Case study: Durable and Weather-Resistant Façade Restoration Coating 

Façade Restoration Coatings: Maintenance-Free Finish That Lasts 20 Years or More

When John Pistorino set out to create the “Sandcastle,” a Hurricane resistant demonstration building in Islamorada, Florida, he knew it would need to withstand the high winds and storm surges of the hurricanes that plague the Florida Keys.

Florida is the hurricane capital of the United States, and Islamorada has been home to several hurricanes since construction on the Sandcastle started in 1991, including the powerful and destructive Category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992. A 1935 hurricane, one of the biggest to ever hit the area, had a storm surge of 25 feet and 135 mph winds. Pistorino wanted this demonstration home, which sits 50 feet from the Atlantic Ocean, to withstand that kind of battering.

A Coating Solution With a 15-year Product-and-labor Guarantee

APV backs the coating’s no-fade performance by a 15-year product-and-labor guarantee, which is transferrable to future building owners. If the coating fades by a ΔE of five or higher, APV will replace the product and cover the labor cost of re-coating. This warranty is unique to the architectural coatings industry.

“I was familiar with Kynar®-based finishes that are baked onto aluminum door and window frames in the factory,” said Pistorino. “The finishes do a great job protecting the anodized aluminum from pitting and corrosion caused by the salt-laden spray so common along the Florida coast. When Michael told me that I could get that same protection in a field-applied coating formulated for all surfaces on my home’s exterior, I was very intrigued.”

APV custom-blends each batch of NeverFade® Coatings to match the individual customer’s requested shade. In the case of the Sandcastle, APV matched the classic sand-color hue Pistorino specified for the home’s stucco. The home’s aluminium window trim and shutters were coated in white. An ultra-bright white was chosen for the home’s polyurethane-covered concrete roof to give it a high total solar reflectance (TSR) value.

“Because NeverFade® contains Kynar Aquatec®, it can maintain its high TSR for a long time, with minimal need for cleaning,” explained Ernie Porco, application engineer, APV Engineered Coatings. “Other roof coatings – even those marketed at ‘cool white’ – are made of acrylic, which breaks down under UV exposure, allowing dirt, mold and mildew to infiltrate the coated surface and reduce the TSR. Those other roof coatings also need to be applied at extra-high thicknesses because of this erosion, whereas just one thinner coat of NeverFade® provides longer-term protection and higher TSR values.”

“A white roof with high reflectance values makes a big difference in keeping our A/C costs low,” Pistorino said. “The roof shines very brightly, especially compared with the other houses that surround the Sandcastle.”

The coating process took the crew about five weeks to complete, which included a short pause for COVID- 19-related travel restrictions. The crew used rollers to coat the concrete, stucco and masonry and spray equipment to apply the system to the home’s roof and metal surfaces. One coat of primer and one coat of topcoat provided good coverage of all surfaces.