Issue with paint/polish on Everest fiber/cement planks (exterior)

[sabarishm]

Hi everyone, we finished our house construction approximately 2 years back and we have used Everest (Brand) cement/fiber planks that looks like wooden planks on a large portion at the front of house. My engineer promised me that the polish he applied will give a good wooden finish and that it will last for at least 5 years without fading etc. With in a year of applying the polish on the planks, it started fading and the polish started peeling off. The house/wall is facing to the west side and gets all the afternoon/evening sun on it as there is no other building in the opposite plot at the moment.

Engineer blamed on the direct sunlight and he said paint will hold better even though the finishing look is many grades lower than the polish. Reluctantly I agreed and he applied a brown color paint. It looks ugly and after about 7-8 months that also started peeling off, though the color did not fade or it faded evenly so no striking issues with that. But the peeling is all over the place and looks like a mess.

Whats the best solution for this situation? I doubt either its the quality of the polish my engineer applied to lower his cost/expense or the painters skill level was mediocre and did a shabby job at painting. I am even contemplating on removing the planks and use some brick/stone cladding as I have lost faith in the cement planks, though thinking about the extra expense keep me try looking for a solution. I tried contacting the company and they were not really helpful. Kept saying polish should work, just that it is not for me.

Thank you all in advance for reading my post and for any help/advise thats provided!

[ardesarchitects]

HI sabarishm
The pealing of paint or polish is to do with various factors .
1. Surface is not prepared well before applying polish or paint
2. Direct exposure to sun and heat
In case you are polishing it it should be treated with PU spray coat and the life will be max 5-6 years only. In case PU coat is not done it will stay max of 1-2 years.
In case of painting on existing polished surface you need to scrape and clean the surface then apply primer and paint. Paint wont peal off unless surface preparation is wrong. Cement boards have similar properties of wall surface so the paint wont peal off.
For exterior grade polish you can check with ICA , MRF brands

Regards,
Ar.Praveen.N
Ardes Architects and Interior Designers
http://www.ardesarchitects.com
ardesarchitects@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/ardesarchitectsblr

[sabarishm]

Thank you, Praveen! I was told the initial polish was MRF and he said he conveyed about the 5 year lasting of the polish as told by the MRF guys. Still came off. Is it viable to do PU spray coat on already fixed planks after a fresh polish?

Regarding the paint, I think your assumption seems right that he must have done the painting over the polish without clearing it to finish the work and get the payment from me soon.

I am thinking if the scrape clean, polishing and PU coating is going to cost me considerable and if the difference on laying coarse granite bricks or other stone claddings is minimal, I would try do that as maintenance will be very less on the later?

I regret choosing the cement planks without understanding about the periodic/frequent maintenance side! Meantime, I will try talk to the MRF guys and see what might have gone wrong with my initial polish!