National Coatings Blog

Absolutely! Roof coatings lengthen the life span of your current roof membrane by protecting your roof from moisture and the damaging effects of the sun.

There are three elements that cause the most damage and increase the aging rate of roofs – moisture, ultraviolet rays and infrared radiation. Moisture is obvious as it causes deterioration and rotting of the roof substrate. This leads to a weaker substrate, prone to leaks and other damage inside the building, as well as, in the surrounding areas of the roof.  Ultraviolet (UV) rays are harmful because they initiate a chemical reaction that begins the process of breaking down the roof substrate, weakening its ability to protect the assets below. The infrared radiation is the actual heat from the sun, which intensifies and increases the chemical reaction that is occurring from the UV rays. The combination of the UV rays and infrared radiation is detrimental to premature roof failure and aging.  Roof coatings protect the substrate from this occurring, in turn, lengthening the life of the roof exponentially.

Roof coatings work by reflecting the infrared radiation and UV rays away from the building and radiating the absorbed heat from the roof surface back into the atmosphere. This keeps the roof cooler in temperature, decreasing the aging and weathering process. Cool roofs, or otherwise referred to as white roof coatings or reflective roof coatings, lower the roof surface temperature by up to 90 degrees compared to a traditional black surfaced roof. This is important because according to the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) “It is estimated [that] the rate of the aging reaction doubles with each 15- to 20-degree F increase in temperature, so one may theoretically conclude that a dark roof ages at least 32 times faster than a light-colored cool roof.”

There are different roof coatings for different purposes and different substrates. National Coatings offers a wide range of roof coatings for asphalt, single-plies, SPF, metal and concrete substrates to meet your roofing needs. Our maintenance systems protect and lengthen your roofs’ life every 5-10 years so you can avoid a roof replacement indefinitely. Our roof restoration systems restore your already aging roof to a brand new roof that can then be maintained – also allowing you to avoid a costly roof replacement indefinitely.  We specialize in high quality, durable roof coatings to provide you with the ultimate sustainable roofing system. 

For more information download our Systems Brochure or one substrate brochures: Asphalt Roof Substrate,  Single-Ply Roof Substrate, Metal Roof Substrate, and SPF Roof Substrate.

 Project:  North Garner Middle School Media Center, Garner NC

The 106 SQ mechanically fastened EPDM roof was beginning to show its age after years of heat, sunlight and rain.  Rather than replace the roof, the facility manager at the school decided to restore the roof using acrylic coatings. The project called for the use of the National Coatings Corporation AcryShield Roof Maintenance System (ARM) using the AcryShield A502 primer and A500 reflective topcoat system.  This coating system is unique in the roof coating industry as it is not only waterborne, but also does not require a corrosive primer that is normally used to achieve adequate adhesion to EPDM.  The project called for reinforcing the seams and applying >24 mils of coating.

The Technical Director of National Coatings Corporation conducted the final inspection, “The A502 base coat had truly tenacious adhesion to the EPDM. I had difficulty peeling a coating sample from the membrane to measure the dry film thickness. This product performs well and provides excellent long term durability and sustainability.” 

An additional benefit of the white reflective coating is the increase in solar reflectance and corresponding reduction in heat gain and air conditioning energy costs.  Typically a black EPDM roof has about 10% reflectance, while coating it increases the reflectance to 83%.  Simply stated, the higher the solar reflectance, the cooler the roof, the cooler the interior and the less air conditioning that is required.

Baker Restoration, a division of Baker Roofing in Raleigh NC, was selected to install the National Coatings Corporation roof coating system.  Jimmy Ramirez, Manager, Specialty Coatings, for Baker Roofing oversaw the project.  He noted during the post installation warranty inspection that the National Coatings Corporation roof coatings sprayed very well and he was particularly impressed with the adhesion of the A502 primer.  Normally Baker will check adhesion of the primer prior to application of the top coating.  He checked the adhesion and found it to be excellent. 

Need more information on Restoring Single-Ply Roof Membranes – download our brochure for FREE! Or for more information regarding our AcryShield A502 basecoat product, download - Direct Adhesion to Aged and Failing Single-Ply Membranes

AcryShield A502 was introduced by National Coatings Corporation in 2006 after three years of intensive research, including both laboratory and actual in-service field testing.  The coating was designed to provide a primer/base coat to be applied to thermoplastic and thermoset single ply membranes, such as PVC, PIB, CPE, TPO and EPDM.  Previously, the only primers used for coating these membranes were solvent borne, which required warning labels, had very high VOC (volatile organic content) and required extreme care when applying to prevent fumes from entering the building.  The only other option for coating EPDM was a "prewash" or "rinseable primer" that had a very high, corrosive  pH, so high that it would react with human skin oils, causing chemical burns. 

AcryShield A502 has three inherent advantages over the previously used primers:

• It is water borne, so there is no concern about flammable solvents or fumes entering buildings.
• It replaces both specialty primers for the thermoplastic membranes and the corrosive rinseable primer for EPDM.  Thus there is no need for separate primer/basecoats for different types of roofing membranes.

The next time a project calls for coating single-ply roofing membranes, the roofing contractor, consultant or specifier should demand National Coatings Corporation AcryShield A502.