4 major types of SPF roof coatings
It’s time to re-coat your SPF roof, but what type of re-coating should you use?
If you’re doing a small repair, you want to match the re-coating with the existing coat. How do you know what type of coating it is? If your roof needs a full re-coat, what’s the best type for your building? There are four major types of material used as coatings for SPF roof. Each has its unique benefits and adds tremendous value to the life-cycle of your SPF roof.
1. Acrylic
Acrylic elastomeric coatings are the most popular type of coatings for SPF roof systems. At R&A Contracting we frequently install ThermoFlex elastomeric coating from Lapolla Industries. It’s strong, durable, highly reflective of UV rays, and incredibly efficient at protecting SPF roofing systems. We try not to play favorites when it comes to SPF roof coatings, so this is one of our favorites!
2. Butyl
Butyl coatings are extremely resistant to moisture. They’re typically easy to clean and great for high traffic areas on roofing structures. However, butyl coatings are prone to becoming fragile over time. Butyl coatings also contain high levels of harmful VOC’s and are flammable. The one major disadvantage to butyl coatings is that they’re incapable of re-coatings since the butyl will not stick to itself. This means single-use coatings and costly tear-offs.
3. Polyurethane
Polyurethane coatings are fairly easy to install as long as you have the correct ratio of the two compounds. An imbalanced mixture is not effective and any mixture of polyurethane must be applied quickly. The good part is that polyurethane is durable and strong and work well as an SPF coating.
4. Silicone
Silicone coatings may be one of the best coating solutions for SPF roofing. They’re highly resistant to both moisture and aging, but they tend to be softer in composition than acrylic elastomeric coatings. This makes silicone susceptible to getting dirtier and more damage from foot traffic.