Coatings have come a long way. In the past year alone, cost pressures and a desire from facility owners to be more aware of their environmental footprint have pushed more opportunity for roofing coatings.

In RC’s 2022 State of the Industry report, about three-fifths of contractor respondents (56%) said they expected coatings to grow this year. Like last year, it was named the fourth highest product contractors expected to sell this year, just above steep-slope asphalt shingles. About 64% of survey respondents identified as residential roofing contractors, while the remaining are commercial contractors, showing a broad interest in the product.

 “With the supply shortages our industry has seen over the last couple of years, demand for coatings from contractors has increased as they evaluated other ways to provide roof solutions to clients,” said Chris Huettig, national director of technical services, KARNAK. “Sustainable initiatives have also continued to promote repair and maintenance to reduce unnecessary waste streams going to our landfills.”

The lessons learned from the pandemic and supply shortage are boosting confidence and usage of coatings products as well. Manufacturers like Huntsman Building Solutions increased manufacturing and storage capabilities and improved how they acquire raw materials, making coatings more widely available.

“Roof coatings have always been an integral part of our business. We’re seeing an uptick in the use of both acrylic and silicone roof coatings among our contractor customer base,” said Dave Feitl, vice president of global roofing and western USA SPF Sales for Huntsman Building Solutions.

But coatings aren’t a miracle in a bucket. They require an understanding of how they work, when they can be applied and the proper equipment to be fully utilized. In RC’s annual Special Section on Coatings, we turn to the experts in the industry to take a deep dive into coatings. Learn more about the state of the industry from manufacturing leaders in our Q&A, check out the latest product offerings and learn why there has never been a better time to add coatings to your portfolio.