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could reach it with a three wood and a sand wedge? To make the best of this unbeatable jobsite access, ERIC organized its workshop to accommodate material storage and equipment cleaning. en the crew stationed a 16-foot (4.9 m) spray rig trailer on site. With most non-spraying work accom- plished offsite, Rein felt his six-man crew could concentrate better on blasting and coating. It turns out his crew would need every advantage possible, because a major hurdle loomed that would threaten the eight-week deadline. Completely Beet Just before the project began, WSC was forced to assemble, weld, and move several of the new tanks. e original idea was to have 26-foot-tall (7.9 m) tank sections staged in the yard away from the buildings. But upon arriving on the jobsite on day one, the ERIC crew was surprised to find some tank sections assembled, towering 52- to 78-feet (15.8–23.8 m) high, and positioned beside the building. "Due to WSC's schedule, we were faced with working on taller-than-anticipated tanks right next to the building where everyone worked," said Rein. "e co-op's biggest concern was having everything up and running in time for harvest. We understand that. It's just one of those things." Faced with a setback that could easily escalate into a major delay, Rein countered by renting an extra telescoping boom lift, switching the blast crew start time to 5:50 p.m., and working Sundays when plant employees were off duty. To guard against overspray, ERIC crew members hung 4-mil (101.6 microns) plastic sheeting on the processing plant walls. A ll of a sudden, eight weeks didn't seem like enough time for this project. e crew's first task was to remove mill scale and surface rust by abrasive blasting tank exteriors. Specs called for NACE No. 3/Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) Surface Preparation (SP) 6: Commercial Blast Cleaning, so the crew members busted out Graco EcoQuip vapor blasters. e EcoQuip vapor blaster eliminates more than 90 percent of airborne dust while using COATINGSPRO SEPTEMBER 2016 57 The project had to work around beet harvest, and the crew had to work around safety parameters. They watched for thunderstorms, wore fall protection, and any personal protective equipment (PPE) as required. JOB AT A GLANCE PROJECT: Spray apply composite ceramic- and silica-based insulating coating to the exterior of nine tanks at a Nebraska sugar beet processing facility COATINGS CONTRACTOR: Eric Reichert Insulation & Construction, Inc. (ERIC) 1502 19th Ave. Scottsbluff, NE 69361 (308) 633-3595 www.eric-inc.com SIZE OF CONTRACTOR: 12 employees SIZE OF CREW: 6 crew members PRIME CLIENT: Western Sugar Cooperative (WSC) 7555 East Hampden Avenue, Ste. 600 Denver, CO 80231 (303) 830-3939 www.westernsugar.com SUBSTRATE: Carbon steel CONDITION OF SUBSTRATE: New tanks with mill scale and surface rust SIZE OF JOB: ~28,500 sq. ft. (2,647.7 m²) DURATION: 8 weeks UNUSUAL FACTORS/CHALLENGES: » The coatings project was only two blocks from ERIC's shop. » Beet harvest was the main driver for the deadline. » The lightweight nature of the insulating coating meant no spray when wind exceeded 10 mph (16.1 kph). MATERIALS/PROCESSES: » Added HOLD*BLAST at 50:1 ratio to water tank in Graco EcoQuip vapor blaster » Vapor blasted using 150- to 200-mesh abrasive media called Star Bright to NACE No. 3/Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) Surface Preparation (SP) 6: Commercial Blast Cleaning » Spray applied a single coat of International Intertherm 228 epoxy pheno- lic primer at 4–6 mils (101.6–152.4 microns) dry film thickness (DFT) » Spray applied three to eight coats of Mascoat Industrial-DTI at 15–20 mils (381.0–508.0 microns) DFT per coat to achieve 60, 90, and 150 mils (1,524; 2,286; and 3,810 microns) total DFT SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: » Watched for frequent thunderstorms, which caused shut downs to prevent lightning strikes » Wore fall protection when working from telescoping boom lifts » Wore personal protective equipment (PPE) as required