Over-painting or metal-based refurbishment

The over-painting of roof and wall cladding with an approved coating can be used to extend the life of the external sheet and restore the aesthetics to a level approaching that of when the building was new. It can also minimise the disruption of the day to day building activities, during the refurbishment process.

Over-painting can also be a cost-effective and simple refurbishment solution when only the colour of the building needs to be changed and the existing cladding is sound. This could be due to:

• Change of ownership of the building and therequirement for a new colour scheme.
• A change in the corporate colours of a company.
• Changes in local planning restrictions or to blend with the local environment.

However, there are many situations where over-painting does not give the most economical solution, either in the short or long term, for example when:

• The original coating is very old and has delaminated.
• The underlying steel is rusted.

To over-paint in these circumstances would require the removal of the existing coating and the application of special primers to allow the new coating to adhere, which adds considerably to the cost. In this case a metal-based refurbishment solution may offer better value considering the lifetime could be 30-40 years before the next maintenance decision where an overpaint would give 10-15 years. Metal-based refurbishment is also ideal, either as a fast and effective replacement or over-cladding solution for other materials such as concrete and felt roof cladding.