# Wind Tower



## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

Here's some pics of a 135 foot windtower we did for an electric coop this fall.































































More to come, I must have some of them on shop computer.


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Got to love spraying metal in a windy field on a cold fall day. I bet you sprayed 20 gallons and 4 went on the tower.:yes:


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## JCM (Jan 6, 2009)

Have you ever considered using an electrostatic?


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

Would have been something to consider, but did not have access to one. This ended up being a rush job at last min, on the very last day of the year possible to paint. Wind was not too bad, but it was cold and we were out in the open. We ended up super cataylizing the paint. I'll post the paint we used on monday, it is some bad mamma jamma stuff.



We tried to get them to move project to this spring, but they wanted up for their annual meeting. We did have 2 cars with over spray! Lucky us we also have a body shop!:thumbsup:


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## JCM (Jan 6, 2009)

That looked like it sucked. How long into the night before you completed it?


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

who was it for? Small wind group? I have taken a HUGE interest in the green tech.. 

Looks like fun, how tall was that? 100ft? Why did they park around your working area? Awesome regardless!! :thumbsup:


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)




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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

If that isn't a pic born for marketing material I don't know what is!!! :thumbup:

EDIT: see that it is for a 20KW system.. pretty damn cool!


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

We are doing a bid on the steel spool you see in that last pic, once the temps get up there.:thumbsup:


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

Awesome good luck with it! I wish I had the equipment and crew to do some industrial again. Was always cool because of the projects are never "normal" and neither was the pay :whistling2:


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

Hmm, *Note to Bender; Next project, a 20 KW wind tower:thumbsup:


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

We quit just after sun set and touched up the next day. It was interesting: deadlines, winter coming, and working around guys putting it (generator) the following day. Very good company to work for, very professional and always pays on time! I keep forgetting to post the product we used, but I will shortly.


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## seversonspainting (Jul 6, 2008)

Nice work there Jay. Looks good.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

If you had of used a 4 inch roller and and brush, you would have saved a ton of paint. Did you stripe coat any of the edges or seams on the thing? how many coats did you apply and what kind of surface prep was done? Interesting


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

I don't really know how fast a roller and brush would be though.. we had a similar project with the scrapper arms of Water Clarifier tanks. ESPECIALLY if he had to over catalyze it because the pot would set up before you would get it done. We rolled and brushed the catwalks which took a LOT more effort/time to get done:


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

Here is the link to the spec. page for what we used.
http://corporateportal.ppg.com/NR/rdonlyres/99C8C9F0-5B12-45BA-A429-A13C48051B69/0/DTMSellSheet.pdf

Roller and brush would have taken us days. We sprayed it in about 3hours and came back next day for about an hour to touch up. 

Cleaning the galvanized metal: pressure washed with "krud cutter" and scrubbed with hand brushes. The material was in good shape.

Material: It was a little scary: we were given extreme catalyst for the low temp (about 45 degrees). We were told the catalyst may explode if bottle were allowed to bump together.:blink: We did over catalize one batch and only got half way thru before we had to switch to another bucket.

FYI I would not recommend this for cold weather application ----> overspray is too dangerous in cold temps, this paint stays in liquid form in the air for too far. However it sticks like superglue once applied! Overall its a top notch industrial product.:notworthy:

Neat tanks nEighter! I love industrial work. They want quality and are usually willing to pay for it. Do you see the two cars in the sixth pic, way off on the far parking lot. Those were the morons that did not heed there bosse's warning to park on other side of building for the day.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

over catalizing?????????? You mean that you are mixing a coating that is let's say 1:1 ratio with let's say 1.3:1 ratio???? Does your coating supplier say that you can do this or are you just doing this on your own. By doing this on your own you are changing the formulation of their coating by making it more brittle now, and you are voiding your suppliers warranty. If you have a failure and if you get the supplier invloved and they remove coating samples from the failure area's and do a chemical spectrum, they will find that the coating was improperly mixed and you will be the one holding the bag. Alway's mix the coatings that you are using by the manufactures directions people. Are any of you Chemist????? If the temperature is too cold to use the product, then it is not to be used at that temp. Addiing more catalist will not make it better. And yes I can take painters and use Brushes and rollers and be more efficient. I can take men and give them spray guns and small steel and they can spray cars, boats, houses, and whatever else is down wind. There is a time for spray and there is time for brush and roller work.

Top Picture is at the Indy Motor Speedway. Grandstand "B" Refurbish. Abrasive Blast, Metallize and apply polyurathane topcoat. Topcoat brushed and rolled. Time: Six Months.

Bottom Picture is one of two miter gates for the Rock Island lock and dam. Abrasive Blast and six coats of Vinyl. All spray work except for required stripe work on all edges, corners, and weld area.


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

Are any of you Chemist????? :thumbup:
PAINTER123

Yes, I have a degree in dumbassastrophyiscs......nline2long:

Calm down cowboy: the over catalyzing was for the temp, not due to doubling the recommended ratios. Our rep. was a little nervous given the temp. and proscribed the extra kick. Well I did not have a thermometer hanging off my neck at the time so we added per spec sheet and it turned out to not be needed. We also had some gun troubles that burned some time causing it to thicken.

Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but rollering and brushing on this would have been utterly silly.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

Since you asked, yes I did take Chemistry in college. And adding more cataylist to your coating does nothing for cold temp application. Your rep stuck his neck out to recommend this action. Sorry, I deal with this everyday. It was your call to spray, I just said that I would not have sprayed. When you have been in the field for a few more years you will learn that you can use a brush and roller much more effective at times other than a gun is all. Practice makes perfect ya know. Plus brushing aids you in getting the coating worked into all the crevices and tight area's. When you get a chance, join SSPC and take their C-1 course. You will enjoy the class and I am fixing to start teaching some of the classes in a few months. The C-1 class is the fundamentals of Protective Coatings. It is a great class to take. I would recommend to everyone to start and get some education in the coating field for their career. It will be good for you. I do not pass it up. Give me a call anytime. I love to talk paint.


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## JAYJAY (Sep 13, 2008)

Since you asked, yes I did take Chemistry in college. (Nice pat on the back! wasn't asking you but, nice to know you know that of which you speak.)

And adding more catalyst to your coating does nothing for cold temp application. (we will agree to disagree to a certain point on this one)

Points well taken, I'm always looking for input!:thumbsup: I would never pretend to know more than anyone else here. BUT: given the situation (lack of time, temp, etc....) I believe we choose the right application.

You know what, I just may contact you for some consulting should we procure some more of these "special" projects.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

Not a problem Jay, I do not know everything about coatings, but I have been in the industry for a long time and this is ALL I Know. I am good friends with some very big people in the industry and I have built a reputation in the coatings world as well. As far as knowing everything, I am learning something new everyday. You have to be this way. If I can ever help, Give me a call anytime.


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## HomeGuardPaints (Jan 17, 2008)

wolverine is a chemist. I bet he took lots of chemistry courses.:whistling2:


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

I studied chemistry under a man named Owsley in high school:thumbsup:


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

painter213 said:


> Since you asked, yes I did take Chemistry in college. And adding more cataylist to your coating does nothing for cold temp application. Your rep stuck his neck out to recommend this action. Sorry, I deal with this everyday. It was your call to spray, I just said that I would not have sprayed. When you have been in the field for a few more years you will learn that you can use a brush and roller much more effective at times other than a gun is all. Practice makes perfect ya know. Plus brushing aids you in getting the coating worked into all the crevices and tight area's. When you get a chance, join SSPC and take their C-1 course. You will enjoy the class and I am fixing to start teaching some of the classes in a few months. The C-1 class is the fundamentals of Protective Coatings. It is a great class to take. I would recommend to everyone to start and get some education in the coating field for their career. It will be good for you. I do not pass it up. Give me a call anytime. I love to talk paint.


I'd like to learn more..... Links please.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

sspc.org


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

Where the ell' has NACE been? His input would be pretty cool in this thread


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## MJpainter (Oct 7, 2008)

painter213 said:


> If you had of used a 4 inch roller and and brush, you would have saved a ton of paint. Did you stripe coat any of the edges or seams on the thing? how many coats did you apply and what kind of surface prep was done? Interesting


Hey painter 213, you must not understand what a deadline is. If he were to have painted it with brushes and rollers it would have taken him much longer than it would to have sprayed it. From the sounds of it they only had a day or so to complete it do to the temps. I would of sprayed it in a min if it required me to get it done. The customer gets what the customer wants. So take your chemistry expertise into the lab and make us a paint that can be applied in all temps, so we don't have to listen to your ego.:thumbsup:


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

MJ; I don't have a ego about it. I know everything about deadlines man. I rand two three man crews in a plant for eleven years full time. All T&M work. So I know what a deadline means. I've done jobs where if the job was not done on time we paid the customer up to $1,000 per day we went over. So I think I know about deadlines MJ. I've been in this buisness for over 22 years and all of it has been Industrial work. Look at my pictures MJ. There is a time to brush and roll and a time to spray. Even in cases of spray work, you still need to strip all welds, nuts, bolts, edges and so on by brush. If not, the customer is going to get short changed on a job that will not last so long. We done around 75 high power tension towers a few years ago and all the steel was 4 inch angle and it was all brushed with four inch brushes and four inch rollers. Four men per tower and a day to do each one. If you want to spray everything that you ever do, go ahead, all I'm saying is that there is a more efficiant way sometimes. If the customer wants to buy a coating and blow it into the air, that is their choice. Any one can pull the trigger on a gun and point. A painter uses all the tools in his tool box. By the way, there is coatings out there that can be applied in very cold Temps. Try Wasser, SW Corathane, and others. Use your resources. Mix your coatings as directed. I use coatings that dry in as little as five seconds in 20 degree weather and if I wanted to, I would spray over a puddle of water and the coating will still dry in a few seconds. There is very little coatings out there that I have not used in my career. And I will always be learing new coatings as well. Never stop learning. If I do not know it, I will not open my mouth. I do know what I talk about though. Not from a book, but from first hand experiance. Come on MJ, tell us your experiance.


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## MJpainter (Oct 7, 2008)

Look painter 213, I was rather brash in regards to your ego. For that i am sorry. I agree with you 100% that there is more efficient ways in which we can paint a project given the circumstances. From the sounds of it, jayjay did the right thing and if you would just read what you posted, you would understand how your ego came across. You assumed to much was my point. Also thank you for the autobiography of your life story. You seem to have done well for yourself I have done some similar jobs to what jayjay has done but not as unique i must say. If I come across similar jobs I will diffenetly consider what you have brought to this thread and maybe even give you a call. The chemistry that goes into manufacturing paint has always fascinated me. Oh and as for my experience, I have a masters in BS:tt2: j/k.

Good luck


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Based on the materials solid content(65%), and the theoretical coverage of 4 mil. DFT, at 260 sq ft per gal, you would have to apply the product at 6 mils. My experience has been that spraying builds a thicker and more even coating then brushing and rolling. Is this true Painter213?


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## TooledUp (May 17, 2008)

I thought crow was the resident 'chemist'

:whistling2:


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