Find a Professional
Sign Up Log In Add New Topic

TOPIC: I Have An Existing Metal Roof and Have A Question

Paint a Duraloc shingles roof

Return to I Have An Existing Metal Roof and Have A Question

Return to Forum

We have a 13 year Duraloc shingled roof. As you all may know, the granules wear off. Long story short, the company was sold and the class action law suit is ongoing. In the meantime, we'd like to paint the roof (no leaks so far, but look at that rust). I've read a few threads about pressure washing first, but I'm afraid of more granules falling off and clogging up my landscape pipes even more). Can anyone suggest a paint to cover up the rust?
Ted Ballmer

4/23/2017
Unfortunately, I do not have any real solid advice for you. Are you sure the rust colored surface is really rusted steel and not just the color of the binder or some other residue from the granular coating? Has the company that bought out Duraloc provided any repair or painting suggestions? I am very concerned about ever being able to get good adhesion to the surface that is there. The Duraloc failures have been unlike anything I have seen before. I am sorry. Todd Miller
Todd Miller
Isaiah Industries, Inc.

4/23/2017
Yep. I'm pretty sure it's rust, but even if it's not, would any paint hold for say 5 years? Thanks Todd.
Ted Ballmer

4/23/2017
To get paint to adhere to metal, you must have a good, well adhered surface in place that you are painting on top of. If the surface is chalky or falling apart, as I suspect this is, you will never get paint to stick to it for more than a year or so. I really wish I had better news Todd Miller
Todd Miller
Isaiah Industries, Inc.

4/23/2017
Dura Loc used a brown colored base coat, the granules come off exposing the brown base coat...its not rust but rust looking for sure. To paint the roof you would need to power wash it completely. Power washing Dura Loc will essentially take it to the base coat with little effort as the granules are probably pretty thin anyway. I have seen these roofs painted, they can look ok but its not a solution. Of the 4 I have seen painted only one looked passable, the other 3 were far worse. Power wash with caution, you can make the roof leak pretty easy. If the roof is high visibility from the front of the home be careful of what we call tiger stripes. Essentially when power washing areas completely and leaving granules in others...a poor power washing job. Once painted these granulated areas will be quite different looking than the bare roof panels. I would be concerned about painting these roofs, its on full battens. Shake profile or continental profile, either way that roof is not user friendly to walk on. A painter will walk all over it to power wash it then again to paint it, they will damage it. If I had a nickel for every H/O that told me their painter says he knows how to walk on it... 90% of the time they do not and 100% of the time they do not when it comes to the continental profile. All the roofs I have seen painted are damaged / dented, denting at the side lap can result in leaks. Tough call really, if its in prestige condition other than the coating loss and dent free I wouldn't paint it as they will destroy it. If it is already dented up then have it your not going to make it much worse.
Guest User

4/24/2017
Thanks for the replies. Good to know it's probably not rust. YouTube had got some video of some Australian contractors repainting. They also replace the granules (birdseed they jokingly refer to it as). I doubt the product is available in the States.
Guest User

4/28/2017
I've been looking for a solution for a while too. Ours is about 10 years old and the south facing shingles are looking bad. We are installing a pool and a solar heater. So we don't want the granules to collect on the pavers and in the pool. I've always been very careful to walk on it and I think they are in great shape. I'm also concerned with installing a $6,000 system on our roof. After doing some research I found a similar product by Decra. They show an acrylic layer, then a base coat, then the chips, then an acrylic over-glaze. Has anyone ever tried acrylic water-based elastomeric coatings or acrylic sealers like: XClear Hard Acrylic Clear Sealer?
Guest User

6/1/2017
After online researching, contacting my roofer, and talking to many other roofers I decided to contact Decra who makes a very similar product. I asked to speak to an engineer and was transferred to Ken Sorensen who's title is Marketing Support Representative. He was very knowledgeable about the situation and said it's the acrylic coatings that fail to hold the granules. When they come off it takes off the top layers of paint. All of the base layers should still be in tack and continue to protect the metal for decades. It just looks horrible. He said every steel shingle manufacture struggles with this. The second thing they struggle with is how bad steel roofs are at transferring the heat to the attic. He said they have worked close with a coating manufacture with these issues. They have found a product called NXT Cool Zone developed exclusively by Nutech Paint. They are a proved company who has been coating roofs for over 40 years in Austrailia who has been doing these types of roofs for a long time. The NXT Cool Zone is a reflective coating system that includes a lower pressure cleaning to get rid of dirt, dust, loose material, bacteria, and mold. It also includes a primer coating and two coatings of the NXT Cool Zone. You can add granules into the primer to help add the to the 3D look. They offer a 12 year warranty. Ken gave me the phone number to the distributor in Southern California: http://nutechpaintsca.com/ [email protected] (714)860-8195-Nick There are a couple of certified installers in Florida and in Arizona that I found. After calling Nick he quoted me $5,300 to complete my roof which is approximately 2,600 sqft. I decided to go with him and am very happy. During the install we agreed that most customers move before the 12 year warranty is up but he said if you plan on living in the house long term consider coating your roof every 10-15 years like to do when you paint your house. It's just coming into winter so I can't tell how well it works at keeping my house cool.
Guest User

10/17/2017
Before
Guest User

10/17/2017
After
Guest User

10/17/2017
We have used Nutech paint and i would recommend them also. My application was to change the color of an existing SS roof in Laguna Beach. This product is not a bad option for the Dura Loc issue given the 12 yr warranty. Time will tell if its worth it, would be interesting to see this roof in five years to see how it holds up.
Guest User

10/19/2017

If you would like to reply to this thread, please log in. If you do not have an Ask the Experts forum user account, create one here.