There has been a lot of recent news coverage about all of the snow in the East. Although we haven’t had the tens of feet of snow that they have had, the winter weather can still take a toll here locally. Take a look at your sheds, roofs, siding and windows. Even though you may not see any outwardly visible signs of rust, rust can still be destroying your metal.
Rust forms on buildings from oxygen, a mixture of air and water together. Rust can be misleading because you might not see the red, flaking and peeling indications of damage being done, but rest assured that rust is there, destroying your metal. For example, if you take a white topcoat with no primer and apply it to the side or roof of your building, within 3 to 6 month you will see spots of rust appearing. This is why you always must apply primer before painting, regardless of what anyone else tells you. It is not uncommon to have buildings, bins, house roofs and sides have rust peeling paint that were painted less than a year ago.
If you are thinking about having some painting done, here are some pointers of questions to ask your painter to avoid having rust on your buildings anytime soon:
- Is the primer rust inhibitive?
- Does the primer cover in one coat or does it take multiple coats?
- Is your primer comparable to your topcoat?
- If I follow your primer steps, will you stand behind your product?
- Is the product flexible with the building?
- Will it take two coats?
- Is the topcoat a hard enamel?
- If the topcoat is hard, will it pop when the building moves?
- Does your topcoat have mildew protection?
- If I color the topcoat, how long will it work and hold the color?
Finally, be careful of any painter telling you that primer isn’t needed. If you have painting to be done, please call Brian Garleb at 618.972.9516 or email at bgarleb@gatewayfs.com .