The 18-person professional paint team for Marion County Schools in Ocala, Fla., has seen it all. Harsh Florida sun fading away recently painted projects. Graffiti on school property. Scuff marks on doors from thousands of feet.

To make a long-term dent in ongoing painting challenges, the schools' technical services team has turned to NeverFade™ exterior paint from APV Coatings. Warranted to last 15 years against fading, the paint (in Leap Frog Green) is being used to repaint eight high school football field goal posts along with several practice field posts. Since the existing acrylic semi-gloss paint on the field posts chalked out after just three years, the professional painters are eager to use the NeverFade paint.

“NeverFade has great potential for us,” said Louis E. Hickman, Jr., paint department foreman for Marion County Schools/Technical Services, who recommended the paint for others dealing with the effects of harsh ultraviolet rays.

In addition to the field posts, the team is repainting the campus at Fort King Middle School in Ocala. Exterior entry doors, metal rails and ornamental steel are all being painted with NeverFade’s Primary Red exterior paint. Seven buildings are included in the project, some of which were painted recently but need repainting again because of chalking problems.

“Graffiti and vandalism are our primary challenges in school settings,” Hickman reported. “After that, it’s the damaging sun’s rays that can fade paint quickly. We see the NeverFade paint as an investment."

NeverFade professional exterior paint is formulated with Kynar Aquatec® polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a tough, engineered thermoplastic that offers a balance of properties. NeverFade paint withstands harsh thermal, chemical and ultraviolet environmental conditions. In essence, it resists abrasions, restricts the growth of mold and mildew and will not pick up dirt. Ultraviolet blockers and high-quality pigments are mixed with the fluoropolymer resin to further prevent against fading and chalking.

Available nationwide for use on both residential and commercial projects, NeverFade may be applied to vinyl siding, PVC, wood, aluminum siding, stucco, masonry, and fiber cement surfaces. Since each paint order is custom-made, NeverFade is available in an unlimited number of colors.

Founded in Akron, Ohio, in 1878, APV Engineered Coatings manufactures innovative, custom-engineered products that are sold worldwide to a wide variety of industries, including the marine industry.