A. They remain elastic and move with minor changes in the building, covering cracks and preventing new cracks from appearing.
B. They cover the entire surface with a seamless membrane preventing water or air penetration. When applied at an appropriate thickness, the roof coating will stand up to ponding of water.
C. They are resistant to nature’s breakdown process. Laboratory accelerated weathering tests indicate that after long exposure, some coatings actually get tougher and maintain elasticity.
D. When some coatings are impacted, they will draw back to their original shape. When a hailstone hits, it will cause dents, but the coating will spring back.
E. Resins are made of complex polymers that have the ability to hold large amounts of particles and still have adhesion. Large amounts of hollow ceramic microspheres are essential – 50% by volume is a good benchmark. However, they want to float to the surface. They need to be held in suspension by the polymers. Some manufacturers of thermal coatings claim to have similar ceramic benefits, but use solid ceramic spheres instead of hollow ones in an attempt to keep the particles in suspension. The solid particles do not have the same insulative benefit as the hollow microspheres.
F. The combination of resins and hollow ceramic microspheres also provides UV protection.
G. The proper roofing system has a very special property in its “Variable Permeability”. When conditions are wet, the polymers swell up, becoming completely watertight. When conditions are dry the pores open up and trapped moisture escapes. This is of great importance. Moisture will work up through the substrata and become trapped under waterproof material. When this moisture heats up, it turns to vapor, causing blistering and destroying adhesion, or freezes, leading to roof failure.