Just as clear coats are vital to the performance of today's automotive finishes, our Lifeline Advance Topcoats are an integral part of all of our exterior finish systems. Not only do they extend the life of the color coats but they do much more. They significantly improve the look of the finish by enhancing the color, clarity and depth of the finish. In other words, they make our finishes the most beautiful log home finishes in the world. 
Of course the best feature of Lifeline Advance Topcoat is the protection it provides to the color containing stain. Years ago cars left the manufacturer with a coat of paint. More expensive cars may have had several coats of paint but no matter how many coats were applied after a few years on the road the paint turned dull and started to flake off. Then car coating experts discovered the benefits imparted by clear topcoats. Today's car finishes remain shiny and last longer than ever thought possible all due to the application of clear topcoats.
What is there about topcoats that contribute to this improvement? The most performance enhancing feature of a clear topcoat is that it reflects sunlight. Sunlight is composed of several components including ultraviolet (UV) light. It's the UV that is responsible for fading colors and, in the case of wood homes, damaging wood fibers through a process called photo-oxidation. The more UV light that's reflected off the surface, the slower the color coats will fade and the less the wood fibers will be exposed to photo-oxidation thus extending the life of the entire finish system.
Which performs better, Lifeline Advance Gloss or Lifeline Advance Satin? Although satin finishes reflect a significant amount of sunlight, gloss topcoats reflect more which is why car finishes are shiny and not dull. The same holds true for our LIFELINE™ exterior finish systems. Lifeline Advance Satin does reflect much of the sunlight but Lifeline Advance Gloss reflects even more, which is one of the reasons that log home gloss finishes are becoming more popular.
The last factor, at least in the Southeast, relates to how Lifeline Advance Gloss reduces carpenter bee damage. A few years ago we did a survey of customers who used both our satin and gloss topcoats and the results clearly revealed that the gloss topcoat substantially reduced the number of carpenter bee holes. Although there was some reduction in carpenter bee activity using Advance Satin, it was not nearly as significant as the Gloss. Carpenter bees are searching for a wood space to create a chamber to lay their eggs. If this wood surface is coated and that coating is reflective, it created a mechanical deterrent for carpenter bee activity.
Whether you choose Lifeline Advance Satin or Lifeline Advance Gloss these are very good reasons why LIFELINE™ Advance Topcoats play a key role in the performance of all of our exterior finish systems. Protect and Beautify your Investment!
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| November 2003 | October 2010 |
Whenever requesting exterior finish samples include a sample of Lifeline Advance Gloss even if you are only interested in Lifeline Advance Satin, so that you can see the difference for yourself. You may end up choosing the Gloss because of the way it looks and how it highlights the color of the stain. Although there are other gloss topcoats on the market, none that we have tested retained their gloss for more than a few months. Lifeline Advance Gloss on the other hand has been on homes and walls since 2003, and they continue to retain most of their initial gloss.