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.

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COATINGSPRO SEPTEMBER 2016 63 "e owner was concerned that the existing coating system did not achieve the desired service life," he said. "It was revealed during the pre-bid meeting that the existing coating may not have achieved complete cure prior to refilling the pool, and the chlorine content of pool water may have adversely affected the incompletely cured coating as well." It sounded like a nasty situation, but the problem was that there was no way to know for sure, Pigue said. "Part of the problem was that we couldn't observe the conditions of the pool because it was filled with water," he explained. So they had to make their bid without fully knowing what they were dealing with. Once the job was secured, they were able to get a closer look. ey saw bubbling in the white paint on the competition pool, and they noticed that the paint used on the blue Auburn University logo looked soft. "In the instructional pool, there was significant bubbling throughout," Pigue said. "We'd kind of been able to see that before, but after the water drained, we realized how bad it was. e failure of the previous coating was worse than the owner expected in the instructional pool, and almost all of the coating needed to be removed." e reason for the bubbling? "e owner did not have the budget to completely strip the coating down to substrate, so painters performed an overcoat- ing procedure on the competition pool," Pigue said of the previous coating job. "However, when drained, the instructional pool was found to be in much worse shape than the competition pool and had to be largely recoated." e painters had left only the original coating that was tightly adhered, and that ended up being less than 30 percent of the square footage of the instructional pool. Determined to do the coating right this time — and to ensure the service life of the coatings used on the pools — the Vulcan Painters crew laid out a detailed work plan to meet the specifications in the project documents and ensure long-term coatings performance. JOB AT A GLANCE PROJECT: Repair and coat the concrete for two swimming pools at Auburn University COATINGS CONTRACTOR: Vulcan Painters, Inc. P.O. Box 1010 Bessemer, AL 35021 (205) 428-0556 www.vulcan-group.com SIZE OF CONTRACTOR: 100 employees SIZE OF CREW: 6 crew members PRIME CLIENT: Auburn University Auburn, AL 36849 (800) 282-8769 www.auburn.edu SUBSTRATE: Concrete CONDITION OF SUBSTRATE: Used SIZE OF JOB: 30,800 sq. ft. (2,861.4 m²) total DURATION: 1.5 months UNUSUAL FACTORS/CHALLENGES: » The pools had to be drained before the concrete condition was fully known. » A crack in the concrete meant after coating was finished, the paint continued to bubble up. » One pool was completed during school, so it had to be completely contained during blasting to keep blast media and dust from the public. MATERIALS/PROCESSES: » Pressure washed the pools using 5,000–6,000 psi (34.5–41.4 MPa) Mi-T-M pressure washers with BE Pressure attachment » Tested for moisture and chlorine, the latter using CHLOR*RID testing kit » Applied Tnemec Series 201 Epoxoprime primer in one coat with a thick- ness of 4 to 6 mils (101.6–152.4 microns) » Applied Tnemec Series 280 Tneme-Glaze at a thickness of 4 to 6 mils (101.6–152.4 microns) for the white areas and 8 to 12 mils (203.2–304.8 microns) for the black, blue, and orange coats » Used Xypex Concentrate and Xypex Patch 'n Plug to cover the crack in the instructional pool » Applied Sikaflex Primer 260 to the stainless steel trough, Sikaflex Primer 429 to the concrete shell, and Sikaflex-1a on the joint where the steel trough met the side of the concrete pool wall SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: » Wore personal protective equipment (PPE) during blasting » Wore respirators when mixing coatings » Used fans and ventilation equipment to diffuse paint fumes during brush and roll process Because of the bubbling that the crew found when the previous coating system was unveiled, the crew was sure to complete tests for moisture and chlorine once the concrete was power washed.

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