Dulux Trade
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Southampton City Council revamps housing stock
The newly reformulated Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Gloss System (WEGS) has been used in the external refurbishment of several flats owned by Southampton City Council. The three part system, comprising primer, undercoat and gloss, was selected to enhance and protect the exterior trim of eight of its residential blocks of flats.
As part of its cyclical redecoration programme, the council tasked its painting contractor, Drew Smith Group, with revamping the exterior metal balcony panels to keep the buildings looking fresh.
After removing the existing paint, decorators from the Drew Smith Group treated the metal balcony panels with a coat of Dulux Trade Metal Primer to prepare the surface ready for painting. Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Flexible Undercoat was then applied. It contains unique technology to give superior flexibility and prevent cracking and flaking, providing the perfect solid base for the gloss topcoat.
Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Gloss was specified in four different shades of green for the final stage of the coating system, including Jade Cluster. The high performance solvent-based gloss has been designed to deliver outstanding durability, ensuring that the flat's exterior will remain in excellent condition for the duration of Southampton City Council's maintenance cycle.
Perry Wilson, Contracts Manager at Drew Smith Group, explains: "WEGS offers up to eight years weathering durability, and also contains elements that protect against fungal problems such as mould growth. As the flats are continually exposed to the elements, the new formulation provides the perfect colour protection and will keep the paintwork looking better for longer."
2010 regulations introduced more strict limits on the maximum amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that can be contained in decorative paints, stains and varnishes. Before these regulations were brought in, exterior trim paints for wood and metals typically had the highest VOC content to ensure good application. Consequently, paint manufacturers have been challenged to reduce VOC content and still maintain high-quality performance characteristics in their reformulations.
Southampton City Council was keen to find an exterior paint that conformed to the VOC regulations and still maintained excellent application properties, while delivering on performance. Councillor Royston Smith, Leader of Southampton City Council, said: "After the new regulations came into force, specifying a suitable solution for exterior trim proved difficult because the subsequent effect of reducing the VOC content had raised concerns about the impact this would have on the performance of many products. After careful consideration, we came to choose the high performance Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Gloss System, because it has been specifically reformulated to still deliver a premium finish that offers long lasting protection against all weather conditions."
Commenting on the finished result, Councillor Smith concludes: "It's important that we maintain our flats to the highest possible standard to ensure that we meet our residents' needs. Therefore, it was essential that we used a product that didn't compromise on performance. Using the Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Gloss System on the blocks of flats will enable us to significantly extend our maintenance cycles at the site, as the buildings will stay looking great for longer. Most importantly, the residents are really pleased with the results and have a new sense of pride in their homes."
