Paint conduit on the roof?

[Vintage Veloce]

Just had solar installed.
There are two spots of exposed conduit on my roof installation. One is where the conduit come up through the roof to the array (about a couple inches exposed and some flashing) and another between two sections of the array (about 4 feet long).

Should I paint this conduit and flashing? What is standard?



I note the power mast isn't painted, but I know roofers generally paint the other vents and stuff on the roof.

 

[LeonardY]

I'm not aware of a standard. I'd just leave it as is.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Maybe I should have noted this... the solar panels and installation have a warranty for 25 years. Now, I don't really expect the companies to be around for 25 years, but I do expect to want the system to last for longer than that. How long to people expect exposed conduit to survive in a hot weather (Southern California) environment? Is it worth painting it just for a bit more protection?

 

[nadogail]

Paint is Cheap, Replacing Conduit is not; make your choice.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Paint is Cheap, Replacing Conduit is not; make your choice.

Kind of tending that way. Even if the paint flakes, it is out of sight on the roof.

 

[Dig Doug]

They have a roof paint that matches your roof shingles - roofing supply

wipe down clean the conduit, use a good metal etching primer then 2 -3 light coats of the paint

 

[kbs2244]

I would leave it
paint is just another fail point
it is out of sight

 

[kwb]

Conduit is galvanized steel - it will last a long time, probably longer than the house in most locations. Even if you are beachfront on the pacific ocean and perpetually getting refreshed salt doses it still will last at least a decade. Even if you paint it in a location like that you won't really extend the life.

 

[rburke65]

In my past life I have run a lot of conduit on roofs for A/C units….we never painted the conduit….it’s galvanized anyway

 

[Sumboodie]

Plastic or metal conduit? I can't tell from the pics.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Plastic or metal conduit? I can't tell from the pics.

It's galvanized.

 

[ycgoat]

Painted conduit usually looks worse than the exposed conduit and is not needed for preservation. I would leave it then in 15 years if it starts to show rust come back with a rust encapsulater.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Painted conduit usually looks worse than the exposed conduit and is not needed for preservation. I would leave it then in 15 years if it starts to show rust come back with a rust encapsulater.

I like this plan.

 

[Norcal]

The solar "installers" do not know how to to install roof jacks, anytime you see roofing cement/wet patch on a comp, or tile, roof I know it's been done by unskilled labor.

 

[LeonardY]

I like this plan.

I true GJ guy would remove and have it powered coated.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I true GJ guy would remove and have it powered coated.

Maybe I'll replace it with polished stainless steel. I'll start another thread on whether I should use 304 or 316...

 

[Vintage Veloce]

The solar "installers" do not know how to to install roof jacks, anytime you see roofing cement/wet patch on a comp, or tile, roof I know it's been done by unskilled labor.

I saw that, it's pretty ugly. Not sure what to do as the installer won't come back to fix it. I'm tempted to see if I can get a real roofer to come replace those shingles around it. But access would be hard and the solar is delicate to work around...
I think I'll wait a couple months and make sure everything else works properly before making any "adjustments".

 

[kbs2244]

that would be an easy patch for a shingle roofer

 

[ycgoat]

that would be an easy patch for a shingle roofer

I am not sure how you would nail in a new shingle above the stanchion

 

[Vintage Veloce]

I am not sure how you would nail in a new shingle above the stanchion

That's my concern too.

 

[Norcal]

Roofing suppliers have rattle cans to match popular roofing colors, when my garage roof was done bought cans of "weathered wood" to blend in the roof jacks & reused flashing on a skylight, for a number of reasons reused the roof jack on the 2" mast for the overhead electric service, painting was the only way, & used a aluminum 4" type B gas vent cap for a bathroom fart fan that was never vented through the roof & the shiny aluminum was out of place, ABS plastic plumbing vents needed help, so in my case ended up buying 3 or 4 spray cans at around $9 bucks a pop, & had exterior flat paint matched for only $20 a quart, in the OP's case the only thing worth expending the effort on is that black roof jack, a light gray exterior flat house paint would blend in with the white (Shasta white?) shingles, when my roof was white, & house was gray it is what I used.

 

[Monza Harry]

For your stanchions the asphalt shingles are covered in "stones" (?) those are available separately and could be added to that caulking if fresh enough and that would completely hide that unprettiness. I would find a good roofer for that. Flat roofers use that to hide the seams on torch down when visible from another part of the building. Colour match may not be perfect as not all rolled roofing types are available in all shingle roofing colours. A bigger concern is the inevitable re-roof, how is that going to be accomplished? You stated that your panels are delicate. Harry