20-Year Color Lifetimes for Architectural Restoration Coatings: Theory and Reality

By Kurt Wood

Baked solventborne poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) architectural finishes on metal celebrate their 50-year anniversary in 2015. Their multi-decade service life has been validated not only through Florida weathering testing on metal panels, but also through the weathering of actual building components throughout the world. Solventborne air-dry PVDF systems for field-applied touch-up, repair, and restoration were developed in the 1980s, and have now also demonstrated more than 20 years of excellent south Florida color retention when used in conjunction with weather-able inorganic pigments.

Similarly, waterborne PVDF/inorganic pigment systems developed in the 2000s have now surpassed 10 years of excellent weatherability in Florida. In this article, strategies are discussed for attaining 20-year color retention lifetimes for PVDF-based coatings incorporating other types of pigments, including flake pigments and organic pigments, in both solvent- and waterborne formulations.