Setting yourself up for coatings success

By Emma Peterson. 

Expert tips on properly preparing a roof for a coating project. 

In the roofing industry as a whole, proper preparation is often as important as the products you choose to install. In a Read Listen Watch (RLW)® sponsored by MuleHide, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Luis Ramos and Nick Doran to talk about essential and unique things to do in preparation for a coatings project.  

The first thing you need to do to set yourself up for a successful coatings project is to assess the roof. This often means getting out to the job and on the roof. Nick shared, “You can accomplish a lot with drones and other technology, but I feel like it’s still key to get out onto the existing roof, get onto it safely and conduct a visual inspection... The roof is going to tell you a lot of things. For example, if rain came through recently and it doesn't have a great slope, there may be water standing there.” This is also the perfect time to examine how the roof exists in its environment in real time. Do you see blistering or cracking? Are there seams opening up and blowing in the breeze? 

From there, you will want to investigate further, which is where coming in person really becomes key. If there is an open seam, is it causing a leak? Is that leak allowing moisture or saturation to move into the roofing assembly? If the answer is yes, you need to make sure these problem areas are repaired before you start the actual coating project. This in-person assessment is also the perfect time to determine the roof’s candidacy for coatings. Nick explained, “We need to make sure our coating is actually going to stick to this substrate. At the end of the day, we're only as good as what we're applying this coating too. So we do an adhesion test.” 

This adhesion test will help with the next part of preparing for a roofing project – figuring out what type of coating system is right for the roof substrate. Luis elaborated, “There are lots of options in coatings and choosing one really depends on the scenario... Here in Florida, we have a lot of moisture. We have a lot of trap moisture and there's just a lot of moisture in the air. Silicone is the most popular choice for coating a roof system. On the other hand, in places like Arizona where they have very little moisture, acrylics are very popular.” Where the adhesion test comes into play in choosing a coating system is determining things like what primers are best and how much primer is needed. Luis gave an example, saying, “Adhesion is important because any separation of membrane to substrate is an issue and could cause roof failure down the road. This is especially important with TPO roofs, nothing likes to stick to thermal plastic. And so using the right primer and the right amount of primer is key to working with TPO.” 

After you assess the roof, figure out what system you need and make any small repairs, there is still one more key part of preparation before you can start the coating part of the project – preparing the surface! Nick explained, “Surface preparation is key. Doing everything properly before you even apply any coating is the recipe for success. Nothing sticks to dirt, so we have to make sure that these substrates are clean, they're clear of debris, any contaminants, etc.” Luis echoed Nick’s sentiments, sharing, “I can't overemphasize the use of a cleaner. At MuleHide, we call it the A115 ready-to-use cleaner. It's an alkaline, so it's nothing toxic. Its runoff is not going to damage any plants or bushes below. It's very safe and it will make a dirty 20, 30-year-old roof clean enough that you can see the difference.” After that is complete, it’s time to actually start working with whatever coating products you chose earlier.  

Read the transcript, Listen to the RLW or Watch the episode to hear more of Luis and Nick’s insights on working with coatings.