Shading the shower sky light

[Radio]

During a storm a while back a hail stone cracked the outer "bubble" of my shower skylight. The patch I made seems to be pretty well water tight. I had taken the inner panel down to allow things to dry out and to inspect for leaks. With the major thunderstorms we have had of late, I am now certain there are no leaks and it's time to put the inner panel back up.

Then I had a thought. Since the sunlight coming down through the skylight is so intensely bright and heats up the trailer, too, why not temper it just a bit while we have the skylight apart?

I needed something just laying around, something paid for that I don't have to go get. After some scratching about, I came up with, get this, parchment paper. (Bakers paper)

First I cut a piece to fit the clear opening in the panel. Then I discovered that no kind of tape will stick to parchment paper. I didn't want to use a permanent adhesive either. So I just pulled a large piece off the roll and stuffed the whole thing up in there.

Now the light is not near as bright and is softly diffused. And cost me nothing but some time.

[Herk7769]

Awesome idea.

I wonder how a coating of white latex paint on the outside would work?

[MrT]

Cool! I didn't realize that the inner surface was removable. I'll need to take a closer look at that. Any specific details I need to keep in mind?

[2Susan]

Actually what will stick to it is frosting - So when you are working with parchment paper in the kitchen you put a dab under each corner to hold it in place. Royal icing would wash off later (unlike some adhesive products). So what I'm suggesting here is something sticky that will dry hard. Royal icing is incredibly easy to make - it's an egg white beaten until frothy (and a dab of vanilla/almond extract/lemon juice) and then enough powdered sugar beaten in to make it the right consistency. So I'm suggesting making some lovely cinnamon rolls in the rv's oven with delicious royal icing and then using a couple of dabs to hold that parchment paper in place. Royal icing is the nifty icing on sugar cookies that dries hard that you decorate.

[Radio]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Awesome idea.

I wonder how a coating of white latex paint on the outside would work?

Originally Posted by MrT

Cool! I didn't realize that the inner surface was removable. I'll need to take a closer look at that. Any specific details I need to keep in mind?

The inner part of the sky light (at least in my case) is held in place by screws run up into the ceiling. Remove those and you have access to the underside of the exterior "bubble". There is no seal or gasket material to deal with.

As for paint, I think I'd paint the inside of the bubble, not the outside, as it would no doubt last longer. And I'd use something made for plastic. Latex would probably peel right off, which might be an option if you are unhappy with the end result.

[RubenZ]

I agree about skylights allowing so much heat and light in, what I find odd is the shade pull is white, so it doesn't really block light lol. They should have made a darker shade instead of the white.