Life Specialty Coatings has been the premier manufacturer and leader in high-performance interior and exterior coatings for over 55+ years. Life prides itself on putting the customer first providing superior service, specification, training, quality control and technical support for applicators, general contractors, renowned builders, designers and architects. We currently have over 200+ distribut
ion locations across North America including California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, Washington State and Oregon. Our Story:
THE BEGINNING OF LIFE PAINT: 1963
The coatings industry is rich in our family blood lines going back three generations. Whether, it was delivering, manufacturing, developing, outside sales, store ownership, or a sales clerk, we have done it all before. In 1962, William (Bill) Sibbrel and his close friend Robert (Bob) Benson had an idea to start a new coatings company in the Los Angeles area called Life Paint. In 1963, Life Paint broke ground in Santa Fe Springs, California, the southern tip of Los Angeles county. Bill went out to sell and form a sales team while Bob stayed at the plant working as the chief chemist and plant manager. They began making and selling clear, oil based sealers for wood, which grew into stains, and then solid color coatings. THE 1970’S
In the 1970’s, Life Paint began formulating with latices (water based latex) and combining them with natural oils creating specialty hybrid coatings. This research extended into creating better products for water resistance meant for wood and stucco. LIFE PAINT BY THE 1980’S
Life Paint was manufacturing floor epoxies (the 14 series, which is still currently available) decorative stone finishes (Pebblebond) and waterproof coatings for walls, which ultimately became Stretch-Guard. Both, Bill and Bob, sold their ownership to their sons, Ron and Fred, respectively. By the late 1980’s, Life Paint created and began selling the 16 series, a deck stain that would don the first Life Deck label. The company was starting to make leaps and bounds. The men diversified their coatings technology and began to toll manufacture and private label to develop one of the earliest cementitious waterproofing decking systems in the industry. As the decades went on, the company started to formulate new products and systems for other applications. Over the years, formulas were refined to manufacture top of the line roof coatings, epoxy coatings, architectural wall coatings, waterproof decking systems and numerous decorative coatings systems. LIFE PAINT IN THE 1990’S-2000’S DEVELOPS LIFE DECK SPECIALTY COATINGS
In the 1990’s, Life Paint saw an opportunity in the specialty coatings market. Waterproofing was its main goal, and coatings technology was growing rapidly. Already manufacturing waterproof coatings for walls and roofs, Life Paint turned its attention to decks. By the mid-90’s, the FM System would be installed on thousands of square feet and the AL System would be in testing to achieve its ICBO number. Many of the cements that were developed were also used for concrete resurfacing. This would then add many more products, such as sealers, stains, and epoxies for the Life Deck Specialty Coatings brand. Improvements and market demands were (and still remain) a big focus in the early 2000’s.
2010’S – NOW | LIFE SPECIALTY COATINGS
The Life team started to work with companies like Edison, State Farm, Hero and PACE to lead the way in high performance coatings, sustainability, fire resistance, and energy savings. As an industry leader, Life’s epoxies, waterproofing systems, elastomerics, and concrete resurfacing products have been used on high profile work with numerous school districts (including LA Unified), airports (including LAX), Las Vegas casinos and amusement parks. Life manufactures hundreds of different coatings including concrete stains, heat reflective coatings, crack repair gels, and epoxies that are used and specified around the country by reputable builders, general contractors, and architects. Products are specified on commercial structures at Hilton Properties, MGM Properties, Caesar’s Properties, Boeing International, NASCAR, Universal Studios, and many more development projects. Life prides itself on putting the customer first through maintaining superior services, on-site training, quality control and top of the line technical support. Through a wide distribution network throughout California and the western states, it makes it easy for applicators to find our materials in stock. In 2019, our ownership team decided to strategically reposition Life Paint to Life Specialty Coatings, positioning the company’s brand for growth and innovation. Between all of our product lines, Life Specialty Coatings represents over 10 brands sold in both retail and specialty wholesale distribution nationally. Associated brands and products under the Life Specialty Coatings umbrella such as Life Deck Specialty Coatings, Life Paint, Americrete, Stretch-Guard, Lifetime Plus Coatings of America and Rainshield remain the same high quality control under the 3rd generation ownership and customer support. We have a bottom up approach – if there is a need in the coatings market, we are always interested in hearing more. Life Specialty Coatings works with some of the largest distributors in the U.S., but also the single installer crew. Today, we continue building our legacy with our third generation. Bill and Bob were both hard working individuals and always treated each and every customer, with respect, integrity and an open hand. We continue that mantra today.
