Bacteria and other microorganisms have the ability to colonize most surfaces.  Non-biological surfaces, such as painted surfaces encounter great challenges with respect to microbial infestation. Colonization of these microorganisms on painted surfaces causes aesthetic problems and may lead to the degradation of the materials and coatings. The aim of this study was to define the microbial communities that thrive in extremely challenging environments, particularly on the surfaces of roofs made from pre-painted steel strip. Fouling communities were compared across time as well as from different geographic locations in Australia and Malaysia. Pre-painted steel panels were deployed to the selected locations and exposed to the surrounding environment. The panels were collected every 4 weeks for 52 weeks. Panels were swabbed and total DNA was extracted using a modified CTAB-phenol protocol. The 16S and 18S rRNA genes were amplified from DNA extracted from the panel surfaces for community analysis. Image based quantification of biofilm biomass on the surfaces of the panels showed an increase during the first quarter of the year before a decline of biomass after the first quarter. The overall diversity showed the dominance in occurrence of fungi (0.1- 4.7%) compared to bacteria (0.1-2.5%) for Australia samples. Samples from Malaysia showed infestation of fungi between 0.4–2.7% compared to bacteria 0.1-3.3%. Based on community analysis, the bacterial and fungal communities diversified with time. Observation of the study showed the fouling communities were influenced by time exposure instead of the geographic factors.