Finishes

Finish Performance

The factors that determine how well a paint finish performs in the field are the characteristics of the substrate that the finish is applied to.

• Does the material respond to changes in temperature by expanding and contracting?
• Does it respond to changes in moisture content in the air?
• Does it suffer from excessive heat gain?
• What is the effect of out-gassing; what will percolate through the coating?

All of these responses serve to break down the binding agents in the paint starting the oxidation process that leads to fading, chalking, or peeling of the finish.

A fiberglass substrate does not exhibit any of the above negative features.

Finish Options

Pultruded fiberglass is factory painted.

Paint film thickness is a minimum of 100 to 200 microns (4 to 8 mils) wet film, which produces a dry film of 50 to 100 microns.

• The finish will have a typical hardness rating of “H”.
• The paint has proven not to chip, scale, blister, caulk, or discolor under the most severe weather conditions, with gloss retention and minimal color fading.

 Fiberglass manufacturers offer:

• unlimited choice of custom colors
• real wood laminated to a fiberglass substrate
• copper and brass foil laminations.

Paint Finishes

Fiberglass does not require a primer to aid adhesion. It is unaffected by the normal stresses that apply to binding agents in paint. This offers the flexibility to change the color of the windows as an easy “do-it-yourself” project, as the original paint finish acts as a primer once lightly sanded.

Standards for Coatings

To assure full compliance of the finish applied to fiberglass, claddings should be tested to cladding industry finishing standards. AAMA (American Architectural Manufacturing Association), Voluntary Specifications for Organic Coatings on Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset Profiles:

AAMA 625

These specifications define attributes such as: color and gloss uniformity; hardness; adhesion; direct impact; chemical, moisture, and temperature resistance; exposure, weathering, and aging resistance — with performances akin to paint finishes for the automotive industry which provide durability and longevity.

Organic paint pigments are prepared with natural ingredients and require less maintenance. They are stain resistant and easily washable. They are environmentally friendly and produce less smog and less greenhouse gas emissions then regular non- organic paints.

Finish Applications

Fiberglass’s painted finishes, in both bright and dark colors, are specified for extreme project applications:

• In the heat of the desert in Arizona and Egypt
• In the extreme cold of the Arctic and Antarctica, and
• In the extremely corrosive environments of chemical plants and salt mines, and have shown excellent resistance to ultra violet degradation, fading, discoloration, chalking, blistering or corrosion.