric roof coating (poptops)


As some of you may recall from one of my earlier posts/queries, I felt
I had to do something to protect my fiberglass westy poptop.  Besides,
at Bodega Jack Stafford complained that it was hard to grab onto
the surface while trying to tip my van because the fiberglass had
lost its gelcoat and was so dried out and porous.  :)

Well, I looked into having the thing re-gelcoated, and decided this
was not an expenditure I'd want to have to undertake at the moment,
much less have to have done with any regularity in the future.  I
wanted to find a product I could apply and reapply on my own, which
was not too expensive, yet would both protect the material, as well
as seal some cracks which were leaking water.  

I went yesterday to Camping World in Cordelia, and they recommended
a product called Kool Seal.  I bought under that label both the
1 qt. patching compound, some fiberglass mesh tape for patching, and
a gallong of the roof coating.  It's all available in white, btw, which
is already the color of my poptop.  

I washed the camper thoroughly first.  Then, I thought I'd sand
the fiberglass surface, but doing so brought up all these ugly
pills (like on an old acrylic sweater), so I hand brushed/picked
those off, and decided to leave the top the way it was, so long
everything was solid.  I had many exposed rought fibers standing
out from the surface (rather a stucco or plaster effect in texture),
and just opted to leave them.  As my poptop was not particularly
dirty (since I wash it often), and I didn't think at all greasy, I opted
not to clean with TSP.  

I patched the leaking cracks with the patching compound, and let
it dry overnight.  I also brushed some on in areas which looked like
they were just about to crack, for good measure.  Then, last nite,
I put on the first coat of the paint-type stuff.  It looks like,
smells like, and goes on like paint, except that I spilled a bit
on my window and decided on purpose to leave it on there, scrape
it off this morning, and test the elasticity.  It was very elastic -
not unlike silicone bath caulk, but not so smooth, and not shiny.  But
it does stretch and give, and this was the one feature I had most
been searching for in the roof coating.  

I probably should have removed the poptop and luggage rack seal, but I
figured I'd have to replace them both if I did (I think I have another
year or two of wear left in them, and didn't feel like spending a lot
of $$ for something not yet quite necesssary).  Anyway, I figured I
could always paint this area when the seal does come off in the future
for replacement.  Also, I figured I'd check the poptop at least once
per year and see if it needed a recoat.  

So far so good, after the one coat I finished this morning.  I'll
see if I still think well of it after coat #2, but I'm encouraged so
far, as all cracks look not only filled and sealed, but it's even hard
to tell where they were in the first place!  I bought a gallon of
the paint-stuff, based on the coverage they indicated on the can, but
I think 2 quarts would have been fine.  Not counting labor, the total
cost for doing this will be in my case about $30 or so, and I thought
that was a pretty good deal to fix/preserve the poptop!

Anyway, the fiberglass looks as if it's had a brand new paint job.  I
have a fairly steady hand for painting, so didn't feel the need to
mask the boundaries.  Looks very good in my opinion.  Has anyone
else had experience with this or similar stuff?

/martha