Jeff Alexander, Valspar Vice President of Sales

Color sets a metal building apart. It captures attention. It sets a mood. It projects an attitude. And, if not protected, that attitude could give the wrong message, one of age, exhaustion, and wear.

Those passionate reds, valiant blues, sharp greens, stark yellows, all of them need protecting. As soon as your color meets the sun, the sun starts swinging punches at your color. Over time, the ultraviolet (UV rays) will create chalking and fading.

Unless…

Rugged, durable coatings protect against the degradation of color pigments due to outdoor exposure. If you want brilliant color, you want a sturdy coating.

Here’s why and how it works.

Coatings are applied to the surface of an object, typically referred to as the substrate, and form an essential part of the finished product. In many cases, coatings improve the surface properties, including adhesion, appearance and corrosion or wear and scratch resistance.

While each coating system contains the same four principal ingredients, that combination of ingredients can change depending on the final color and application of the coating:

• Resin: serves as the binder and holds the pigment to the substrate;
• Pigment: provides color, hiding and chemical resistance;
• Solvent: vehicle for solids to be transported to the substrate’s surface; and
• Additives: chemicals added in small amounts to deliver special coating effects.

A beautiful coating on metal products, whether that’s a high-end commercial project, an industrial building, or a home, will make a strong, timeless statement. Something like, “Check me out.”