CoatingsPro Magazine

JUL 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.

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52 JULY 2016 COATINGSPROMAG.COM students and faculty." With the primer in place, the Brazos crew steeled their ner ves for the first-ever spray application of A lphaGuard BIO basecoat. "Te two-part polyurethane A lphaGuard BIO basecoat and topcoat are bio-based," said Bill Burke, Tremco senior feld supervisor. "Tat means a certain percentage of the material comes from agriculture. It's like the corn-based ethanol used to fuel your car; that's how our BIOs are formulated." T he Brazos crew fired up their Graco XP70 plural-com- ponent sprayer, which is designed to pump, mi x, and atomize high-viscosity, high-solids coatings such as the A lphaGuard basecoat. "We applied the 32-mil [812.8 microns approximate DFT] basecoat in one pass," said Reyes. "Te main challenge on both BIO coats was to make sure we stayed in contact with the guy in the box van watching the pumps. You can't stop spraying or the stuf sets up in the hose." By way of example, both the A lphaGuard basecoat and topcoat, when conventionally mixed, have pot lives of 20 to 25 minutes at 77° F (25° C) at 50 percent relative humidity (RH), according to the manufacturer's data sheets. Te crew used Motorola walkie-talkies to communicate the need to switch drums or stop spraying at the end of the day. Scrap Those Plans T he Brazos crew felt great about addressing Sierra Community College's three main concerns. T hey had worked around a ban on pressure washers, figured out a way to avoid exposing students to unwanted odors, and were on track to finish on time. Like a well-oiled machine, they transitioned quick ly to topcoat application. W hile crewmen in the box van sw itched from the A lphaGuard BIO basecoat to the A lphaGuard BIO topcoat, others cleaned the spray equipment w ith methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) solvent. T he crew then fired up their Graco XP70 and began apply ing the 32-mil (812.8 microns) approxi- mate DFT A lphaGuard BIO topcoat in a single pass. Te Brazos team was on track to fnish before fall classes began when an issue all too familiar to coatings professionals reared its ugly head. It can get windy in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and in addition to spraying carefully near roof edges, Reyes had coordinated parking lot closures adjacent to rooftops that were being sprayed. Tis worked well… most of the time! "We lost two days because it simply got too windy to work," said Opel. "Overspray was a big concern because nobody wants to pay to repaint someone else's car. Losing time made this job more difcult, but if Victor hadn't made the call, we could have hit quite a few cars." In addition to days lost to excess wind, the physical spraying of the topcoat was anything but a high-speed opera- tion. "We got our best results by moving the gun slowly and cross-hatching our spray pattern," said Reyes. "It takes a bit of time, but the BIO topcoat sprays nice and thick and covers really well." With delays mounting, it looked like Brazos might have to scrap those plans to fnish on time. To get back on track, the crew logged extra hours, mostly behind the scenes, maintaining and rebuilding equipment, organizing, and lining up gear for the next roof. Green Roof VENDOR TEAM DensDeck by Georgia-Pacific Building Products Material manufacturer 133 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 652-4000 www.gp.com Ford Equipment manufacturer P.O. Box 6248 Dearborn, MI 48126 (800) 392-3673 www.ford.com GAF Material manufacturer 1361 Alps Rd. Wayne, N. J. 07470 (973) 628-3000 www.gaf.com Graco Inc. Equipment manufacturer 88 11th Ave. NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 (612) 623-6000 www.graco.com International Trucks Equipment manufacturer 2701 Navistar Dr. Lisle, IL 60532 (331) 332-5000 www.internationaltrucks.com Motorola Mobility Equipment manufacturer 222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, Ste. 1800 Chicago, IL 60654 (800) 668-6765 www.motorola.com Tremco Inc. Coatings manufacturer 3735 Green Rd. Beachwood, OH 44122 (800) 852-9068 www.tremcoroofing.com T h e cr ew p r i m e d th e r o of s w i th Tr e m co Alp h aG u ar d , w h i ch w a s s p r ay a p p li e d at ~1 m il (25 .4 m i cr o n s). T h at w ate r- b o r n e p r i m e r wa s the fir s t s tep in this s y s tem, sug ge s ted by B ra zos Urethane's Western Division Mana ger Craig Opel.

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