It’s All About That Base

Performance of acrylic roof coating systems can be improved greatly when the right base coat is used.

Not all coating systems are created equally. While most have one thing in common, a nice, white reflective finish, the long-term performance hinges on the use of a substrate-specific base coat. Nobody knows this better than KARNAK, where formulating high-performance roof coating systems has been a tradition for 85 years.

Many different types of roofing systems can be coated but if the roof coating is incompatible, fails to adhere, or allows bleed-through, the long-term performance of the coating may be severely compromised.  In the early years, the acrylic coatings market was marred by adhesion challenges and asphalt bleed-through issues. To solve these problems, KARNAK hired chemist Scott Gregory who spent many years at Dow as a polymer chemist.

Gregory studied the various roof systems and developed four substrate-specific base coat formulations designed to adhere to each different type of roof.  Even better, KARNAK base coats are self-priming and fully elastomeric roof coatings often reducing application steps for the contractor compared to systems that require priming the surface before application of the coating system.  The KARNAK specialty base coats are designed specifically for each type of roof including: metal, concrete, asphalt, previously coated roofs, EPDM, new SPF roofs, and aged single-ply membranes including TPO, PVC, Hypalon and EP roofs.

The specialized base coats can then be paired with any one of KARNAK’s acrylic elastomeric finish coats – 501, 505HS, 529 or 535 – for a truly customized, energy-saving system that will meet the needs of both the building owner and the contractor.

So, while manufacturer recommended substrate preparation remains a critical step in any roof coating application, selecting a KARNAK substrate-specific base coat greatly enhances adhesion and lengthens the roof coating system’s performance.

Contact your KARNAK representative to learn more about KARNAK elastomeric base-coats:

• 404 Corrosion Proof
• 405 Bond-N-Shield
• 406 Tru-Grip
• 407 EPDM & SPF Base Coat

Download the free KARNAK one-page coatings guide and receive five roof patch samples as a thank you!