We’ll confine our discussion here to obvious weather differences, but we won’t get into how coil coatings formulators accommodate those differences. That’s a discussion for another day. Just know that steel and aluminum companies, pretreatment suppliers, and coatings chemists are working hard to formulate a coil coating system that provides the necessary performance for a particular region.
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I know you had a 30-year warranty, but—after 15 years—those shingles simply must be replaced. Anyone can call a roofer, but why not take a shot at making your own shingles? But first you need a formulation—the recipe—and I’ve got just the one for you. And while we’re at it, let’s compare shingle manufacturing to metal roofing manufacturing.
It goes by many names: prepainted metal, coil coated metal, prefinished metal. Each of these descriptions refers to the product of a coil coating line, sometimes called a continuous coil line (CCL). Prepainted metal is commonly used as a coated product in construction applications (metal walls and roofs are two examples), as well as appliances, HVAC units (air conditioners, furnaces, etc.), rainware products (gutters, downspouts, flashing, etc.), and many others. Prepainted metal is the product; a CCL is the application process used to produce prepainted metal.
These days, it’s not uncommon to hear businesses from nearly every industry discuss “sustainability” or plans for a more sustainable future. As the term becomes more ubiquitous in today’s business planning, its definition can be somewhat vague. For our purposes, sustainability refers to a company’s efforts in reducing its environmental impact through the use of more environmentally-friendly building materials and less consumption of natural resources. While the coating industry works diligently in manufacturing products that adhere to high standards for sustainability, there are several ways to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious.
1. Reduce the use of volatile organic compounds.
For a long time, volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, played a large role in the coating industry because they contain properties that assist in applying coatings to a surface. Continue reading
Over the past few years, we have seen a significant increase in the use of metal roofs in the residential sector. In fact, the Metal Roofing Alliance estimates that more than 750,000 U.S. homeowners chose a metal roof to protect their families in 2015. According to their survey, the Metal Roofing Alliance identified eight reasons homeowners are making the switch to metal roofs. Here is a breakdown of the four most popular reasons people are using metal roofs to protect their homes.
1. Metal roofs have longevity.
Depending on the material, metal roofs can last anywhere between 40 and 70 years. That’s a significant increase when compared to the life expectancy of a traditional asphalt roof, which may only last between 12 and 20 years.
2. Metal roofs are durable and offer strong protection. Continue reading
We’ve seen the beauty and innovation prepainted metal has brought to countless exterior applications. But did you know prepainted metal can be an integral part of a number of interior applications? Here are five ways prepainted metals can spice up the interior of any building:
1. Interior Walls
Prepainted interior wall panels are available in a variety of profiles, including ribbed, insulated (foamed), composite and architectural shallow flat styles. These panels are lightweight and can be installed more quickly than traditional walls. They can also take on dramatic shapes with colors or laminates that create striking design elements.
2. Ceilings Continue reading
For decades, metal roofs have been the preferred choice for architects and designers for their durability, versatility, eco-friendliness and many other factors. As the coated metal industry continues to innovate and inspire, we see an increase in the use of metal in nearly all aspects of construction, not just the roofs. Here are just some of the reasons we are seeing metal used more and more in the construction of today’s most impressive buildings.
Versatility
Coated metal today has the ability to be an endless selection of colors and can emulate a growing number of textures, including asphalt, stone, concrete, barn siding and other materials. There’s been a huge demand in the market for the application of innovative color-shifting coatings, which offer an eye-catching, bilateral color finish. With textured metal products, architects can meet client demands for visual depth and designs that differentiate them in the market and give their buildings a unique look.
Interior Capabilities Continue reading
When it comes to coatings, the resin, or “binder,” acts as an adhesive that keeps all the elements of a paint formulation together. The resin selected is the backbone of the coating and therefore the primary source for determining the coating’s durability and physical properties. When choosing a resin-based coating, it’s important to know some of their key features.
Fluoropolymer resins are known for non-stick properties and their ability to avoid UV damage. The most well-known best performing resin in this category is Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF). PVDF is at least 70 percent of the binder used in superior performance coatings, while an acrylic resin makes up the other 30 percent. PVDFs are found in coil coatings, where exceptional durability is desired. When compared to other coatings, PVDF resin-based coatings were the only coatings that did not lose their original gloss within 2-5 years.
One of the most common causes of failure for resin-based coatings is the risk of color fading. Continue reading
For most buildings, the exterior is designed to be its most important eye-catching feature. While we’re wired to be extra mindful of the cleanliness and maintenance of the interior of our homes and offices, we sometimes neglect to remember to give the outside of our buildings the proper care. One of the biggest advantages of prepainted metal is its easy maintenance, but there are a few easy steps to make your metal panels shine bright.
Rinse the surface with water.
This sounds like a no-brainer, but this is one of the easiest ways to clean coated metal panels. Dirt and debris built up over time can affect the quality of the panel’s appearance and potentially reduce the lifetime of the coating. Simply rinsing the surface with a garden hose or pressure spray system will clean most buildups on a coating surface, allowing the panels to look brand new.
Clean with soap or water for difficult areas.
Part One of this blog described some of the difficulties associated with accelerated corrosion testing. The chemistry is complex. There are many microclimates to consider. And the list goes on. There is good news, however. We are not alone. Extensive amounts of research across all coatings areas is done and reported routinely.
As a Part Two blog on accelerated corrosion testing, here is a sampling of work done by the French Corrosion Institute, an organization that has done a great deal of work in the past with the European Coil Coating Association. The bullet points following the titles and attributions are my own comments from reading the documents: Continue reading
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