Shepherd Color: 60 Years of Exposure

Approaching 60 Years of Exposure

Shepherd Color produces high-performance, durable complex inorganic color pigments widely used in architectural and building applications. As demand for these pigments grows, Shepherd has invested in facility enhancements and expansions over the years to meet this demand. With these expansions, legacy buildings needed a consistent exterior appearance. Achieving this consistency requires not only precise pigment selection, but also a coating system capable of delivering long-term durability. For this reason, Shepherd has relied for decades on its partnership with Arkema, a global leader in high performance coating resins. When a new facility was acquired more than ten years ago, the buildings were recoated using Arkema’s Kynar Aquatec® PVDF resin system to ensure lasting color and protection.

Shepherd Color’s expertise in inorganic pigments spans nearly a century, with a significant advancement occurring in the early 1960s. At that time, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) resins were introduced into coating systems, but conventional organic pigments failed to withstand the high temperature cure cycles and demanding exterior exposure conditions. Researchers turned to inorganic pigments previously developed for porcelain enamel applications, which required extreme heat resistance and offered exceptional long-term durability. Shepherd’s pigments proved to be an ideal choice, providing durable color performance that has endured decades of weathering.

The inherent stability of Shepherd’s pigments has been central to their success. Their inert composition enables outstanding resistance to environmental stress, as demonstrated by original weathering panels that continue to perform after approaching 60 years of exposure as seen in Photo 1.

Photo 1: Panels coated with Arkema Kynar 500® PVDF with Shepherd Color pigments in South Florida exposure

Over time, Shepherd has continued to refine and expand its pigment technologies in collaboration with leading coatings manufacturers. A key advancement has been the development of IR reflective Arctic® pigments, which help reduce surface temperatures, improve energy efficiency, and mitigate urban heat island effects.

Shepherd Color has maintained its longstanding collaboration with Arkema and supplying pigments to coatings companies for their Kynar® PVDF coating systems used worldwide. When Shepherd acquired new buildings to house our expanding production capacity, we repainted them (Photo 2) by partnering with APV Engineered Coatings, whose formulation expertise brings together Arkema’s Kynar Aquatec® PVDF resin and Shepherd pigments into a complete, high-performance solution.

Photo 2: Shepherd building painted with NeverFade® Façade Restoration Coatings with Kynar Aquatec®

More than a decade later, Shepherd Color’s complex inorganic color pigments continue to deliver the intended durability and appearance, reinforcing confidence in their long-term performance for many years to come.