About STP ShaliCool Guard

STP ShaliCool Guard sits in a category that has become genuinely useful on Indian roofs: the reflective waterproofing coating. On an exposed terrace slab in Delhi, Jaipur or Chennai, the top of the RCC can run 60-70 degrees C on a peak summer afternoon. That heat drives up cooling bills, stresses the concrete through daily thermal movement, and accelerates the ageing of any waterproofing beneath it. ShaliCool Guard tackles both problems at once. It is a water-based acrylic elastomeric coating pigmented white to light grey, engineered so that the same film which keeps rainwater out also throws a large share of incoming sunlight back to the sky.

For engineers and contractors, the appeal is that it collapses two line items into one. Instead of laying a waterproofing membrane and then a separate solar-reflective paint, you apply a single elastomeric system that does both. STP quotes a Solar Reflectance Index above 80 and elongation above 200 percent, which places it firmly in the crack-bridging, high-albedo bracket. Because it is water-based with low VOC, it is straightforward to apply on occupied buildings, schools and hospitals where solvent fumes are a problem, and it supports LEED heat-island-reduction credits on projects chasing green certification. Space Arc Engineering supplies and applies it across Delhi NCR and Pan-India, so you can take it as a material-only supply or as a warranted applied system.

The technical insight

The coating works on two physics fronts that a conventional bitumen or grey acrylic membrane cannot. First, radiation: a dark or grey roof absorbs most of the solar spectrum and re-radiates it as heat into the slab. ShaliCool Guard’s white-to-light-grey pigmentation and engineered near-infrared reflectance push its Solar Reflectance Index above 80, so a large fraction of that energy is bounced away before it ever loads the concrete. In field terms STP reports peak surface-temperature reductions of the order of 30 degrees C against an uncoated dark roof, and building cooling-energy savings in the 10-25 percent range depending on insulation, orientation and how hard the air-conditioning is working. Second, movement: an RCC roof expands and contracts every day as it heats and cools, and any waterproofing over it has to survive that cycling without splitting. Because the cured film is elastomeric with elongation above 200 percent, it stretches over shrinkage cracks and construction joints and bridges them rather than fracturing. The reflective action is not just a comfort benefit either. By holding the slab cooler, the coating reduces the daily thermal amplitude the whole roof endures, which in turn slows the fatigue that eventually opens up cracks. It is a self-reinforcing loop: reflect the heat, and the waterproofing lasts longer.

Where it is used

• Waterproofing and cooling of exposed RCC terraces on residential and commercial buildings
• Cool-roof retrofits over ageing flat roofs to cut air-conditioning load
• Solar-reflective topcoat over large industrial and warehouse roof decks
• LEED and green-building projects targeting heat-island-reduction credits
• Renovation of weathered terraces where a fresh, seamless reflective membrane is needed
• Roofs of temperature-sensitive spaces such as schools, hospitals and clinics
• Protective reflective coating over compatible existing waterproofing to extend its service life
• Terrace and roof surfaces in hot-climate cities where summer slab temperatures are a design concern

Key advantages

• Combines waterproofing and solar reflection in one coat, removing the need for a separate reflective topcoat
• High Solar Reflectance Index above 80 for strong rejection of incoming solar heat
• Elastomeric film with elongation above 200 percent bridges shrinkage cracks and daily thermal movement
• Reported roof surface-temperature reduction of up to about 30 degrees C against a dark uncoated roof
• Supports building cooling-energy savings in the region of 10-25 percent in hot climates
• Water-based and low-VOC, so it is safe to apply on occupied and sensitive buildings
• Contributes to LEED heat-island-reduction credits on green-certified projects
• Seamless, jointless membrane with no laps or overlaps to fail

Limitations & considerations

• It is a coating, not a structural membrane; deep live cracks and construction joints need prior treatment or a reinforcing fleece
• White and light-grey films show dirt and traffic marks and need periodic cleaning to keep reflectance high
• Being water-based, it cannot be applied in rain or when rain is expected before the film has cured
• Performance depends on thorough surface preparation; it will not adhere reliably to a dusty, oily or unsound substrate
• It is not intended for permanent water immersion such as tanks or sunken areas that stay wet
• Coverage and coat thickness must be respected; under-application lowers both waterproofing integrity and reflectance

Selection & best practice

Specifications

Industry use cases

How we position STP ShaliCool Guard

ShaliCool Guard is the reflective-plus-waterproofing member of STP’s Shalimar roofing range; where a project only needs waterproofing without the cool-roof function, STP’s Shalitex and acrylic ShaliCoat systems cover that ground, and heavy-duty exposed roofs may instead call for an STP APP membrane. Across our other brands, Dr. Fixit and Asian Paints SmartCare offer comparable reflective and elastomeric roof coatings, and MC-Bauchemie and Sika carry their own cool-roof and liquid-applied membrane lines for specifiers who standardise on those houses. Space Arc supplies and applies all of them, so the choice can be made on specification and warranty rather than availability.

Related Waterproofing products

View all Waterproofing products →