When most people think about paint, they think about colour. The perfect shade for a home, a professional finish for a commercial building, or perhaps a fresh coat to bring an ageing property back to life.
Modern coatings, however, are capable of much more.
Advances in chemical engineering have changed the role of paint from a largely decorative finish into an active layer of protection. Today, advanced coating technology can help keep buildings cooler, protect steel against severe corrosion, inhibit the growth of microorganisms and prevent water from penetrating vulnerable exterior surfaces.
For Dekro Paints, developing coatings for real-world conditions has always been an important part of the business. This is especially relevant in South Africa, where intense UV exposure, heat, coastal salt, moisture and industrial pollution can place enormous pressure on buildings and infrastructure.
Here is how some of these technologies are changing what we expect from paint.
Keeping Buildings Cooler with Heat-Reflective Coatings
Anyone who has walked into a warehouse or factory on a hot South African afternoon knows how much heat a roof can transfer into the building below.
Traditional roofing materials absorb solar radiation throughout the day. As the roof temperature increases, heat transfers into the interior, which can increase the demand placed on ventilation and cooling systems.
Solar and heat-reflective roof coatings offer another approach.
Instead of simply providing colour and weather protection, these coatings use specialised pigments and binders designed to reflect a greater proportion of UV and infrared radiation.
Dekro Solardek UV has been developed specifically for this purpose. Depending on the building, application and environmental conditions, Solardek UV can contribute to reducing internal temperatures by up to 25%.
This makes heat-reflective coatings particularly relevant for factories, warehouses, cold-storage facilities, distribution centres and other large commercial buildings.
It is a good example of how paint can become a functional part of the building itself.
Smarter Coatings for Hygiene-Sensitive Environments
Hospitals, laboratories, commercial kitchens and food-processing facilities present a very different challenge.
In these spaces, a wall needs to be more than washable and attractive. Hygiene is an important part of the coating specification.
Standard surfaces can provide conditions where mould, fungi and bacteria may develop, particularly in areas exposed to moisture.
Advanced hygiene coatings have therefore been engineered specifically for these environments.
Dekro Mediflex, for example, uses waterborne polyurethane technology combined with film preservation designed to inhibit the growth of bacteria, mould and fungi on the coating.
The durable surface can also withstand the frequent cleaning required in hygiene-sensitive environments.
Applications can include medical facilities, laboratories, pharmaceutical environments, commercial kitchens and appropriate food-processing areas.
Rather than treating paint as the final decorative step, these environments require the coating to form part of the overall surface-management strategy.
Fighting Corrosion in Severe Environments
Corrosion is one of the biggest threats to steel infrastructure.
The basic ingredients are simple, metal, oxygen and moisture. Once salt, chemicals, humidity and industrial pollutants enter the equation, deterioration can accelerate considerably.
This is particularly relevant in South Africa’s coastal regions and heavy industrial areas.
Modern anti-corrosion coatings are engineered to interrupt this process by creating highly effective barriers between the substrate and the surrounding environment.
One example is Dekro Hydro C5, a water-based, direct-to-metal anti-corrosive coating developed for highly demanding conditions.
Hydro C5 is designed for C5 corrosivity environments, the classification associated with very high corrosion risk, including demanding coastal and heavy industrial locations.
Its advanced self-crosslinking acrylic technology helps protect metal surfaces against oxygen and moisture.
Another advantage is the simplicity of the coating system. Hydro C5 can act as both the primer and decorative UV-stable topcoat within an appropriate two-coat specification.
It can be applied to suitable surfaces including mild steel, new and weathered galvanised iron, coastal IBR sheeting and certain alloy structures.
For businesses maintaining large areas of steel, reducing unnecessary steps while maintaining high levels of protection can make ongoing maintenance considerably more efficient.
Surface-Tolerant Epoxies for Real-World Conditions
Industrial maintenance rarely happens under perfect conditions.
Surfaces may be old, previously coated or exposed to moisture. Preparing large areas through intensive methods such as abrasive blasting can also add significant time and expense to a project.
Modern surface-tolerant epoxy coatings provide greater flexibility in these situations.
Systems such as Dekro Tuffcoat are developed for demanding industrial applications where robust surface protection is required.
These technologies can accommodate certain challenging substrate conditions while still providing a tough protective barrier against water, wear and chemical exposure.
Surface tolerant does not mean surface preparation can be ignored. Loose coatings, grease, unstable material and other contamination still need to be removed.
The difference is that advanced chemistry can provide more practical options for real industrial environments, where ideal preparation conditions are not always possible.
Flexible Coatings That Move with the Surface
Buildings are constantly moving, even if that movement is too small to see.
Temperature changes cause materials to expand and contract. Buildings settle over time. Exterior plaster can develop hairline cracks.
If a rigid coating cannot accommodate this movement, cracking may eventually allow moisture to penetrate the surface.
This is where elastomeric waterproofing coatings become valuable.
Dekro Xterior Guard uses fibre-reinforced elastomeric technology to create a flexible protective membrane over suitable exterior surfaces.
The coating can accommodate a degree of substrate movement without immediately rupturing, helping reduce the risk of water entering through minor surface cracks.
This makes flexible coatings particularly relevant for exterior walls and coastal façades exposed to changing temperatures, wind-driven rain and persistent moisture.
Better Corrosion Protection Starts with Better Preparation
The technology in the final coat is only one part of a successful protective system.
Surface preparation remains critical.
Soluble salts are a particularly serious concern in marine and coastal environments. If salt contamination remains on steel before a protective coating is applied, it can attract moisture beneath the coating and contribute to premature corrosion.
Dekro Salt Solve Pro is designed to assist with removing soluble salt contamination during preparation.
It can also help prevent flash rusting for up to 72 hours, creating a better-prepared surface before appropriate marine or industrial coating systems are applied.
This highlights an important point about advanced protective coatings, innovation extends throughout the coating system.
Cleaners, surface treatments, primers, intermediate coats and topcoats all have a role to play.
Different Problems Need Different Coating Technologies
There is no single coating that can solve every problem.
Solardek UV is designed around solar and heat reflection, making it suitable for energy-conscious commercial and industrial roofing applications.
Mediflex and Mediguard focus on the requirements of hygiene-sensitive environments where controlling microorganisms on the coating is important.
For heavy-duty epoxy protection, Epicon T-500 provides a high-build, chemically resistant coating suited to demanding marine, industrial and appropriate tank-lining applications.
Xterior Guard provides flexible, fibre-reinforced protection for suitable exterior masonry and façades where water ingress and minor surface movement are concerns.
Then there is Hydro C5, which focuses specifically on direct-to-metal corrosion protection in highly aggressive coastal and industrial environments.
The important question is therefore not, “What is the strongest paint?”
It is, “What does this particular surface need protection from?”
Choosing the Right Advanced Coating
Before specifying a coating, consider the conditions it will face.
Start with the substrate. Steel, concrete, galvanised iron and masonry all behave differently.
Then consider the environment. Will the surface face coastal salt, chemicals, standing moisture, intense sunlight, frequent cleaning or significant temperature changes?
Finally, think about the performance requirement. Does the coating need to prevent corrosion, reflect heat, accommodate movement, withstand chemicals or provide a hygienic finish?
Answering these questions helps identify a coating system designed for the actual problem rather than simply choosing a product based on appearance.
Advanced Coating Technology from Dekro Paints
Dekro Paints Group has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading manufacturers and distributors of decorative, industrial, marine and specialist coatings.
As a Certified SABS ISO 9001 Company, Dekro is committed to stringent quality assurance and ongoing research and development. Its products are used throughout South Africa and exported into Africa, Australia, Europe and the Far East.
That continued investment in coating technology reflects how much the industry has changed.
Paint is no longer simply the colour you see when a project is complete.
It can help a warehouse manage heat, protect coastal steel against severe corrosion, create more suitable surfaces for hygiene-sensitive environments and defend exterior walls against moisture.
Modern coatings are becoming smarter, more specialised and more capable, changing the way we protect the buildings, equipment and infrastructure we rely on every day.
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