How Weather Conditions Affect Fire Escape Paint and How to Protect It

Cities like the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Long Island, Brooklyn, and Richmond Hill experience drastic weather fluctuations. While winters are freezing cold, with temperatures dropping below 0 °C, summers can be hot and humid. It significantly affects your fire escape paint, compromising its efficiency and longevity. Besides, the stability and safety standards of the fire escape system are hindered.

Fire escape painting NYC is a crucial aspect of maintenance that prolongs service life and boosts security. Paint is a protective coat that safeguards the surface from exposure to various weather elements. It is the chief component responsible for keeping your fire escape in working condition.

In this blog, we will learn how weather can extensively damage fire escape paint, causing large-scale structural deterioration and the ways you can resolve it. So, let’s begin.

Weather- The Predominant Culprit!

Needless to say, the weather in New York is highly erratic. It can reach extreme conditions, severely affecting external building facets, including metal fire escapes. As you know, fire escapes are the fundamental emergency egress route and constitute a vital aspect of a multi-story building’s fire safety regulations.

However, freezing temperatures, moisture, and hot and dry climates impact fire escape paint in the following ways:

• Winter– Winters are accompanied by roaring winds, whirling snow, and heavy ice sheets. Under such conditions, the paint leeches out, losing its vibrancy and sheen. So, you have faded paint, which can be fixed only by fire escape painters Queens. Additionally, as constant freeze-thaw cycles occur, the paints contract and expand respectively. This continuous contraction and expansion affect the adhesion bond, and you will notice cracks and chips. As the problem aggravates, the paint starts to peel off, exposing the surface to moisture, dust, dirt, and grime.
• Summer– When the weather becomes too hot and dry, the harsh ultraviolet rays break the chemical bonds leading to the fading of fire escape paint. Also, the paint becomes brittle, causing flaking, cracking, and chalking.
• Monsoon– Now, as humidity rises in the rainy season, you may notice blisters or bubbles in the paint. It occurs when moisture gets trapped underneath the paint layer. So, peeling becomes a prevalent problem during monsoons accompanied by molds and mildew. Even if your fire escape painting cost was exorbitant, these issues are inevitable!

Tips to Protect Paint from Weather Damage

To mitigate the impact of weather on fire escape paint and extend its service life, observe the following tips:
Rust-Inhibiting Primer- Before applying paint, always use a rust-inhibiting primer so that you can prevent corrosion. It is the principal cause of structural defilement.

• UV Protection– A fire escape painting contractor Queens, applies paint that reflects more sunlight. Colors like white, yellow, etc., are considerably more UV-resistant than darker shades. Hence, these colors do not easily fade and have extended longevity.
• Waterproof Paint– For any exterior surface, using waterproof paints is imperative. Being exposed to excessive moisture, paint on the exteriors will develop mold and mildew and permit water seepage if it does not have water-resistant formulations. Naturally, the inner surface gradually corrodes and decays. Hence, choose an enamel or oil-based paint for your fire escape so that it acts as a barrier against moisture intrusion.
• Invest in Quality– Though poor-grade paints are more affordable, they do not provide long-term benefits. These paints are highly susceptible to weather damage and require frequent repainting. It means, in the long run, you end up spending more! So, always ask fire escape contractors Manhattan to use the best quality paint.

To conclude, though weather can severely damage your fire escape’s paint, you have effective measures to delay it!