The Color Of Success: MBCI’s Durable Coating & Finish Options

The building is designed. The construction schedule is worked out. The materials have been chosen. The trades have been hired. There’s just one more crucial decision to make: The finish.

Metal construction with MBCI already has a long list of benefits basically built in, from enhanced sustainability to superior durability and longevity. But to ensure the long-term, high-performing life of the MBCI materials you’ve invested in, you also need to choose the right finish for your metal components.

Though many people think of finish as simply the color on top of the metal, it’s actually far more. Standard finishes include a primer designed to bind the colorcoat to the metal substrate and provides additional corrosion protection. The colorcoat is comprised of a resin and pigments to create a durable finish in a variety of colors. MBCI’s color finishes are composed of a combination of layers and ingredients to provide you with the best technology for your specific project. MBCI can provide customized finishes that can include additional layers of primer, colorcoat or topcoats depending on the level of protection you choose. The selected resins, pigments and other ingredients determine not only the color and gloss, but how well the finish can stand up to the elements, its expected longevity – and therefore the lifetime of the material it’s protecting.

MBCI_FW-120_Bluffdale City Hall_Rodac_Ext_002_1116

Which finish?

MBCI offers two categories of standard finishes. The Signature® 200 series of coatings is a silicone modified polyester (also known as SMP). Silicone modified polyester coatings are hard, durable finishes that provide remarkable gloss, color retention and chalk resistance. A perfect choice for doors, wall cladding, agricultural and high traffic commercial projects. The most economical choice, Signature® 200, comes in a variety of stock colors and can also be customized to your specifications.

For premium projects or projects in more aggressive environments, MBCI’s Signature® 300 series of coatings utilize a 70%polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin. PVDF finishes offer superior color retention and are highly resistant to harsh conditions such as UV radiation, high winds, high altitudes, acid rain, high humidity and other chemically or environmentally aggressive environments. Signature® 300 coatings are perfect for high visibility architectural and industrial projects. If you’re building near the coastline, MBCI carries a special finish formulated to stand up to marine environments and damaging salt spray.

MBCI also provides customized finishes for interior projects wherever corrosive conditions occur indoors, such as in water treatment plants, indoor swimming pools or facilities that use or manufacture caustic, corrosive chemicals.

Color Choices

The popular reds and greens of recent decades have given way to trends toward more natural colors, earth tones, calming blues and natural metallics such as copper and bronze. As MBCI Paint and Coatings Specialist Martin Thompson explains, “MBCI’s stock color options reflect the changes in color trends – and if there is something we don’t offer on the standard color chart, we will customize it for you.”

You can download MBCI’s Color Charts here:

Architectural Color Chart

Commercial & Industrial Color Chart

Residential Color Chart

If you don’t find the option you had in mind, contact your friendly MBCI representative to start the color customization process. We can match virtually any shade, but custom colors may require increased lead time.

MBCI_7.2, Artisan, FW-120, PBD_Sandstone Met, Dove Met, Col. Red_Entheos Academy_Rodac Roofing_Ext_019_0812

Maintenance/Best Practices

Once you’ve completed a project, you’ll certainly want to maintain it. While MBCI products require little to no maintenance, there are a few pointers that will help get the longest life and best performance out of your MBCI metal finish:

  1. Don’t allow cut panel ends to contact uncured concrete — Metal panels are susceptible to corrosion when exposed to chlorides or highly alkaline uncured concrete. Leave a gap between these panel edges and green concrete and ensure good drainage away from walls and off rooftops.
  2. Keep metal components dry  Corrosion is made possible by prolonged wet conditions. Inspect your entire building envelope at least twice a year, removing dirt buildup, mold, mildew or anything else that traps or holds water against metal components.
  3. Wash annually — A light washing with household soap or siding cleaner is recommended once a year. In wet environments with excessive organic material like mold or pollen, wash more frequently.

Warranties

We know our finishes are strong, and we stand by them. Both the Signature® 200 and Signature® 300 series come with 30-year colorfastness and 40-year film integrity warranties. Colorfastness refers to the color maintaining its appearance, while film integrity is an indicator of how long the finish will adhere to the panel surface. In exceptionally harsh environments such as heavy industrial or coastal areas, the warranty may be different. Speak to your representative for more details. In case of small scratches or blemishes, touchup paint matching your finish is available through MBCI.

When you’re ready to make decisions on coatings and finishes – or if you just have questions – don’t hesitate to reach out to your MBCI representative.

Urban Heat Islands, Part 1: How Cool Metal Roofs Benefit the Community

Summer in the city usually means it’s hot – hotter than surrounding areas. Those who have investigated this phenomenon have identified the presence of “urban heat islands” – places that heat up disproportionately to those nearby.

Urban Heat Islands Form from an Abundance of Dark Surfaces in Cities

One reason for this is the predominance of dark asphalt pavement and dark-colored roofing. The significance is that dark surfaces are known to absorb sunlight and re-radiate it back as heat. That’s how thermal solar panels work, but it is also dramatically apparent when walking across a black asphalt parking lot in the summer sun. The heat is coming not only from the sun above, but from the pavement below.

If nearby buildings have dark-colored roofs, the same is happening there. Studies have shown that this re-radiated heat can build up in urban areas and raise the surrounding air temperature by up to 5 degrees Fahrenheit on average. So while it might be a tolerable 85 degrees and pleasant a few miles away, the urban core could be sweltering in a self-induced 90 degrees – even higher on those dark roofs and parking lots.

Measuring Solar Heat

How do we know what materials help or hinder these urban heat islands? First, all materials will absorb and reflect varying amounts of solar radiation based primarily on the color and reflectance of a material. The way to measure that variation is based on ASTM test standards E903 and C1549. These tests are used to determine the solar reflectance (SR) of materials, which is expressed as the fraction of solar energy that is reflected on a scale of 0 to 1. Black paint, for example, has an SR of 0 and bright white titanium paint has an SR of 1 (highest reflectance).

Reducing Heat Islands with Cool Metal Roofs

Taking things one step further, the Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) has been developed as a measure of the ability of a constructed surface, particularly roofs, to stay cool in the sun. It relies on both an initial SR value as well as a thermal emittance value being determined for a material or product. Using ASTM E1980 and values from the Cool Roof Rating Council Standard (CRRC-1), an SRI of between 0 (common black surface) and 100 (common white reflective surface) can be determined. The higher the SRI, the higher the amount of solar radiation that is reflected and thermal radiation minimized, thus creating a comparatively cool surface.

Metal roofing is particularly well suited to achieve high SRI values, minimize heat build-up, and reduce urban heat islands. Recognizing this, many manufacturers test metal roofing products and publish the SRI results, allowing professionals and consumers to make informed decisions. Of course, other roofing materials are tested for SRI values too, but few test as effectively and economically as metal roofing.

(For specific information about the radiative properties of MBCI’s colors, consult our listings in the respective databases on the CRRC and ENERGY STAR websites.)

Benefits to the Community

Specifying and building with high-SRI metal roofs has benefits beyond just the immediate building—reducing urban heat islands keeps excess heat from building up in the surrounding community too. Higher summer temperatures can be detrimental to plants, trees, and people who are outside in urban areas. By using cool metal roofs that reduce the surrounding air temperature, plants don’t lose water as quickly, people are more comfortable, and trees are less stressed. Cooler air temperatures around a building also means air conditioning does not need to work as hard or as often. That translates into less energy use and fewer greenhouse gas emissions from electricity to run the air conditioning—both of which could significantly contribute to cleaner air in the community.

Results

By recognizing the existence of urban heat islands and their impact on people and the environment, those of us in the design and construction field can choose to do something about them. By specifying and installing high-SRI cool metal roofs, the environment benefits, people benefit and our buildings benefit.

Learn more in our blog post, “Code Requirements for Cool Roofs with Climate Zone Specifics.”

Find a sales representative