“Permanent” Paint Coatings

Over the past 10 years there’s been an swell of companies offering “permanent” coatings, that are advertised as “not paint”  I’m sure you’ve heard or seen advertisements for these products since they spend a crazy amount of money on advertising.  The claim that it’s “not paint” is false advertising in my opinion since it’s a “paint” product, applied with “paint” brushes, or a “paint” sprayer–but who sets the rules on what you can deem “not paint”? Where does the money for these expensive ad campaigns come from? You guessed it, they charge an eye-popping fee for their services. The business model is pretty ingenious, or down right dirty.

Permanent Coating System Business Model

Step #1:

Make some fantastic claims about how your paint product is not actually paint, but a coating that lasts forever.

Step #2:

Create a “limited lifetime” warranty with “limitations” such as the warranty is void if the problem results from “failure of the substrate wall (rot) on which the product is applied” .That alone gets you out of most future warranty claims. “Sorry Mrs. Jones, our coating didn’t fail, the wood rotted underneath it which caused the coating to fall off, so god luck with that!”  Besides the average home changes owners every 7-8 years or so, even an average paint job lasts that long.

Step #3:

Charge 3-4 times the cost a standard paint job and make a ridiculous profit (yes it costs $15,000 – $40,000 per house). Now you can advertise the heck out of your gimmick “coating system” knowing that some people will fall for it.

Step #4:

When the warranty claims pile up, change your phone number and the name of your company and repeat from step #1.

Although admittedly I have never hired one of these companies, my advice is to proceed with caution.  Clearly my commentary is “tongue-in-cheek” but hopefully you get the point. Be skeptical of silly claims and sharp sales people.  Some of these coating products are nothing more than elastomeric paint that any contractor or homeowner can purchase at a local paint supplier.  These systems may work better in more temperate climates with less harsh winters, but here in New England I foresee the same problems as regular paint (wood swells, breathes, expands, contracts, rots, etc., and then paint can’t stick to it).

As an exterior home improvement company we offer virtually every exterior surface renovation option available: Wood Siding, Composite Siding, Vinyl Siding, and Painting.  We’ve been approached on multiple occasions with the “opportunity” to buy a franchise for a “permenant coating system” and we’ve passed over and over again. Why? In our opinion it’s just bad business.