Chapter 04 of 17
Why We Chose EVERSHIELD®
Most painting companies tell you their paint is "the best" and leave it there. We don't expect you to take that on faith — we didn't take it on faith ourselves. Before we committed to a single exterior coating, we asked both Dunn-Edwards and Sherwin-Williams for the documented performance data behind their premium products: Dunn-Edwards EVERSHIELD® and Sherwin-Williams Emerald. Here is what each company has put on the public record.
The Data, Side by Side
Every figure below comes from each manufacturer's own published technical information. Where a cell reads "Not Published," that data is not part of that manufacturer's public technical documentation.
| Measure | EVERSHIELD® | SW Emerald |
|---|---|---|
| 100% acrylic | Yes | Yes |
| Volume solids | 39.5% | 42% |
| Weathering, ASTM D4587 | Pass, 500 hrs | Not published |
| Efflorescence resistance, ASTM D7072 | Pass | Not published |
| Surfactant leaching, ASTM D7190 | Pass | Not published |
| Max application temp | 120°F | Not published |
| Made for the Southwest | Yes, made in Phoenix AZ | No |
A note on fairness: Emerald is a quality coating, and on one published measure — volume solids — its number is higher. We are not going to pretend otherwise; a comparison you can't trust isn't worth handing you. What stood out to us is how much of the performance data behind EVERSHIELD® is openly documented, and how much of the comparable data for Emerald simply isn't in the public record.
What Made the Decision
Weathering performance — published, and then some. EVERSHIELD®'s data sheet publishes its accelerated-weathering result outright — Pass, under ASTM D4587. And when we asked Dunn-Edwards for more, they provided it: in extended 2,000-hour accelerated weathering testing, EVERSHIELD® held its color and gloss change to ΔE ≤ 2.0. That is a specific number for how little this paint changes over time — the single most important measure for paint living under the Phoenix sun — and we keep that data on file. Ask at your appointment, and we'll show it to you.
Built for this climate. EVERSHIELD® is formulated and manufactured in Phoenix, Arizona, for desert sun, stucco, and extreme heat — not a national formula sold the same in every climate.
A track record we watched ourselves. We have used EVERSHIELD® exclusively on every exterior for more than 15 years. We didn't choose it from a brochure — we chose it from year after year of watching it hold up on thousands of Valley homes.
Performance data on the record. When we asked for the numbers, EVERSHIELD®'s were documented and published. We could verify them. We could stand behind a 10-year warranty on them.
What This Means When You Compare Quotes
In Arizona, the Registrar of Contractors holds licensed contractors answerable for their workmanship for two years — a homeowner can file a complaint within two years of the work, and the ROC can order the contractor to fix workmanship that fails its standards. For most painting companies, that two-year window is effectively the protection you get. Some companies extend their own written warranty to three or five years. A handful have pushed to seven. A ten-year workmanship warranty is rare in this market.
We write ten years as our standard — not a premium upgrade, not a tier you pay extra for, but the only warranty we offer, on every job. Some competitors who advertise ten years reserve it for their most expensive package — built on a different, pricier paint — which most of their customers never buy.
We use EVERSHIELD®, we warrant it for ten years, and that is the offer for everyone. The documented performance behind the paint is why we can.
We picked our paint the same way we'd want you to pick your painter — on what can be proven.