If you’re about to re-paint your roof you’ll want to know which paint brand to use.
We’ve all heard of the big brands and seen ads on TV for paint, but what’s actually best for a typical Auckland roof – one that’s exposed to the elements day after day, year after year.
Let’s dive in and find out . . . .
Here at QRC Roofing we use and recommend Aalto Paints for roof painting. Aalto is a New Zealand based company, highly regarded, who have been making paints for a very long time.
While they may not be the most well known brand, when it comes to roof paint, they are the top rated amongst most professional roof painters.
Can I just use normal exterior paint?
No!
You absolutely must use roof paint rather than normal paint or an exterior paint.
A dedicated roof paint will be specially formulated to prevent the UV coming through and making the paint deteriorate.
For a roof that hasn’t been painted before you should get a 15 year warranty on the paint job. If the paint has been maintained through moss treatment on a previously painted roof, you could expect a ten year warranty with another paint job.
It’s worth noting that you cannot warrant the substrate – this is the structure that supports the roof. It is like the support system for roofing.
So if you do not look after your painted roof and it deteriorates or starts flaking, your roof painter will not be able to guarantee that the paint that you’re about to apply will stick as the substrate may fall off, which happens. If you’re unsure, please reach out to our team who are happy to help.
Preparation – the most important part of your paint job
Preparation is the most important part of any paint job, including your roof.
You must always treat a roof prior to water blasting. When water blasting, you should make sure that the roof painter that is doing your roof uses a high pressure water blaster, as guarantees only apply when a 5000 PSI water blaster is being used.
If your tradie is on your roof with a garden hose and wire brush your preparation will be inadequate.
For iron roofs acrylic galvanised iron primer is generally acceptable. We recommend you then put two top coats of roof paint on top.
For badly rusted roofs, you may want to opt for the oil based primer first, which is far stronger and will protect the roof longer. However it’s worth noting that this is more expensive, but worth it if your roof is in bad condition.
For concrete tile roofs, the process is a sealer followed by a base coat, which is a high built, high density paint which fills up porousness on a tile, followed by two top coats. So that’s four coats in total.
How Many Top Coats?
After the two top coats go on, you may need a third just depending on the coverage of the paint.
Paint Warranties?
Generally your paint will come with a warranty. Aalto provides a 10 and 15 year warranty depending on the application and whether you have a certified Aalto applicator such as QRC.
Should You Paint Your Roof by Hand?
While most roofs can be hand painted or sprayed, the difference is a hand painted roof will look uneven, it simply won’t have the same lustre and shine.
It can also take a lot longer to do and the coats aren’t even, so we would not recommend it for a nice new house or if you want a top class finish.
Maybe if you’ve got an old school kiwi bach or holiday home where looks are less important you could certainly paint it with a roller. The paint should last 15 years, provided it’s maintained with regular moss treatments and kept clean. This means keeping leaves off the roof and out of the gutters.
The key thing to remember is that while selecting a high quality roof paint, which is formulated for New Zealand conditions, the condition of your roof, the roof material will have a big impact on the amount and type of preparation needed BEFORE the top coats go on.
We’ve seen many roofs over the years, where people have tried to paint over their roofing problems. The roof may look great . . .but they never last, and within a year or so, the existing issues will resurface.
We are roof painting experts, based right here in Auckland – please contact us if you’d like to chat about getting your roof repaired and/or repainted.
