WHY ARMOR ROOF COATINGS ARE THE BEST AND FAQs
Why ArmorGarage Roof Coatings Are the Best
What makes a roof coating last 15–20 years instead of 2–3? The answer is in the chemistry — and the proof is on the roofs.
Choosing the Right Roof Coating
Once you've decided to resurface your roof with a coating rather than an outright replacement — which is very costly — the first question everyone has is: what's the best coating for my roof and my situation?
There are many different types of coatings, varying in quality. Just like anything, you can buy a roof coating whose main feature is its low price, or you can buy a quality product made to the highest standards using the best ingredients available.
If you're looking for a temporary solution because of budget or you'll be out of the building in a short time frame, then a low-cost home improvement store product is probably fine for you.
If you're in the building for the long term, you need something more durable on your roof. That's where ArmorGarage comes in.
What Makes ArmorGarage Roof Coatings Better?
It's Not Water-Based
The first thing manufacturers do to lower the price of their coatings is to make them water-based. Up to 50% of the liquid you're buying can be water. It evaporates during drying, leaving you with a weak, thin film. That's why aluminum-fibered coatings and other off-the-shelf products wear off so quickly.
Butyl Rubber — Not EPDM
Our coatings are rubber-based, using Butyl rubber as opposed to EPDM rubber. Butyl rubber outperforms EPDM liquids and actual EPDM rubber sheets. We use the highest quality Butyl available, at the highest percentage, then fortify it with our epoxy polymers for additional hardness and wear resistance.
Silicone + Epoxy Polymers
Silicone is great for ponding water flat roofs because it resists water degradation. But silicone is very soft and easily damaged by foot traffic, heavy rains, or hail. That's why we fortify ours with epoxy polymers — so it can handle significantly more wear and tear.
ArmorGarage Roof Coatings deliver:
500% elongation factor with 99.999% memory recovery, superior UV resistance, ASTM 9,000-hour extreme weather tested, the highest Shore D hardness ratings in the industry for severe weather protection and the best-in-class vapor transmission prevention with the lowest permeability ratings. The importance of low permeability cannot be overstated.
Applying roof coatings or roofing materials with high permeability ratings means that their microscopic pores are larger to start with, so as your roof and/or coating expand and contract over time, those microscopic pores begin to widen sooner. They eventually widen to the point where they start to pass moisture through them.
With low-quality and water-based roof coatings, this happens in just a few short years and is why leaks seem to be mysteriously happening even though your inspections can't seem to find any reasons for leaks and your patching can't stop them from happening. It's because water/moisture is passing right through those invisible enlarged pores. Making your leak-stopping efforts a futile experience that only makes matters worse by having multiple and most likely incompatible products on top of each other.
Fix and protect your roof the right way the first time with an ArmorGarage roof coating!
ASTM 9,000 hour extreme weather test — proof our coatings outlast the competition.
Real-World Proof: Surviving Golf-Ball Sized Hail
If you don't think the hardness of a coating matters, consider this testimonial from a customer with a 100-year-old historic house and an original roof. After investigating every roof coating available, he chose ArmorGarage Metal Roof Coating.
Historic home with ArmorGarage Metal Roof Shield — survived a devastating hail storm.
Fort Scott was hit by a terrible hail storm. Your roof coating did amazingly well considering it was hit with golf ball sized hail and suffered only minor damage. It is estimated that over 80% of all roofs in Fort Scott were lost!
Had I gone with a cheaper coating recommended by my roofer I have no doubt I would have lost my irreplaceable historic roof. While my neighbors' roofs were destroyed, I only suffered minor cosmetic damage. It really is everything you say it is and well worth the extra money.— Fort Scott, Kansas Customer, April 2013
This not only applies to hail — heavy downpours are very abrasive and will simply wear away softer coatings in a lot shorter time than you'd imagine. Same for intense sunlight and high humidity levels.
Warranties: Read the Fine Print
Some competitors offer outlandish warranties, but you'll have a hard time collecting because even walking on the roof can void their warranty — the coating is that fragile. Other warranties are void unless applied by a licensed/authorized dealer.
That is not the case with ArmorGarage. We offer 12 & 15 year warranties and our coatings routinely last 15–20 years. Plus the most important fact: you will never need to use your warranty with our product. We have as close to a zero failure rate as you can get.
Our coating is easily recoatable with one new layer if and when needed — unlike silicone products.
If you have to redo the roof even one time, any money you saved with a cheaper coating just went down the drain. Applying layer upon layer of coatings leads to more problems than it solves.
The Bottom Line: Choose Long-Term Roof Protection
A roof coating should do more than stop a leak temporarily. It should create a durable, seamless surface that protects the building, its occupants and the valuable equipment, inventory or property inside. ArmorGarage roof coatings are engineered to seal compatible roof surfaces, withstand demanding weather conditions and provide long-term protection without the cost and disruption of premature roof replacement.
The real question is not whether a coating can stop a leak when first applied—it is how long it can keep the roof leak-free. Product quality, cured-film thickness, flexibility, weather resistance and proper application all determine whether a coating provides lasting protection or becomes another temporary repair.
ArmorGarage roof coatings are manufactured using 100% American-made materials and are available for metal, flat, tar, rubber, asphalt-shingle and ponding-water roof applications. Compare product properties, performance specifications and coating types in our Roof Coating Comparison Chart .
Ready to review coating options for your roof? Visit our Commercial and Residential Roof Coatings page to compare available systems by roof type.
Need Help Choosing the Right Roof Coating?
Send us pictures or video of your roof along with the roof type, approximate square footage and known leak or ponding-water areas. Our team will help you select the appropriate coating and estimate the material required.
DO YOUR ROOF PROJECT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME WITH ARMORGARAGE!
Roof Coating FAQs 7
Coverage for our Tar & Rubber coating and Metal Roof coating is 100 square feet per gallon and requires two coats.
Our Ponding Water Roof Coating is applied at 50 square feet per gallon and requires only one coat.
Our Shingle Roof Coating is applied at 1,250 square feet per 5-gallon pail and requires two coats.
The most common method is with a roller. For larger roofs of 10,000 square feet or more, you can use a commercial-grade sprayer such as a Graco Sprayer with 3,000 psi @ 1 gpm capacity.
First and foremost, all roofs should be cleaned to remove all dirt, mold, and mildew. Then all seams, flashings, and in the case of metal roofs, all screw heads should be inspected.
Patch any seams with roof mesh (available at any home improvement store) and our mastic. You can tab screw heads with mastic if they're not stripped out. If stripped, replace them with oversized metal roof screws.
Below is an example of a small flat roof prepped with our roof mastic prior to coating. Even though this is a small roof, the concept and procedure is the same for any size roof. On larger roofs, mastic is only required on the flashings and seams that need it.
Flat roof prepped with ArmorGarage roof mastic prior to coating.
Here's an easy way to ensure the proper spread rate: For the Tar & Rubber coating and Metal Roof coating, mark out 500 square foot squares or rectangles and place a pail inside each section. For Ponding Water coating, mark out 250 square foot sections. Then apply the entire pail within that section.
Roof marked out in coverage squares — one pail per section ensures proper thickness.
Small orders ship out in 1–2 business days, depending on order backlog. For large orders, please allow five business days plus standard trucking time from our East Coast facility to your location.
ArmorGarage commercial roof coatings carry a 12–15 year warranty depending on the coating. We actually have the best warranties in the business — because you'll never have to use it!
Low spots on flat roofs that hold water longer than 48 hours will leave soot and residues in those areas. Here's an example:
Ponding water area — soot and residue indicate standing water beyond 48 hours.
If only a small area has ponding water, you don't need the ponding water coating over the entire roof. Simply clean the area thoroughly and apply the standard coating over the entire roof. In the ponding area, skip the second coat of standard coating and instead apply the ponding water coating — making sure to extend at least two feet beyond the perimeter of the standing water so that no standing water contacts the standard coating.