Weatherklad - Heavy duty exterior protection.

Weatherprufe Weatherklad is our flag-ship product. It is an adhesion promoted pure acrylic, formulated with high volume solids for thick film protection. The product is fibre re-enforced for crack bridging and tensile strength, and contains a dry film fungicide for protection against mould and algal growth. Many projects, from sea-side homes and apartments to farmsteads in the hot Western Cape interior, have been successfully coated with this product. We produce the coating in a range of colours for exterior walls, or tinted to the colour of your choice,  as well as in oxide shades for use as a roof paint. A variant of this product, Cellarklad, containing the maximum recommended level of fungicide has Thales approval for use in wine-cellars. Below is a photograph of a recently completed project in Cape Town, where Weatherklad was used as the exterior top-coat.

Polarsheen - Low temperature curing acrylic

Polarsheen is a pure acrylic water-based paint formulated to dry at very low temperatures. It has Thales approval for use in wine-cellars. It has been successfully used, over a period of several years, in Controlled Atmosphere Rooms (low temperature and reduced oxygen storage rooms where fruit is stored) across the Western Cape. The product has low odour and is able to dry at temperatures below 4 degrees Celsius. Flexibility is very good resulting in the product being used to seal the gaps between panels in Controlled Atmosphere Rooms. The photograph below was taken in an underground wine cellar coated with Polarsheen. The product also contains a dry-film fungicide, to prevent mould growth.

Wood varnishes and wood seals

Protection of exterior wood can cause a lot of head-aches if the right route isn't followed from the outset. Often the quality of wood used in South Africa is not the best, and this only adds to the problem. If new work is being done, start off by using the best timber you can afford. Hard, dense woods are more dimensionally stable than softer woods, and the additional cost is money well spent.  Harder woods are less porous than soft woods, meaning there is less swelling due to water ingress, and ultimately less chance of rotting. They are also less prone to warping due to heat - both of these factors lead to less stress being placed on the coating, from factors other than uv light and the elements. Having installed the timber, check with the timber supplier whether the density is suitable to be coated with a varnish, or a wood-seal, as very dense timbers should only, at the most, be protected by a wood-seal.
Preparation of new timber involves sanding the surfaces to be coated to a smooth finish and removing dust. Knots (if present) should be sealed using a knot-sealer as per the manufacturer's instructions.

• Varnishes are typically solutions of long oil-length alkyds (a solvent based binder type) containing a low level of Linseed Oil ( to lubricate the upper-most wood fibres). Other additives could include u.v. absorbers and transparent iron oxide colourants. Typically this finish is glossy. The coating will have a limited penetration into the timber - so thinning the first coat up to 10% with Mineral Turps is advised. Allow this to dry for 24 hours, and thereafter apply the first of two top-coats (unthinned) with 24 hours between coats. Maintenance of these coatings would involve sanding the coated timber to an even, matt finish, and re-applying one unthinned coat every 12-18 months.
• Wood-Seals are dilute solutions of long oil-length alkyd, with a higher level of Linseed Oil, and waxes. The same additives are used as for the varnishes. There is generally more penetration of a wood-seal into the timber than varnishes, and the product has a matt, waxy appearance. They take longer to dry - due to the higher Linseed Oil level, and for this reason are seldom used indoors. Three coats can be applied (at 24 hr intervals) to the prepared timber. Maintenance of these coatings involves cleaning the surface with a rag soaked in Lacquer Thinners, allowing to dry, and recoating. Maintenance intervals are the same for each coating type.

Twin Pack Epoxy Coatings

It has become very fashionable over the last few years to have coated cement floors in office entrance halls as well as in kitchens and bathrooms in domestic homes. These floors are often coated with Twin Pack Epoxies. A problem can arise when the interior design calls for colours produced from blends of different pigment types. Epoxy resins are ideal for the production of industrial coatings, where performance is more critical than aesthetic attributes. Pigments are not well stabilized in such resins, and preventing different types of pigments from floating is a problem associated with these coatings. I saw a problem created by the floating of pigments during roller application to a floor that can be directly attributed to the tinting of a medium grey shade to a blue-grey colour. Due to different pressure applied by the applicator, roller width stripes of noticeably different colours were evident in some areas. Murphy's law reigned supreme in this case, and the darker stripes were in the middle of the floor. A third coat, carefully applied, sorted the issue out. Fortunately, this was a small area that had been coated, and the applicator had enough product left over to complete the repair coat.

Tornado Degreaser

Tornado Degreaser is a water-based highly concentrated multi-purposed product that has had a lot of success in diverse applications. It has approval for use in wine-cellars (via Thales Institute) and cleans the exterior of old wine tanks back to bright metal. Diluting the product anywhere up to 20:1 with water allows it to be used as a household tile cleaner, wall cleaner, pre-soak for oily clothes (reportedly even bloody clothes after a hunting trip), pot cleaner amongst others.
More paint related uses include degreasing of new galvanized iron roof sheets, removal of oil patches from workshop floors and degreasing of metal objects prior to coating. The water-based formulation makes the product safe and easy to use and results are excellent.
Copper stains in old enamel baths and iron stains on boundary walls from bore-hole water are no match for the product either.

Painting of boundary walls

Correct procedure for this application will ensure maximum life span of the coating. Very seldom are boundary walls constructed with the inclusion of Damp-Proof Course (DPC). This means that the lower part of the wall will be subject to rising damp. Watering of lawns and flower beds adjacent to the walls provides a constant source of water around the base of the wall causing this to be a constant issue. Here's how to deal with this in the best possible manner.
Remove all loose and flaking paint by scraper. Cracks, if present, should be opened up by angle grinder. Refill these areas using a 3:1 sand/cement mix using Weatherbond Enhance (a water-proofing polymer) to wet the mixture to application consistency. Using a sponge, remove excess and match the appearance of the repair plaster to the existing profile surrounding the repair. Allow this repair to dry for 24 hours. Spot prime repairs or any exposed raw plaster Using Plaster Primer and allow to dry for 8 hours. Treat any fungal/algal contamination by application of Fungal Wash - allow 6 hours for the product to sterilise the surface and then scrub or high pressure jet the debris of the wall. Re-apply Fungal Wash and leave to dry on the surface - do not wash this off before re-painting.

Water-proof the top horizontal surface, or coping, by application of two coats Elastocryl, at a spread rate not exceeding 5 square metres per litre, allowing two hours drying time between coats. This area can then be coated with two coats Weatherklad in approved colour ( 8 square metres per litre, 4 hours drying time between coats). This will eliminate the possibility of water-ingress from the top of the wall, leaving only the issue of the rising damp to be best accommodated.
The vertical surface should be coated with two coats MattCoat 40 - a breathable matt finish product.
This will ensure moisture rising in the wall has the greatest possibility of diffusing through the coating, in the form of water-vapour, without damaging the coating. MattCoat 40 is also a far cheaper product than sheen finish alternatives - it is not often that the best technical option also costs less!!

Paint store audit and advice

Maintenance Managers on wine farms, fruit farms, and in the fruit packaging industry (as well as food and beverage suppliers) are tasked with maintaining the standards required for regular audits and inspections related to accreditation for supply to the local or international markets. Budgets for the required maintenance are often limited and the need to get the full benefit out of money spent is obvious. In many cases we have seen paint stores containing several half used paint cans, often produced by several different manufacturers, lying idle and collecting dust. Putting these products to use before re-ordering could save a lot of money.

A service we offer is to check the viability of the products currently stocked in terms of stability and suitability for use. This involves the identification, determination of viability, re-labelling if necessary, re-sealing and recommendations in terms of areas that can be coated with the product concerned. This results in substantial savings and leaves you with easily identifiable products – and a tidy store, at no cost to you.