We recently received this question from a DoItYourselfRV reader on our Facebook page:
So in my shower is a skylight. I’d like to spray paint it to darken the room and was thinking about painting using a stencil to create a star background. Has anyone tried this? I think it’s fiberglass or plexiglass.
Many RVs come with a skylight in the shower area. Often, this bathroom skylight lets in a lot of light.
On a sunny day, the light from the skylight might bleed over into your bedroom. What if you don’t want all that light coming in to your room during the day?
Here’s what we came up with for ways to block some of the unwanted light coming in from a skylight.
Options to Darken an RV Skylight
- paint the skylight with plastic-safe spray paint
- install a vent cushion or cover over the inside of the skylight
- use a curtain to block light from the bathroom itself
1. Paint the skylight from the outside
Painting a skylight isn’t something that you should undertake light heartedly. Once you paint the skylight cover a darker color, it’s tough or impossible to go back to clear.
Some RVer’s have used white EPDM roof coating to paint their skylight. You might be able to paint only a portion of the skylight using a stencil, but it seems it might be hard to notice the pattern inside the camper.
If you want to use spray paint, consider getting the type designed for plastic. This special plastic spray paint will retain some elasticity even when dry.
Krylon Fushion for plastic might be a good choice.
2. Install a removable vent cushion cover over the inside of the skylight
Camping World sells a pillow that you place directly in front of the skylight to block light. It’s technically called a vent cushion.
The vent cushion is designed to add extra insulation to keep your RV cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. As an added benefit, the cushion will block almost all light from coming through.
Camco makes a vent cushion that fits standard sized (14″ by 14″) RV vents.
The top of the vent cushion comes with a reflective surface and usually several inches of foam underneath to block heat transfer.
Another option is to make your own vent cushion out of Reflectix and Velcro.
One DoItYourselfRV Facebook member offered the following advice,
Easiest way is to remove inside part of skylite in shower and install a piece of the insulated foil with the bubble wrap on it to topside of skylite. And then re install..works great and do not have to worry about moisture or mildew growing on it …..
You could also try a using a simple windshield cover reflector from Walmart or Velcro and a piece of black felt for a super-cheap solution,
Just put Velcro around the vent and attach a piece of black felt to it. No need to break the seal, and it’s easy to remove when it’s no longer needed.
3. Use a curtain to block light from leaving the bathroom
Buy a shower curtain rod and hang a dark-colored shower curtain on it. Place this shower rod as close to the ceiling as possible.
This could be a good way to block light while not altering the integrity of the vent itself.
RELATED:Â Homemade Light Blocker For A Shower Skylight Vent Made From Aluminum J Channel
We did the paint and it was pretty awful. When the light showed through the pain, you could see the thin and thick paint areas. Didn’t know about the peel away pain.
We ended up having the painted skylight replaced and then took the leftover tint that we were using on our side windows for the bath skylight. We just took the inside of the skylight down placed the tin on it and taped it discretely so it would not move during the install. It is great because we used the tint that was heat reflective too. Cushions are handy for heat loss in the winter.