Steelscape

Steelscape steel is the coated coil roll formers turn into metal roofing and siding panels, and builders and owners get it inside those panels. Every job comes down to two picks: TruZinc® galvanized or ZINCALUME® for the base metal, and a paint system on top. Both base metals are coated against corrosion before the paint goes on.

Steelscape is a coil coater that has partnered with manufacturers, roll formers and building product companies since 1968. It applies metallic coatings, paint systems and specialty finishes to light-gauge steel at plants in Kalama, Washington, and Rancho Cucamonga, California. The company is part of NS BlueScope Coated Products, and BlueScope is its parent company. Every coil is tested to relevant ASTM standards for color consistency, coating thickness, adhesion, flexibility, hardness, gloss and impact resistance.

TruZinc or ZINCALUME under the panels

TruZinc® is hot-dip galvanized steel. It protects against corrosion and bends well in the roll former.

ZINCALUME® is Steelscape’s trade name for licensed Galvalume®, an aluminum-zinc coating. The aluminum forms a barrier layer, and the zinc sacrifices itself at cut edges and scratches. That matters because cut edges and scratches are where a panel starts to rust: the sheared ends at the eave, the screw holes, the scuffs from handling.

The doubt most buyers hit here is whether plain galvanized is good enough. ZINCALUME adds the aluminum barrier on top of the zinc’s cut-edge protection, and it carries a substrate limited warranty that hot-dip galvanizing doesn’t offer. It’s also often a requirement in exterior architectural specifications. On a house or shop roof, order ZINCALUME.

Keep ZINCALUME off wet concrete and out of livestock barns

The aluminum-zinc alloy is sensitive to prolonged exposure to wet concrete, highly alkaline environments and animal confinement. The mistake shows up at the bottom course: wall panels run down past the slab edge and sit in the wet, or siding goes up on a barn where manure and urine keep the lower walls alkaline. Hold panel bottoms up off the concrete with a base trim. A building that will house animals calls for TruZinc galvanized, the other base metal Steelscape coats.

Picking the paint system

Steelscape’s paints include polyester, SMP, PVDF and FEVE. Polyester is often the most economical, and it can be formulated for a range of performance requirements. SMP adds silicone for better chalk and fade resistance. PVDF is known for color retention and long-term weatherability, and it gives the most protection against delamination, chalking and color fade.

Chalking is the white, powdery film that wipes off an old painted panel, and fade is the color going flat on the side that takes the sun. Both show first on dark and bright colors. For a red, dark bronze or black roof, order PVDF. On a light-colored shop wall, SMP does the job.

Cool pigments are infrared reflective, so they reject solar heat while keeping the visible color, even in darker shades. On a charcoal roof, order a cool pigment with PVDF over it.

Vintage, Riverstone and printed finishes

Vintage® is one of Steelscape’s proprietary color and texture finishes, along with Textured Rustic, and it comes on a TruZinc® base. Riverstone is a tinted resin over ZINCALUME®, so it brings the aluminum-zinc base and its limits with it. Pick the finish and the base metal together: Vintage goes on a barn wall where Riverstone runs into the animal-confinement problem.

Steelscape also does custom color matching and flexographic roll printing for woodgrain, weathered metal and other pattern effects. Textures come from chemically wrinkling the paint or adding inert particles such as silica. Gloss is the amount of light the surface reflects, usually measured at a 60-degree angle. On a long flat wall, a low-gloss or textured finish hides oil canning and handling scuffs better than a high-gloss one.

What to settle before the panel order

Have these decided before the panels are ordered: the base metal, the gauge, the paint system, the color or finish, the application, and any performance or warranty requirements. Warranty coverage depends on the paint system, the base metal, the end use and the location, so a barn and a house in the same color can carry different terms. Ask the roll former whether they run genuine Steelscape coil, and get the base metal and paint system written on the order.

Steelscape base metals at a glance

Base metal	Metallic coating	Made at	Comes as
TruZinc®	Hot-dip galvanized, 100% zinc	Kalama, WA	Bare with a uniform minimal spangle, or painted
ZINCALUME®	55%/45% aluminum-zinc (licensed Galvalume®)	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	Bare with a uniform spangle, or painted

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Steelscape Vintage?

Vintage is one of Steelscape’s proprietary color and texture finishes, painted over TruZinc hot-dip galvanized steel with a 100% zinc coating from the Kalama, Washington plant. Galvanized coil doesn’t come with the substrate limited warranty that the aluminum-zinc base gets, so the paint system carries more of the coverage. Coating weights below G60 aren’t recommended for paint line feed, so ask the roll former what coating weight sits under the paint.

Is ZINCALUME the same thing as Galvalume?

Yes. ZINCALUME is Steelscape’s trade name for licensed Galvalume, so when a plan or spec calls for Galvalume, this coating meets it. It can be formed into many product shapes, and it comes either bare with a uniform spangled surface or painted, so a bare roof and a painted wall on the same building can use the same base metal.