Metal cladding protection and redecoration
Pre-finished steel provides an inherently flexible and adaptable surface that can be over-painted at any point during its lifetime. Over-painting is quick and can in most cases be carried out without affecting the operations within the building. When to repaint will depend on the location and circumstances of the building and its owners. Pre-finished cladding would ordinarily be expected to have a serviceable life of anywhere up to 40years. However, some of the brighter original colours may begin to fade quicker and a high degree of corporate identity, company rebranding or compliance with lease repairing covenants may necessitate an early overpaint. Alternatively, when the original coating begins to chalk and breakdown overpainting becomes necessary to prevent exposure of the metal substrate to weathering and subsequent corrosion leading to a loss in the weather protection to the buildings structure and interior.
Overpainting the cladding can extend the life of the steel by a further 10 years and beyond with subsequent over-paints. It is important to choose the timing of the over-paint carefully to ensure the existing coating is still intact and does not require removal.
The process of over-painting includes:
- Inspection and assessment to identify an appropriate solution.
- Surface preparation - in most cases a wash down of the area to be recoated and removal of any loose paint using abrasives. Any areas of bare metal must be spot treated with an appropriate primer before application of the topcoat.
- Recoating operation - one or two coats applied by spray or roller application to the required thickness specified by the manufacturer.
Choosing the right coating for over-painting is important and D&D Industrial Coatings Ltd are approved contractors for many of the country's leading paint manufacturers.
- Stealseal manufactured by Akzo Nobel
Steelseal Topcoat is available on a colourmatch system to match any corporate colour or existing cladding colours. The steelseal system comes with a 10 year manufacturers product guarantee.
- Delcote manufactured by Giromax
The delcote system comes with a 10 or 15 year manufacturer's product guarantee.
