Asphalt Roof - Repainting

[willmington]

I have a mastic asphalt roof which was painted a few years back with (white) Solarflex paint (apologies if wrongly spelt).

The paint is now beginning to peel and wear and I wanted to renew it.

Questions.

1. How best to remove the old paint? burn it off?
2. Should I be looking to remove all the paint back to the asphalt or can I leave the areas that look sound.
3. Prior to applying new solarflex paint, does the roof need to be washed properly. Will water and a good sponge (or brush) do.

Many thanks for any info provided.

Cheers

 

[Alastairreid]

you only need to remove the loose stuff, give it a brush off with a stiff brush to remove any moss and dirt, then a soft brush, then re-paint.

 

[willmington]

alastairreid:
you only need to remove the loose stuff, give it a brush off with a stiff brush to remove any moss and dirt, then a soft brush, then re-paint.

Many thanks for your reply.

The existing paint on the roof is very dirty, will brushing it be enough to allow the new paint to stick.

Cheers

 

[Alastairreid]

if you feel it needs a scrub by all means........make sure its thoroughly dry before re-applying the paint though.

 

[willmington]

Armed with a pair of Marigolds, a bucket of water and a scrubbing brush, I clambered onto my main roof for a test.

The results were disappointing. I tried scrubbing a small area (1 square foot). It too ages and was not effective.

Apart from the fact that the existing paint has considerable dirt on it, the main problem was that the paint is cracking but still adheres to an extent. I would not call this paint sound as it can be removed with a filling knife. It was hard work and was still not successful.

The roof measures 30' by 15' and has large areas which are in the state described above where the paint is cracking but still adheres.

On other areas of the roof, the situation is worse with the paint curling up (exposing the asphalt) and is even harder to remove by way of scrubbing.

Is there any other solution for removing the unsound paint other than scrubbing? What about using a blow / gas torch.

Any further info much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Nige F]

Karcher pressure washer

 

[Cumbrianroofer30yrsexp]

You could always remove the asphelt and felt it or other flat roof system?