Painters USA • 800-999-8715 • http://www.paintersusa.com/
Reprinted from GRAIN JOURNAL November/December 2019 Issue
In 2014, Painters USA, Inc., Glendale Heights, IL (630-653-8715), was contracted to repair and paint 92 silos at a grain terminal in the middle of a small town in the southern United States. The silos had deteriorated to the point of rebar being exposed, further escalating the deterioration process.
Painters USA offered a 10-year warranty from rusting on metal surfaces and 10 years from failing on concrete surfaces. These warranties are backed by both the product manufacturer and Painters USA.
According to Nichols, the client was very happy with the results and so was the town’s mayor. With this large facility located in the middle of town, the upgrades can be seen by everyone. “The mayor thanked the terminal and our company for making the terminal look new again,” says Nichols.
Jerry Perkins, contributing writer
Before (above) and after pictures of a Painters USA repair and paint project on 92 silos at a southern U.S. grain terminal. Photos courtesy of Painters USA.
Procedure
According to Marketing Manager Craig Nichols, the concrete repair process included:
• Saw cutting around the perimeter of any spalling. Chipping out to sound concrete. Pressure washing after excavation to remove dust, laitance, and other bond-inhibiting materials.
• Priming exposed rebar with rust-inhibitive industrial primer before applying bonding scrub coat.
• Applying scrub coat filling in the pores of damp substrate for maximum adhesion.
• Filling excavation with appropriate repair mortar, consolidate, finish, and cure as required.
• Applying protective coating to the prepared substrate, if desired.
The silo coating process included:
• Removing all chalking and loose coatings via power washing all areas to be coated with a 6,000-pound-per-square-inch (psi) power washer equipped with a cyclone tip to SSPC-SP-1 standards. Removing all visible oil, grease, soil, and other soluble contaminants. Pressure washing all rusty surfaces with a 6,000-psi pressure washer and hand tool, power-tooled where needed to remove all loose coatings and rust.
• Masking and tarping all items not to be painted.
• Applying coatings only in proper weather conditions.
• Applying two coats of Sherwin Williams Loxon XP paint to all concrete surfaces at 14 to 18 wet mils per coat. The first coat was allowed to dry 24 hours before the application of a second coat to avoid pinholes and to comply with conditions of the warranty.
• To avoid overspray issues, the project was bid at 75% brush and roll.
• All metal hoppers, structures, bins, conveyors, and spouts were painted with two coats of Sherwin Williams Corothane Mio-Aluminum coating in an aluminum finish at five mills. This rust-inhibitive product is designed to penetrate and seal tightly adhered rust on metal surfaces. All safety rails were rust-primed as needed and painted with two coats of Sherwin Williams Pro-Industrial Urethane in “Safety Yellow.”
As a final touch, two large logos of the client’s brand, measuring 10 feet by 18 feet, were added to a couple of the silos.
Since the project was located in the center of town, the risk of overspray onto surrounding buildings and vehicles had to be minimized. This was accomplished by using paint sprayers on only 25% of the project. The majority of the project was completed using brushes and rollers.
