When you have an indoor application, the sheeting will not be exposed to UV rays and is likely to be viewed at a closer distance. The touch up paint will not fade the same way it would when installed outdoors. This is one of the rare times in which touch up paint may make the problem better instead of worse. An Important Note: Touch Up Paint For Metal Roofing Will Fade Metal Touch Up Paint Pen - This is a good choice if you have a small area that needs to be repaired. It will have a small applicator tip that will fit into the scratches.

Routine metal roofing maintenance is an important step that will ensure longevity. In fact, metal roofs are actually pretty simple to maintain. Metal roofing touch up paint is applied after the baked-on factory finish. It’s available in either a PVDF or SMP coating system. This paint is manually applied after the metal is installed to repair scratches, chips, and dings on the metal panels. Should You Apply Touch Up Paint To A Metal Roofing Panel?Our team at Western States Metal Roofing consists of employees who have been selling metal roofing for many years. If you have a question then we’ve likely answered it. In fact, I’ve lost count of how many times we discuss touch up paint for metal roofing. You should always follow the metal roofing paint manufacturer’s instructions. They will be different depending on the type of touch up paint. Our goal in this article is to take our years of metal roofing manufacturing experience and share that knowledge, making your metal roof installation as simple as possible. Metal roofing panels normally consist of steel that has a Galvalume® or galvanized metal finish. The paint system is then applied over this metal surface. If you have a small paint scratch and the Galvalume® or galvanized steel finish is intact, you’re better off not repairing that scratch. A galvanized metal roof and a Galvalume® roof will both still protect the metal roofing materials from corrosion even if the paint has been scratched. What If The Galvalume Substrate Is Damaged? Touch up paint will not have the same color retention and color fading abilities as the original factory finish. Factory-applied PVDF painted panels have warranties that can be 30 years in length and are designed to retain their color integrity. Touch up paint is not designed that way. After a short period of time the air dried touch up paint will fade much more than the original paint. In addition, you could end up with a white residue on the paint which is known as chalking.

The best solution is to keep the problem from happening in the first place. Handling your painted metal roof panels with care during installation is your best defense. A specialty paint print is a color that has been painted multiple times. It’s not one solid color, but is two or three colors. If you need touch up paint for this type of paint it will be available in the base coat only. For example, in the picture above the touch up paint will be the dark brown color and not the orange. How Much Does Touch Up Paint Cost? It’s normally a bad idea to apply touch up paint to your metal building, roofing, or siding panels. The touch up paint creates a bigger eyesore than the scratch itself. Metal roofs are viewed from ground to roof and a small scratch just will not be noticeable from a distance. However, the discoloration of the paint is very noticeable almost immediately. Spray Cans - This type of paint should never be used on metal roof panels. You cannot apply it precisely and it will cover a much larger area than needed. This is not a good choice since you do not need to touch up your entire roof . This type of paint is more appropriate when you need to match the color to paint accessories such as plumbing vent pipes. The small scratch on the coating of your metal panels that was barely noticeable could become an unattractive focal point of your roof if the touch up paint begins to chalk and fade.

There are no good options when this occurs. If you don’t repair the ding or chip in the roof surface, you will end up with a rusty metal roof, you will end up with a rusty metal roof. The panel will begin to rust in that area. If you repair the substrate and then apply touch up roof paint, it will not match. You have two bad choices, replace the entire panel or use touch up paint that will not match as it fades. Indoor Metal Ceiling Or Wall Panels Have you ever heard the saying that the solution may be worse than the problem? This applies perfectly to touch up paint for metal roofing. The performance of the touch up paint will never match the performance of the factory-applied paint system. Touch up paint will chalk and fade at a much faster rate than the original old paint. If you have a large area of the metal panel that has been damaged, it’s normally a better idea to just replace the entire panel. The area that has the touch up paint will look different than the factory applied paint after a very short period of time. What If It’s Only A Small Surface Scratch?