The Hidden Cost of Post-Painting
In the façade industry, every delay has a price. When cladding panels leave the shop unfinished, you’re not just sending metal to the painter—you’re sending your schedule, your margins, and your control along with it… and you are entrusting hours of shop labor to your vendor.
Post-painted panels introduce unpredictable variables: coating inconsistencies, weather delays, shipping damage, and unplanned touch-ups. Each variable compounds into rework, cost overruns, and frustrated clients.
And what about risk? You have invested cash into the raw materials, the shop labor, the equipment run time. All of this combined is now sent to the painter. If the painting process has issues will they pay for all the costs you must incur to remake a panel?
Vitraplate® changes that equation.
Prefinished Panels: The Predictable Alternative
Vitraplate® is a prefinished, non-combustible solid aluminum plate engineered for predictability.
By eliminating post-painting altogether, it delivers 8–12 week guaranteed lead times, 99%+ on-time delivery, and a zero rework workflow that fabricators, GCs, and architects can trust.
Where traditional processes introduce friction, Vitraplate® streamlines it:
- No painting hold-ups. Coating is done before fabrication under controlled conditions.
- No color mismatch. PVDF and FEVE coil coatings maintain batch-to-batch consistency.
- No secondary processes: Complete the panel fabrication all at once, no need to uncrate and add stiffeners after painting.
We can deliver fabricated panels to the jobsite just two days after receiving the Vitraplate® material.
Why Fabricators Love Prefinishing
Fabricators are the first to feel the pain of post-painting — and the first to benefit from eliminating it.
Vitraplate®’s Proprietary Flexible-Resin CoatingTM reduces a weeks-long fabrication project into just days, and completely removes the risk of paint batch variations and damaged panels due to additional handling. The result?
- Clean lines, perfect folds, and a warranty-backed finish.
- Predictable pricing and scheduling, without the dependency on third-party painters.
- Improved shop flow with fewer storage, handling, and quality control bottlenecks.
Why GCs and Installers Rely on Vitraplate®
For Installers and General Contractors, prefinished panels mean predictable performance.
When subcontractors use Vitraplate® for their panels, installers and GC’s can rely on more accurate scheduling, fewer supply disruptions, and prevent call-backs due to mismatched panels.
That translates to:
- Fewer on-site adjustments and no field repainting.
- Shorter installation timelines.
- Reduced call-backs and warranty claims.
Pre-Finished Vitraplate® is the way to go!
Why Architects Specify It
Architects face constant pressure to balance design intent, compliance, and constructability.
Vitraplate® simplifies that process with certified non-combustible material, proprietary 70% PVDF Kynar flexible-resin coil coatings, and virtually unlimited color flexibility — all backed by clear documentation and test data.
Instead of wondering whether the final finish will match the rendering, architects can design boldly, knowing the product will look and perform exactly as intended, without the traditional variations that come with spray-painting.
Design fearlessly. Specify confidently.
Prefinished Means Sustainable, Too
Post-painting doesn’t just slow projects—it wastes materials and energy.
By coil-coating panels before fabrication, Fairview reduces overspray, VOC emissions, and transportation steps. Aluminum’s 100% recyclability and Vitraplate’s long finish life mean lower environmental impact over the building’s lifecycle.
The Bottom Line
Prefinishing turns one of the industry’s most unpredictable steps into one of its greatest advantages.
With Vitraplate®, you get:
- Faster fabrication and installation.
- Measurable labor and cost savings.
- Documented compliance and finish warranties up to 40 years.
In short: fewer steps, fewer risks, and more predictability — all backed by Fairview’s promise of responsiveness, transparency, and performance.
Ready to Go Prefinished?
See how Vitraplate® can transform your next project from variable to victory.