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[TowerTalk] Alternative tower coatings

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Alternative tower coatings
From: K7GCO@aol.com (K7GCO@aol.com)
Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 04:04:08 EDT
In a message dated 5/3/01 8:34:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time, ke3yt@usa.net 
writes:
<< Hi Val,
  You're absolutely correct in saying that, maybe I should have been more 
clear
 at first though. My main objective is to coat previously uncoated new tower
 sections with the best material possible, other than the usual procedure of
 hot dipping. I would like to experiment with a full size 10 foot bath in my
 shop and coat the inside of the legs as well, it's just finding the right
 'stuff' that's tricky.
 
 73
 Dan KE3YT
 ke3yt@usa.net
  >>
I've got a paint 2 procedures that work well.  On a new galvanized or even an 
aluminum tower clean it with soap and water or someone said use vinegar.  I 
then paint it with 2 coats of Derusto.  It will last a long time.

After working at Boeing and seeing the green epoxy primer or paint on the 
aluminum, I said "that is the way to go on an old tower that needed painting 
also".  I've purchased tubing from Boeing Surplus with this primer on there 
and even a rotary steel brush hardly touched it.  A file was the only way to 
really get it off.

I had a WWII tower that needed a paint job.  I ordered this 2 part green 
epoxy from Jarvie Paints and painted a 8' section of tower.  The next day I 
could scrape it off with my finger nail.  I called the president of Jarvie 
Paint about it and he came out and scratched his head and a few other places 
around in back.  I had to apply paint remover to get it all off and reprime.  
He gave me 2 gallons of another yellow version. I painted 60' of tower with 
this and it stuck.  One coat of this is really all I needed of this stuff but 
is was yellow.  He gave me some white paint for a finish coat.  I apply that 
and it doesn't stick worth a damn and it even peels.  He doesn't know why 
either and he's only the president.  The company folded after that.  

I went to the paint shop at Boeing and had a chat with the paint boys.  This 
epoxy primer gets so hard its difficult for anything to stick to it.  So how 
do they get a final coat to stick on it--I thought you would never ask.  They 
paint it before it really sets up while it's still a bit grabby.

Now I have a big problem.  I did all this work "so that I wouldn't have to 
ever paint this again in my lifetime."  As it is now "I'll be patching and 
repainting this for the rest of my lifetime to cover up the yellow primer 
underneath".

I took a section down to the galvanizers and put it in their acid cleaner 
baths.  It wouldn't take the epoxy primer off.  I'll have to sand blast it to 
get it clean enough for galvanizing.  The original sections I still have from 
WWII have a very tough green paint of some kind that is literally as tough as 
the modern epoxy primer.  If I can get this 2 part epoxy in silver that would 
be the way to go unless I could live with a yellow or green tower.  K7GCO

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