CoatingsPro Magazine

SEP 2016

CoatingsPro offers an in-depth look at coatings based on case studies, successful business operation, new products, industry news, and the safe and profitable use of coatings and equipment.

Issue link: http://coatingspromag.epubxp.com/i/720777

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 59 of 84

With ambient air temperatures typically ranging between 70° F and 100° F (21° C and 38° C) for this phase of the project, Rein knew he should be okay waiting six hours between coats. But to be 100 percent certain each coating cured, he used a General Tools & Instruments moisture meter and wouldn't recoat until the meter read zero. But all this waiting came at a price: exposure to the elements! Beet It! In western Nebraska, thunderstorms frequently sweep through on summer afternoons. W hen skies start sparking lightning and you're working near steel tanks or on metal telescoping lifts, the only option is to beat it! "As soon as a storm starts rolling in, we shut down and find shelter," said Rein. "If we see lightning, even if it's 100 miles [160.9 km] away, we shut down. It wouldn't matter if we were three weeks behind on a job, we'd get off the lifts and find cover. ere's absolutely no reason to think twice when someone could get hurt or killed." But thunderstorms pack more than lightning. Rain can wreak havoc on yet-to-cure coatings, so the ERIC crew monitored weather predictions at all times. If rain was forecast within three hours, they'd stop spraying to give the DTI time to dry enough that rainfall wouldn't affect it. "e last thing we want to do is to spray a coating, have it rain, and watch it run," said Rein. "It hasn't happened yet, but in my mind, if it did, we'd have to sandblast and start over. We make a point to not let that happen." In addition to watching for storms, the crew was sure to wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE) when appropriate. at included fall protection from Capital Safety and Guardian. Wind delays, also common occurrences on the Great Plains, forced the ERIC crew to shut down several times toward the end of the project. Rein noted that DTI is lightweight by design, and his crew needed to be careful not to let the wind misdirect it. "Overspray was not a real problem but Industrial-DTI is so light that any wind above 10 mph [16.1 kph], you have trouble getting it down onto the substrate," Rein said. "ere's no sense wasting product trying to do something that doesn't need to be done in those circumstances. Near the end, we lost a few days, but thankfully didn't need to push it. We finished just ahead of the deadline." The Beet Goes On By flexing their schedules, logging extra hours, working smart, and working hard, the ERIC crew wrapped up in time for the beet harvest. Mascoat territory manager Travis Creech delights in how well the ERIC crew performed. "is is the first time we used them," Creech said. "ey came highly recommended from WSC due to their past (construction) work. ey've done a good job and are great to work with, too." WSC supervisor Mike Maddaus believes the coatings system will work as advertised. Before deciding on DTI, he contacted a sugarcane refinery in Louisiana that has been using DTI for more than 20 years. e refinery manager sang high praises, which helped cement WSC's decision. "Getting these new tanks online was crucial to our plans to double our production rate," Maddaus said. "Andrew Rein's crew is very knowledgeable, and they plan out work really well. I'm very confident this coating system will perform for a long time." Rein couldn't be prouder of the way his crew stepped up to work extra shifts and hours to keep this project on track. ey overcame changes in tank locations and configurations, worked around thunderstorms, and knew when to back off spray- ing when winds piped up. And despite all of those potential setbacks, they still finished on time. "e project went very well," Rein said. "We treated it as a foot-in-the-door project, and it's already worked as such. WSC wants us to apply the same coating system at their Fort Morgan, Colorado facility." Nice to know that for the coatings crew at ERIC, the beat goes on! CP COATINGSPRO SEPTEMBER 2016 59 The six-person crew spray applied one coat of International Paint's Intertherm 228 at 4–6 mils (101.6–152.4 microns) dr y film thickness (DFT). Both this primer and the DTI were applied in a crosshatch strategy. The final step in the system was three to eight coats of Mascoat's Industrial-DTI at 15–20 mils (381.0–508.0 microns) DFT per coat. That couldn't happen when wind exceeded 10 mph (16.1 kph). Tank Insulation Coating

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of CoatingsPro Magazine - SEP 2016