only by the top asphalt layer 16 and by the abutment of adjacent granules 18 it should be appreciated that fig3 is diagrammatic as regards to showing a significant spacing between granules 18 for ease of illustration in actual roofing membrane 10 the spacing between granules 18 would be minimal and there would be overlap between granules 18 forming the granular surface 18 s such that the underlying asphalt layer 16 would be largely obscured from view the outermost hydrophobic layer 34 of the granules 18 aids in shedding water in particular rainwater which may be acidic besides aiding in one of the basic purposes of roofing membranes 10 shedding water the hydrophobic layer 34 also protects the granules 18 from dissolution by rainwater in particular acidic rainwater thereby preserving the color reflectivity and the dimensions surface smoothness of the granules 18 in one embodiment the hydrophobic layer 34 is clear such that the coloring composition layers 28 30 32 are visible through the hydrophobic layer 34 while the hydrophobic layer 34 is diagrammatically depicted as an outer u201c shell u201d it is understood that at the atomic molecular level level the composition forming the hydrophobic layer 34 may penetrate into the layers 28 30 32 of color composition and bond therewith fig4 shows a diagram of.