Recoatability and a forever roof?

Could an Acrymax system be your forever roof? With proper maintenance and periodic recoats we say it can. Perhaps a bold statement, but it is one that we make with confidence based on decades of experience and the continuous performance of our applied coating systems.

Inferior coatings do not allow for recoating.

Our acrylic coatings are formulated using the very best acrylic polymers. These materials are internally plasticized to remain flexible. This allows for periodic recoats as the Acrymax coating maintains its physical properties over time. Less expensive and inferior coatings use plasticizers that are added to the coating to make them flexible. Unfortunately, these plasticizers are “migratory” and ultimately are drawn out of the coating film. When this happens, the coating loses flexibility. It then becomes subject to cracking, loss of physical properties and ultimately failure. Obviously these coating systems using low grade polymers do not provide the opportunity for recoating in the future.

Chalking and the Slow Erosion of a Coating System

Acrymax coatings ultimately weather by chalking or a slow erosion of the top surface of the coating system. Erosion is a natural phenomenon exhibited by all materials at various rates. Rocks erode. Mountains erode. And manmade materials like coating erode. In general, an Acrymax coating chalks or “erodes” at a rate of less than 1 mil per year. This can vary somewhat depending on the slope of the roof that the coating system is applied to. A steeper sloped roof will have a greater velocity of water runoff and may erode at a slightly higher pace.

Reinforced Systems vs Unreinforced Systems

Unreinforced coating systems provide many benefits that include protecting an existing substrate from degradation and providing energy savings or architectural color. A reinforced system however is the best in class. Reinforcement fabrics are incorporated into the coating system to create a high strength and extremely durable composite system. These engineered systems have proven to offer exceptional performance. Look no further than the roof on the Hefferich Gym at Ursinus College for proof. This roof is close to 4 decades old and is still providing waterproof and weather resistant protection to the building. With proper maintenance It is expected to perform for many decades to come.

A typical reinforced roof system such as our standard ARS-1 System is comprised of a reinforced basecoat, an intermediate coat, and a topcoat. The intermediate coat and topcoat are generally applied at 10 mils dry film thickness each. We specify alternating coating colors between each coat for two purposes. Alternating colors between coats provides a field quality control method to insure complete coverage of each successive coat. It also provides an early warning system. For example if you have a white finish coat and a gray intermediate coat and you begin to see the gray showing through then it is time to plan for a recoat. Of course planned maintenance is a better approach and we suggest recoating at 5, 10, or 15 years depending on the system that was installed originally.

Benefits of Recoating

• Extends the life of the roof indefinitely.
• Warranty extensions – Contact Acrymax for detailed information.
• Recoating helps maintain reflectivity. Energy savings possible.
• Scheduled maintenance costs can be budgeted and planned for.
• Sustainability – A system that can be rejuvenated indefinitely is a truly sustainable system.

Is it time to extend the life of your roof system? Here are the steps to make that happen.

• • Contact Acrymax – We can help.
  • Inspect your roof.
  • Repair as necessary.
  • Clean roof by power washing or other appropriate method.
  • Apply coatings as specified to extend the life of your roof asset