Premature fading of roof coatings

Many failures have been seen over recent years of roof coatings, particularly where dark colours are concerned. Temperatures of metal roof sheets have been measured as high as 110 degrees centigrade in the Western Cape area in South Africa. Recent work suggests that the acrylic binders used in roof coatings simply cannot withstand such high temperatures and degrade after as little as a year. The introduction of so called 'cool roof' technology - which simply involves the replacement of the iron oxide pigment with an infra-red reflecting variant, seems to be sorting this problem out. Costs are considerably higher, but the benefit of a lower internal temperature saves costs and provides a more comfortable indoor environment.