Some of the harshest outdoor environments in the country have been no match for the superior performance of NeverFade Façade Restoration Coatings with Kynar Aquatec. The low VOC, field-applied coating system from APV Engineered Coatings has passed the eight-year mark with no visible fading or chalking on an application in Sanibel Island, Florida, an area known for extreme humidity, high temperatures, corrosion from saltwater, and harsh UV conditions that cause even the most advanced coatings to fade and degrade.


NeverFade coatings are a line of water-based, low-VOC topcoats that restore and protect building exteriors with long-lasting performance. The products are formulated with Kynar Aquatec, a tough and industry-proven PVDF resin that resists thermal, chemical and ultraviolet degradation. Serving as the backbone of NeverFade coating technology, coupled with high-performance additives and specialty grade inorganic pigments, Kynar Aquatec is highly resistant to color fading, chalking, dirt pickup, staining, algae, mold, fungal growth and degradation.

Applied with the compatible primer systems offered by APV, the NeverFade coating system can even protect against rust, corrosion, and efflorescence, as well as promote long-term adhesion to the building surface. The topcoats are custom-color matched to each customer’s specification in bold and rich colors and come with a 15-year product-and-labor warranty for color performance.

“This warranty is unique to the architectural coatings industry,” said Mike Couchie, VP of Sales, APV Engineered Coatings. “With the replacement of product and labor included for 15 years of performance, fully transferrable to the building owner, we are making a bold statement, guaranteeing that this product will perform like nothing else on the market. Unlike most other warranties, many of which are not worth the paper they are printed on, the property owner is covered 100 percent for the full 15 years.”
 
First NeverFade Application
Ronald D. Rooker of Ron’s Painting LLC in Fort Myers, Fla., was the first contractor to work with NeverFade when the exterior coating system was launched in 2009. The system was used on a residential property with a stucco exterior in Sanibel Island, Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. The salt air, sea spray and humidity caused the original white paint to severely chalk and degrade, as well as grow mold and algae on the shaded, moisture-prone areas of the home. APV had the color custom matched to the request of the homeowner and created a warm, soft yellow called NeverFade Sanibel Sun.  Rooker’s crew used an airless sprayer to apply the coating and then back-rolled it into the stucco profile.

Before NeverFade was installed — mold and algae growth on shaded areas of the facade.

“Being a high-performance coating, NeverFade was very user-friendly,” said Rooker. “It was only one-component and had the ability to be spray, roll and brush applied when needed. It also kept a nice wet edge and showed no roller marks.  It’s a great advantage to the property owner because it retains color and restricts mildew from growing, so the home won’t need to be pressure-cleaned nearly as often as it would if a high-end latex paint was used. Low maintenance was critical for the homeowners, as this is their vacation property.”
              
8 Years of Performance and Still Going Strong
Delta-E (ΔE) or Total Color Difference is a number that quantifies the distance between two colors. It is calculated based on delta L*, or lightness differences, da* redness or greenness differences, db*, blueness or yellowness differences between two items.  When conducting a color analysis, a colorimeter is used to measure the delta L*, a*, b* values on an originally coated color panel (the standard) as well as on a variety of areas on the aged building exterior.  An average ΔE is calculated from all of the samplings. As a rule of thumb, the higher the ΔE in comparison to the standard, the greater the difference in color. 

Visual comparison of the standard to the aged south-facing wall after 8 years of exposure.
 
A recent examination of the property in Sanibel Island after eight years in service found a ΔE of only 1 unit, well less than the parameters of the warranty, which covers ΔE of 5 or higher. There also were no signs of chalking or coating degradation and had been no mold or algae growth in any area of the property.

After 8 years of exposure to high humidity and air temperatures in the shade, no algae or mold growth appears on the surface.
 
“Eight years without severe fading and chalking in South Florida is traditionally unheard of,” Couchie said. “Even with high-performance urethanes and 100% acrylic-latex coatings, the pigment and binder have usually begun to degrade and fade leaving a significant shift in color and chalky residue on the surface. If left alone, the paint will eventually deteriorate completely, leaving the building’s substrate bare and open to damage from the elements, which is a very costly problem to repair.”

“For us, it was all about low maintenance,” added Mickey Ciriello, homeowner. “We used to have the property pressure-washed and repainted every three years, which can be very costly. The past eight years have saved us thousands of dollars and our home looks beautiful.”
 
A Coating for Every Surface
Since the first application on the Gulf Coast of Florida, NeverFade Facade Restoration Coatings have been used to coat hundreds of thousands of square feet of building exteriors around the world, including unique applications such as the exterior of the Goodyear Airship to the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium scoreboards to school systems’ bold building exteriors. The product’s advantages have been most significant in commercial and industrial high rises where renovation costs can be high. Its ability to lengthen the lifespan of such building exteriors have afforded tremendous costs savings to building owners. 

APV is confident in the product performance for the next eight years and even longer.  Kynar Aquatec has been weathering in the field and in a Miami-based natural weathering testing site for 18 years to date, however; the first-generation technology, Kynar 500, has been performing for over 50 years in harsh UV-prone environments with exceptional color retention.






Photos courtesy APV