Historic Building Restored with NeverFade® Coatings

A striking, early example of Late Modern "High-Tech" architecture, the aluminum-clad exterior of this building was renewed to a 21st-century appearance with NeverFade® Metal Restoration Coatings featuring Kynar Aquatec® from APV Engineered Coatings. The coating system restored the building's facade to nearly like-new condition, with durability exceeding 20 years.

Preserving Modern History

When completed in 1972, the Federal Building in Hawthorne, California served as the West Coast headquarters of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The six-story rectangular building with rounded corners was among the first designed with a mirrored glass "curtain wall" — a design element ubiquitous in South California corporate architecture of the 1970s and 1980s. This "curtain wall" consists of extruded anodized aluminum panels and flat glass surfaces wrapped around the building's concrete structural system with thin, shallow, inverted reveal profiles to make the curtain wall appear as a single unbroken surface. In 2015, the Federal Building was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places and, shortly thereafter, the General Services Administration (GSA) of the federal government decided to sell it. Before the sale was completed, Los Angeles Conservancy became involved and worked closely with the GSA to ensure the building received long-term preservation protection through a preservation easement placed on the building as a condition of sale. The easement requires that any proposed changes to the building's exterior facade and landscape comply with nationally recognized preservation standards. According to Los Angeles Conservancy, "These are often relatively recent buildings that will emerge as historic icons of the future. With the built environment of the 1970s now crossing the 50-year threshold, sufficient time has passed to begin understanding, recognizing and preserving these places." Worthe Real Estate Group of Santa Monica, California acquired the property in 2019 and undertook comprehensive interior and exterior rehabilitation. The Conservancy stated on its website, "We are thrilled to see this building rehabilitated and returned to its original use, once again demonstrating how new the past can be."

Initial Assessment Revealed Significant Surface Damage

Stuart Dean, a building restoration and maintenance specialist firm, undertook the task of renewing the building's 40,000 square-foot Class One clear anodized aluminum exterior facade from ground floor to roof—including all window surrounds, window frames, facade panels, soffits and transitions. The initial task was to conduct a complete NACE inspection of the facade to better understand its condition and determine the best approach for restoration. Stuart Dean discovered that the building's facade had been painted several times in the past with a flat, silver-gray aluminum-colored paint—most recently in 1990 and 2009—which had resulted in an accumulation of 8–13 mils of previously applied paint. According to Stuart Dean's National Director of Facade Restoration Chris Incorvaia, the multiple paint layers had deteriorated and lost adhesion, resulting in widespread delamination and flaking. The damage was severe enough that portions of the underlying aluminum substrate were exposed to the elements and subsequently corroded and pitted. Incorvaia stated, "The damage was clearly visible at first glance. We were certain we would need to remove all previous paint to ensure proper adhesion of the coating system and to be able to properly prepare the surface." The building's historic status meant that less aggressive paint removal methods had to be employed. To meet these requirements, Stuart Dean proceeded with multi-stage mockups demonstrating the results of various stripping methods to determine the most efficient approach. As part of the mockup process, Stuart Dean also removed metal-to-metal and metal-to-glass sealants from the panels and window frames. After the appropriate corrosion reduction method was determined, Stuart Dean proceeded with the mockup application by applying an AAMA 2605-approved primer system (W-1650 Primer from APV Engineered Coatings) at a minimum 1.5 mil DFT reading, followed by an AAMA 2605-approved fluoropolymer topcoat (NeverFade® Metal Restoration Topcoat from APV) at a minimum 2.0 mil DFT reading. NeverFade® Coatings contain Kynar Aquatec®, a water-based polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin ideal for air-dry, field-applied coatings. The premium, weather-resistant coating is easily applied to various surfaces including metals, plastics, wood, concrete, stucco, EIFS and previously painted surfaces. Erin Neff, Director of Marketing and Business Development at APV Engineered Coatings, stated, "The use of Kynar Aquatec® and complex inorganic pigments gives NeverFade® the ability to resist film erosion, chalking and fading caused by exposure to harsh UV rays." Neff noted that NeverFade® Certified Applicators like Stuart Dean undergo specialized training to learn the chemistry behind the product. They also learn details related to pre-work testing, color matching, application mockups, on-site troubleshooting and post-installation quality assurance—all of which provide confidence that NeverFade® will perform throughout its 20+ year service life. Incorvaia stated, "We worked closely with APV's coating specialists throughout the entire mockup process, took photographs and created detailed condition reports at each stage."

Matching Original Design Intent

To preserve the appearance and design intent of the building's original clear anodized aluminum finish, Stuart Dean worked closely with APV chemists who designed a custom-colored, mica-based NeverFade® formulation to match the original metallic appearance. This color matching is a standard part of the NeverFade® product offering. APV custom-matches customer color specifications from white and metallic colors to dark, glossy tones. Incorvaia stated, "APV's engineering laboratory demonstrated superior capability in creating a pigmented coating that mimics clear anodized aluminum. This was one of the primary reasons the project was approved and awarded to us." NeverFade® is versatile because it gives contractors the flexibility to apply via brush, roller or spray. To achieve the metallic aesthetic, the Stuart Dean team brush-applied the first coat of NeverFade® Topcoat before performing a powder coating application of the final coat.

Accelerated Project Proceeded Seamlessly and Successfully

At the building owner's request, Stuart Dean accelerated the coating project and deployed up to 16 technicians at a time to complete the work within five months. In addition to surface preparation work and primer and topcoat application, Stuart Dean also removed and replaced 60,000 linear feet of sealant around metal-to-metal and metal-to-glass joints and sealants with 100% silicone sealants. This ensured proper adhesion of the new coating and provided a service life of 20–30 years. As in the mockup process, APV remained fully involved throughout the application process, conducting several site visits, meeting with the building owner, and ultimately performing a final quality assurance assessment to support the 15-year product and workmanship warranty provided to the building owners. The warranty, which is transferable to future building owners, specifies that if the coating fades by five or greater ΔE, APV will replace the product and cover the labor costs of reapplication. This warranty is specific to the architectural coatings industry. Incorvaia stated, "One of the reasons why water-based NeverFade® is ideal for these field applications is its ultra-low VOC content and lack of objectionable odors. In fact, it is one of the very few high-performance coatings that meets California's stringent SCAQMD Rule 1113 environmental regulations. Because we were able to brush-apply the primer and first coat of topcoat, we did not have to worry about overspray or wind-borne spray damaging surrounding vehicles or buildings." Source   Prepared by: B.Serhat Cengiz