Insulating Coatings

BTSH

CENTURION ROOF INSULATION COATING SYSTEM

Development Report By:
Dr Robert Austen
Ph.D., M.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons.)
04th September 2003.

Description

The Centurion roof insulation coating system is designed specifically for heat insulation and as a radiant heat barrier but combines the additional benefits of soundproofing, water resistance and flame resistance. The Centurion insulation roof coating system is specified Platinum and consists of four highly compatible waterborne coatings.

After preparation, repairs and cleaning, the system is applied by normal application methods for acrylic paints and membranes. The system can be applied by airless spray, roller or brush to vertical or horizontal surfaces.

The system is designed as an energy efficient insulating coating and can be applied to most substrates on new or old buildings. It greatly improves the aesthetic appearance of the building while greatly increasing the building’s maintenance free lifetime. The thick elastomeric film accommodates building movement eliminating cracks while providing a weatherproof barrier that is designed to save energy costs such as air-conditioning and heating costs.

The long term guarantees given on the complete system when applied by licensed trades people, mean that the building maintenance cost is greatly reduced by saving on re-paint costs.

The four components making up the insulating coating system are:

Fungirid, Durashield, Thermashield and UVShield.

Fungirid:
Its purpose is to eradicate all aerobic and non-aerobic bacteria. Applied as a pretreatment Fungirid prevents the growth of bacteria that would otherwise occur underneath applied coatings. Safe for human health and the environment.

Durashield Binder/Primer:
Centurion’s insulation primer is a low viscosity waterborne elastomeric coating, containing fine aluminium particles for good radiant heat reflection with excellent adhesion to a wide variety of substrates. It provides good opacity, pinhole penetration, good crack filling and a low porosity smooth platform to hide surface defects before subsequent coating with the insulation membrane. The silver colour helps to ensure the evenness of subsequent coats independent of the substrate colour.

Thermashield High Build Coating:
Centurion’s insulation membrane coating is formulated with a blend of acrylic resins, each well proven in the USA roof coating industry with over 25 years field experience. These have been optimized to give high elasticity, high toughness, high abrasion resistance and good weather resistance for prolonged service life under extremes of climate conditions.

UVShield Glaze Coat:
The Centurion clear glaze coating is designed to give: excellent UV stability; a smooth satin to semi-gloss finish depending on the substrate roughness; low tack in hot humid conditions; fast drying; early water resistance; good abrasion resistance; and superior dirt pick-up resistance.

Each coating is fully compatible with its adjacent coating material and is resistant to heat, UV light, water and biological attack, all of which contribute significantly to the deterioration of most coatings. The Centurion system of providing a combination of specialized coating layers has achieved an excellent track record of no coating failures over many years of experience. Each coating layer is formulated to conform strictly to the highest biological protection standards of the Singapore government building standards for tropical environments with respect to bacteria, fungi and algae.

The Centurion insulation membrane coating can significantly reduce internal temperatures due to its thermal insulation properties and reflectivity. The unique thermal insulation properties derive from the use of special hollow vitreous ceramic microspheres, which is the same method as used on the re-entry heat shields of NASA’s Shuttle spacecraft. These microspheres are hollow and possess extremely low heat conductivity and high heat reflectivity while exhibiting high compressive strength. They reinforce the coating and contribute to good abrasion resistance to scuffing by foot traffic.
The roof insulation coating layers remain flexible in the temperature range from -10°C to 65°C while retaining good extension (ca.300% extension at 23°C). and good elastomeric recovery. These properties ensure that the coating remains highly flexible and attached to the substrate during hot or freezing cold cyclic conditions of expansion and contraction as found in deserts on a daily basis. The flexibility of the filled coatings is such that 3 to 5mm thick coatings can be fully folded at room temperature without cracking.

To date there is no coloured insulating coating available worldwide other than white. Centurion have developed a range of pale pastel coatings that while not being as efficient as the white, still perform effectively as insulation coating. This gives the purchaser greater choice marrying the insulating efficiency against aesthetic finish.

Thermal testing in Australia by outdoor testing of box containers in full sun facing north over 24h shows that a pale yellow insulation coating performs reasonably well when compared to white paint. The white thermal insulation coating has an enhanced performance due to higher heat reflectance and lower heat conduction. While coloured coatings generally have significantly poorer performance than white coatings due to greater heat absorption by pigments and lower heat reflectance, the white hollow microspheres reduce and delay the rise of internal surface temperatures in the building and help to compensate for the presence of tint pigments.

Benefits of the Centurion Roof Insulation Coating System

Reduces extremes of temperature inside buildings where air conditioning is not available
Saves air conditioner energy
White can be tinted to pastel shades
Highly resistant to mould and mildew growth
Very good dirt pick-up resistance
Excellent ultraviolet resistance
Excellent adhesion to a wide variety of substrates
Excellent low temperature cracking resistance down to 0 °C
High flexibility and high extension
Good elastomeric recovery
Good crack bridging
Good opacity
Environmentally safe
Easy application by spray, roller or brush
Easy to clean up with water
Non-toxic 100% acrylic
Flame resistant
Can be applied up to 3mm thick in a single application
Early water resistance
Fast tack drying above 15 °C at about 300um per insulation coat
Very good self-levelling
Minimum settlement avoiding crust formation in the can
Non-drip brushing
Non-flammable, no flash point
Low particle size and soft coating helps to reduce spray gun blocking

Recommended Uses

Suitable for all vertical walls and pitched roofs.
For use on fully cured cement render and concrete, masonry walls, fibre cement, galvanized iron and pre-primed steel surfaces.
May be applied on new buildings or used to repaint older buildings.
Not designed as a tank or pool coating.

Insulation Coating;

The Thermashield insulation is a ceramic paint and insulating roof coating specifically designed for residential/commercial roofs and sidewall substrates. This coating is comprised of the best in acrylic binders and ceramic/silica coating materials to provide unequaled resistance to adverse weather conditions as well as providing thermal insulation properties.

Unlike conventional blanket systems, this coating attacks heat or cold penetration before it ever enters the substrate. This allows the coating to deal with the thermal transfer as a problem, not as a symptom after it has already made way into your facility.

Our unique composition of ceramic and silica particles structure encased in a very high grade acrylic emulsion allows for little transfer of radiative and conducted heat. This structure is very different than other reflective roof/sidewall coatings as it can be applied on top of or underneath roofs and still produce dramatic temperature differentials. Since our coating uses the best in raw material along with our vast history in insulated coatings, we have been able to incorporate longevity with heat dissipation.

Our coating also produces a "Cross Linking Structure" (CLS), which is unique to our insulating coating. CLS allows the coating to become stronger over time thereby adhering and bonding better to the substrate and also within itself. This means that the coating has excellent strength, useful life and flexibility. CLS provides great adhesion without the worry of expansion and contraction on substrates like wood, concrete, brick, etc.

The product has been tested to ASTM standards and exceeds most minimum criteria for weather ability, adhesion, flexibility, and UV resistance. The cross-linking structure of our coating actually becomes stronger over time. This gives you unequalled bonding and durability for years to come.

Thermashield vs. other coatings?

Most other roof and "so called insulation coatings" are acrylic binders that incorporate ceramic or filling materials that works primarily on reflectivity. Their performance is due materials such as titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate which have a highly reflective properties for visible light. This reflectivity works moderately well as long as the coating is clean and white. If it becomes dirty or tinted, then the reflective properties are robbed, thus eliminating its insulating results. Along with the titanium dioxide other inferior materials are used that produce highly conductive heat transfer. This means that the coatings are really nothing more than thick white durable paint. Independent studies have shown that our product delivers a 30°F temperature difference over other “so called insulated coatings and rooftop coatings.” (Please see graph below.)
Thermashield also incorporates the best in high-grade acrylic binders to provide outstanding weather ability for years to come. In fact, our coating carries a 10 year warranty!
Don' t confuse this coating with low E paints (i.e.Radiance(tm)).
Thermashield employs all thermal blocking agents of heat not only low emissivity.

Our particle structure is completely different incorporating the best in natural thermal blocking agents to produce unequalled performance with a composite coating. This match formulated method allows for our coating to produce dramatic temperature differentials while maintaining a paint like application quality.
Additional benefits include:
Saving total installation time when compared to conventional insulator methods.
• No cutting, tapping or special hangers.
• Adheres virtually to any material and eliminates the potential for surface corrosion or Corrosion under Insulation (CUI).
• The coating is a non-combustible, non-flammable, thermal insulation. It is Class 1 (A) fire rated.
• Water based, one-part coating having no “pot life”.
• Cross linking structure!
• Reduces or eliminates the possibility of condensation.
• Lightweight (6.2 lbs pounds per gallon).
• Elongation rate of 420%.
• Will stop the constant expansion and contraction of most roofs
• Can be "touched up" after minor structural repairs.
• Contains no chlorides:

Our coating works by blocking the total light wave energy spectrum with its reflective structure. This means that the coating can be placed inside or outside of the roof with similar results.
Also, if it gets dirty, the coating still maintains its ability to reflect thermal transfer due to the ceramic composition. This equates to 30-50% reduction of summer cooling costs and 10-30 % of winter heating costs!
As heat or cold enters the substrate, Thermashield provides insulating capabilities that repel the heat from your attic space or inside ambient temperatures. This lessens load on heat or cooling and reduces the constant running of the HVAC equipment. It also stops thermal shock on metal buildings and increase substrate life span. Best yet, once the coating is applied, the results are immediate and long lasting.
Thermashield can also be applied to exterior walls, basements, concrete block, brick and others susceptible to radiant heat transfer. This coating is specifically designed to be compatible with most all substrates without the risk of adhesion problems. Application is simple and can be accomplished with roller, brush or airless spray system.