Chosing colours for exterior paints

For the past month I have been unexpectedly involved in the matching of colours in our production plant. The amount of orders received for colours that are essentially unsuitable for exterior coatings has been alarming. Several of these colours have been selected and specified by architects, making the chance of advising the client against proceeding very small. Always check with your supplier that the colour you have chosen is both u.v. and alkali resistant if it will be applied to an exterior substrate. Very often a colour very similar to an unsuitable option is able to be produced using resistant pigments. These pigments are mostly far cheaper than the problematic options, giving you added benefit.