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Applying Durable Exterior Paint Formulated for a Subtropical Climate

Tim McLaughlin from Color Wheel Paints and coatings is with Bob as the house is sprayed with its finish coat of the Flex Lox Masonry Coating System. McLaughlin explains how a subtropical climate South Florida�s degrades a paint surface with its heat, sun, and damaging UV rays, forcing it to crack and peel. Bob watches as the crew sprays on the terra cotta colored Flex Lox finish coat over a lighter primer. McLaughlin explains that using a lighter shade underneath helps the crew to avoid skips and maintain solid coverage across the surface. The crew uses a sprayer set at 2,000 psi (pounds per square inch) to apply a heavy finish coat that is wet rolled to push the paint into the nooks and crannies of the heavily textured surface. Flex Lox is a hybrid latex and elastomeric surface coating that stretches to cover surface cracks and voids. McLaughlin uses a water force test to show how the Flex Lox protects against water infiltration with wind-driven rain. McLaughlin uses a block of stucco with two rilem tubes protruding and a hairline crack running across its face. The left side is painted with a traditional 3 mil thick coat of latex acrylic paint. The right side is covered with Flex Lox built up to 8 mils thick. When the water is poured into the tubes its force is equal to that of rain hitting the surface at 88 miles per hour. The water immediately breaks through the crack under the latex paint but does not break through the Flex Lox. McLaughlin also shows Bob the tool that is used to measure the thickness of each coat at application. With the Flex Lox system, the goal is to apply the finish coat to 10 mils thick and let it dry to 5 mils.
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Applying Durable Exterior Paint Formulated for a Subtropical Climate

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" McLaughlin is with us from color wheel paints and coatings and you know. Keeping paint on the house in Florida or any place in the sun belt is often -- challenge right it is a big challenge we live in a subtropical climate and yet with tough on the paint them and it's the heat and the sun that causes the paint to. It is to fade and to crack and to chip and to flake and everything else that these nightmares exactly well that UV rays everything him. Tends to break it down and what we've got on this house's. I'm is essentially a latex product that we're using right it is a latex product it's a hybrid of an elastomeric its high build system. -- has flexibility and strength OK and if we look at this part of the house it's in the finish coat which is kind of a very appropriate. Terra cotta or clay pot kind of color and it works well with the Mediterranean theme of these Florida houses and over on this side of the house and looks like it's pink now. That's because it's the primer that's correct this is the primer on this side they do the primer first. And then the next day they come in and do the finish -- why can't they prime with just the same exact color. They could prime with the same exact color but the reason we want to do that is to prevent any skips and holidays so the painter can see where he's been and make sure that he gets enough paint on the surface of the house so it's that simple exactly. OK now the surface that you've got here is heavily textured Stucco surface that's forever cement -- I think you can define it as being Stucco what depending on the thickness is getting on the thickness generally it's if it's emanates it can be considered a Stucco finish any of its three coats we have Rico get three coat system okay. My question is."

" How do you. You know how you make sure that you're getting into all these nooks and crannies in the end and cracks that are inherent in the finish by you can see here Bob these guys are using an airless sprayer and -- rang and I. Real heavy -- and the reason they do that -- to build off of I'll from the wall band the other gentleman is what we call wet back growing and the object of that is to make sure that he pushes the paint and all the nooks and crannies that's in the Stucco surface OK that's simple enough -- textured roller yes he's using a warning of national wanted to. And then he's anywhere from one to one and of course the good side now for the ride yeah now what kind of -- you -- hate using basically really dull and airless sprayer. I'm fat paint is coming out of 2000 PSI have to -- right now right. I guess for fabric shows where."

" It's kind of job should -- yourself homeowner can contemplate you know renting the spraying equipment and buying your products and stuff well they -- certainly rent it that we would passes very important on safety issues that they're trained on how to use this. Equipment because she's asking he has size. Do a lot of damage to -- that can actually inject it into their bloodstream that's right."

" You can get killed and we're actually matter we don't know what you're doing well what's interesting to me about what you've been saying is simple. Concept of the the flexibility of the -- what makes one brand of paint more flexible than. And another well I have to do with the reds and Bob what we use in this particular product in the red and we fell -- three point. The -- and basically the Redmond and the mine emerged in the -- give us the flexibility that needs to ration elongation factor on our flex lox is 350%. District are much but what do. About stating what -- made it through and make your dreams defeat and failure for a 100% acrylic resin that's in the product plus the titanium. Your backside. Very good pigment for both hiding and longevity OK and then the other problem with masonry houses -- kind of the penetration of -- water infiltration through the masonry -- basically."

" Later this product what it will do because of the elongation factor it will -- it will stretch. In any time easiest any kind of movement with to have settles on a stretcher her hairline cracks and things like to ask -- And it'll prevent and -- in situations where we had these hurricanes come through. A lot of the water penetration came through cracks in the Stucco or you got a test that you can demonstrate we -- yeah how does this work basically what these are Bob these are two Ryley to. That we have over some simulated Stucco. On the left hand side is -- standard acrylic product. That's about three -- that in the and then on this side on the right hand side we have our flex lox product which is built to hate -- wow that's pretty thick now this is. Basically gauged that she shows you that thickness and mills for exactly this is what we call wet mil gage and while they're applying the paint will actually doing and then measure how thick the paint is these are graded scales right here -- what we're looking for is ten males wear and since it's 50% volume solids it dries and the five males and that's what 15 now. Got you so in your test here which is your product and which is Hillary. OK on the -- here's the standard acrylic -- this is our product and on the right is it is the flex lox product. OK and you've got a crack in the masonry there's a crack in the masonry that once runs from one side to the other it runs away from. Louis art scene here is obviously the the flex lox is bridging the crack yeah and then what do you do you fill these right this is colored water and first we'll put them aside. Over here where we have reflects lack. And what this Ryley into the indicates this basically. Simulates 88 mile per hour wind driven rain just friendly -- ratty little head pressure and on the other side the other side where we don't have the flex lox and we do have the correct we'll fill this. That he can see it's rather. -- ago Dan rather quickly well it's coming out his -- out the cracks. It's just getting absorbed it's just blasting right -- there and 88 mile per hour wind driven rain you know just blow right in there. And if you have a crack head back against you brick were made statement one time if you have a crack. That's fifteen feet long to the hairline crack think about it if you want to that into a ball in the hallway and exactly that's great. All right -- was -- beautiful paint job thanks very much thank you."

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