Solar-protective Paint for Asphalt

This old lead flashing is coming away from the asphalt. When the sun heats the old asphalt it softens, and the weight of the lead pulls from under and starts to slide down into the gutter. On this flat roof the decking under the roof is concrete, so the roofers haven’t been able to nail the lead down to the roof.

On a timber decked roof this isn’t normally a problem. Heat from the sun on tar-based flat roofs, such as asphalt, has always been a problem. If the asphalt is not of a very high standard such as that used for car parks, it will have to be covered or painted with a solar-reflective paint.

As you can see when the solar-reflective paint is new it really works well. As the years go by, this paint will get dirty and will need replacing; unfortunately this is all part of the ongoing maintenance costs of asphalt.