Chris Underwood & James Atkins - Primers: What you Need to Know - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Chris Underwood and James Atkins from UNIFLEX. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Intro: Welcome to CoatingsCast, the ultimate podcast dedicated to the science, art and  innovation of liquid and fluid-applied roofing, coatings for surfaces and waterproofing. 

It's time to roll up our sleeves, put on our lab coats and  dive headfirst into the world of liquid protection that keeps your roofs and surfaces in prime condition. The future is here and it's liquid, so don't miss out. This is CoatingsCast, where every drop counts in the world of roof and surface protection. 

Good morning, everyone. My name's Megan Ellsworth and  you are listening to CoatingsCast from CoatingsCoffeeShop. I'm so excited to be chatting with Chris Underwood and James Atkins from UNIFLEX today. Hello, gentlemen. How are you? 

Chris Underwood: Hello. 

Megan Ellsworth: So let's just start with having you introduce yourselves. Chris, why don't you go first? 

Chris Underwood: I'm the product manager for roof coatings for Sherwin-Williams. We manage two brands, UNIFLEX and Kool Seal. Today we're here to talk about primers that are used in both brands, but primarily UNIFLEX is our main brand. 

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome. James? Oh, you're muted. Oh, wait, you're muted. 

Chris Underwood: Unmute. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's okay. That's why we have editors. 

Chris Underwood: Maybe send him a note on chat. 

James Atkins: Okay. Is it now? 

Megan Ellsworth: There we go. Yep. 

James Atkins: Yeah. 

Megan Ellsworth: You got it. 

James Atkins: A thing popped up and I'm like, "Okay, so I press something." Okay. Hi, I'm Jamie Atkins. I have been working with Chris Underwood for about five, six years. I'm the assistant product manager for KST Roofing. 

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Well, I'm really excited to learn more about the UNIFLEX brand, so let's dive right in. Can you tell us a bit about UNIFLEX, the history and how you got to where you are today? 

Chris Underwood: UNIFLEX is a brand that is a roofing brand that is sold primarily in our Sherwin-Williams stores. Actually, it's exclusive to our stores. We have a sales team that represents the brand in various regions of the United States. We also have champions in various divisions as well that also support the brand from our almost 1,600-plus sales reps throughout the United States. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. 

Chris Underwood: We're also, as I said, available in just about all of our Sherwin-Williams stores. If you work through our sales reps, they'll be able to set you up. We also have a technical team as well that supports [inaudible 00:02:54]. 

James Atkins: I'm frozen. 

Chris Underwood: The technical team handles our specifications and our warranty claims. The unique thing about UNIFLEX is that it is a material and labor warranty-supported product, as long as you qualify for the warranties. 

We have UNIFLEX Universities where we train our contractors and  once they have gone through the UNIFLEX University and successfully completed the training, they will be qualified for our labor and material warranties. 

So we have, like I said, a technical team that supports it, we have sales reps throughout the US and  we have sales champions as well and  these are available in all of our Sherwin-Williams stores. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. I love walking or driving down the road and seeing a Sherwin-Williams store with the world, with the paint. 

James Atkins: Oh, yeah. 

Megan Ellsworth: I'm always like, "I know those guys." 

James Atkins: Very popular. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, it's super popular. Super fun to see. So what is a primer, for those people out there that need a little refresh and  what is it formulated to accomplish? 

Chris Underwood: Well, primers are primarily formulated to enhance adhesion and also to seal the roof. You use the primers prior to putting down your topcoat. 

We have primers for various situations. We have a single-ply primer, which is used over TPO, EPDM and  other single-ply products, PVC. We also have mod bit primers, which are used over asphaltic roofs that they prevent bleed-through and also promote adhesion. And we have a primer that is used with our silicone products as well that goes over asphaltic roofs that does the same. It prevents bleed-through from the asphaltic products and promotes adhesion as well. So like I said, it promotes adhesion and it also seals the roof for added protection. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's great. I mean, who doesn't want added protection? The roof is the most important part of the building, keeping everything safe and dry, so using the right ingredients to keep the house safe and dry is key. What are some of the common types of primers used and where are they usually used on the roof? 

James Atkins: So you have four main ones that would be metal primers, concrete primers, single-ply primers for TPO, EPDM and  then of course asphalt. And as Chris just mentioned, for example, our asphalt primer is called Bleed Block and  that's the point of it is you want to prevent that tobacco staining that sometimes occurs if you don't use the correct primer on your substrate. 

Megan Ellsworth: Got it. Got it. So how do contractors select the right primer for the project? That seems like a pretty big decision. 

James Atkins: Yeah, it is. So they would start by inspecting the roof to see what sort of condition it is, what are the substrates that are on the roof. It could be multiple substrates, for example. 

Once they've determined that, they would take a look at the condition. For example, certain substrates might require a pull test with the primer to make sure that it will grab. And one of the exceptions would be or an example would be on aged single ply, sometimes the primer is not necessary because the weathering allows the primer to grab, but that's when a pull test would be important to make sure that you are getting good adhesion. 

Megan Ellsworth: Got it. Got it. So how do contractors apply the primer to maximize the roof's performance over a lifetime? 

Chris Underwood: I mean, primers are applied like any other coating and  they're applied, as mentioned, directly to the substrate to promote that adhesion. So typically, a roofer may take a day to apply a primer, allow it to get to a certain point of curing so that you can provide another coating over top of it. And so that you get the proper inter-coat adhesion between the two, you must give it a certain time for that primer to cure some. [inaudible 00:08:02]. 

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. I'd love to know if there's ever a situation where a primer is not necessary for a roofing job? 

Chris Underwood: Yes and  I think as Jamie had mentioned, sometimes we have the substrates like our single-ply substrates or our mod bit substrates that are aged and have what we call a profile. And the profile will allow a coating to stick to it. 

For example, our silicone coatings are typically one-coat coatings and  we have coatings that can go over the substrates without a primer. We do encourage a primer, especially if the substrate after inspection does not look as if it will adhere to the substrate or  if there's a pull test that is done and we do not get acceptable results, then we typically would recommend using a primer over that. 

And if there's any specification that we have that recommends a primer being used, then that would be a time that we would use it. But there are situations where roofs do not require primers if they have the proper profile for the coating to adhere to. 

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. What are some coatings that play really well with primers and some that don't play well with primers? 

Chris Underwood: Our acrylic coatings work well with primers and  as we said, it depends on the situation. We test our primers with our coatings prior to launching those, so we know that they will work well, right? We know that we guarantee that they will have the adhesion and that they will create the proper system to address that particular roofing situation. 

So like I said, when you look at the roof and inspect the roof, this will determine whether a primer is needed and  we typically will use those, especially if we have rust situations. And to prevent rust in the future, we have an acrylic rust primer that we use and it works extremely well with all of our acrylic products based on how it was tested. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. That's awesome. Because last thing you want to see is those rust streaks coming down. That's not a good look. So that's really cool that you have that product. What makes UNIFLEX primers so special? 

James Atkins: Well, I think the most important point is that they are formulated specifically to work with our coatings. Sherwin-Williams, we are experts in primer technology. Obviously we've been around for a long time, everyone knows the name Sherwin-Williams and  those formulations provide the maximum performance, the maximum adhesion that can be applied. 

And the other thing that's very important is we have warranty offerings that are backed up because we are a Sherwin-Williams company and  that's why a lot of contractors trust us because of our Sherwin-Williams name. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And also, they can do a one-stop shop with Sherwin-Williams. What else can contractors, if they need a primer, if they need a coating, what else can they get from the Sherwin-Williams store to finish a job? 

James Atkins: Obviously brushes and various tools. We have our pretty line of products that can also be purchased at the store. Even pumps for applying the product can be ordered through the store, any quantity from often gallons up to drums. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. Okay. So where can contractors find more resources on primer use? 

Chris Underwood: Oh, they can always go to our Sherwin-Williams or UNIFLEX sales representatives that sell our roofing products and they can give them all types of information on our primers, the types of primers that we have, when they should be used. 

Also, our Sherwin-Williams website, as well as our uniflexroof.com website as well where you can find information on what types of primers that we have and  we typically use a list, the features and benefits and what types of substrates they can be used on on our website in the product information. As well in some of our literature sections, we also have our specifications too as well that can give some specifics on how to apply and these primers. 

And then there's contractor associations as well that you can go to and other roof coating websites that have general information on roof coatings can give you some information on how to use primers. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. So where can contractors find the closest Sherwin-Williams store to them? Just the website? 

Chris Underwood: If you do go on our website, there is a store locator that will allow you to go to a store. 

Megan Ellsworth: Perfect. 

Chris Underwood: Now, our products are not stocked in the store, but if you go to any Sherwin-Williams store and talk to one of the salespeople at the store, they can either direct you to the right salesperson or they can initiate an order at the store as well for particular products. 

They typically like to get our sales representatives involved because of the complexity of these products. And we have, like I said, we have our sales reps that represent different parts of the US that will represent multiple stores or represent multiple divisions and  then they typically will have the knowledge to help a contractor in that particular location. 

But the beauty of having so many stores available is that once the contractor identifies the location that either his job is going to be or where he would like products sent to, we can set that up so these products can be sent to any store, a Sherwin-Williams, in the US. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. 

Chris Underwood: US and the Caribbean. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh. Okay, great. 

James Atkins: Yeah. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's amazing. Wow. Okay. This has been so worthwhile and great information. I'd love to share with everyone just that people can go to coatingscoffeeshop.com to the UNIFLEX directory to learn more as well. And one more time, what was the website where they can learn more information? 

Chris Underwood: You can go to our uniflexroof.com website. That's our UNIFLEX site. There is also information on primers in our Kool Seal website as well, koolseal.com. 

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. And then will you all be at IRE? 

James Atkins: Of course. 

Chris Underwood: Yes, we definitely will be there. 

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome. Awesome. Okay. 

Chris Underwood: Please stop by our booth to see us and  we'll be happy to give you any information regarding our products. 

Megan Ellsworth: Perfect. Okay. Everyone out there, go to the UNIFLEX booth at IRE, they'll get you free samples, they'll get you all the info and  come to the CoatingsCoffeeShop booth as well to say hi. James, Chris, this has been amazing. Thank you so much for this great information. 

James Atkins: All right, thank you. 

Chris Underwood: Thank you. 

Outro: Absolutely. Everyone out there listening, please go to coatingscoffeeshop.com to learn more and we'll see you next time on the next CoatingsCast. 

Thanks for joining us on this coating adventure. Stay tuned for more episodes and  in the meantime, be sure to follow us on social media to stay updated with all things roof coatings. Until next time, stay coated. For more information, go to coatingscoffeeshop.com.