Certain siding materials tend to last longer than others, especially when they’re adequately protected by coating systems. Although industrial coatings are designed to last for many years, natural and man-made elements, such as sunlight, high temperatures, water, dirt, pollution, and corrosives that often abound in industrial environments, can damage the exterior of your industrial facility and shorten its life.
In addition to a paint job done right the first time, regular exterior maintenance can add years of life to your assets. Below are three basic maintenance tips to maintain your industrial facility in pristine condition year after year.
Pressure Wash All Surfaces on a Regular Basis
An industrial facility uses various equipment, including tanks, smokestacks, cooling towers, silos, and machinery. Because dirt accumulation on painted and unpainted surfaces can create a whole host of problems, which range from unsightly appearance to corrosion and rust, regularly cleaning exterior surfaces is a surefire way to keep common paint problems at bay and protect your facility against degradation.
One of the most efficient and versatile methods for removing dirt from industrial structures and also prepare surfaces for the application of industrial coatings is pressure washing. Since pressure washers can be used to clean different surfaces without chemicals, pressure washing represents a viable eco-friendly cleaning alternative to using harsh chemicals.
Inspect Your Entire Industrial Facility at Regular Intervals
Specific environmental factors like high temperatures, UV radiation, prevailing winds, salt air, violent storms, and hail combined with a harsh industrial environment can have a huge impact on coating systems and deteriorate them sooner than expected. In fact, prolonged exposure to harsh conditions can reduce the expected time to first maintenance by several years.
For instance, UV radiation gradually degrades the pigments and binders in coatings, leading to chalking, color fading, and coating erosion. Temperature variations cause substrate materials to expand and contract at different rates. Ultimately, this repetitive movement will force coating systems to fail. Furthermore, moisture, water, and condensation combined with the pollutants in the air and the corrosive compounds resulting from different industrial processes will accumulate on coatings, eventually damaging them. Once coating deterioration is underway, your assets will begin to degrade. Left unaddressed, degradation will continue to the point when assets need to be replaced.
To ensure the longevity of your coating systems and industrial structures, regular inspections should be carried out by professional industrial painting contractors, as part of a comprehensive paint maintenance program.
Recoat Surfaces at the First Signs of Deterioration
If any signs of paint degradation are identified during the inspection, the industrial painting contractors will determine the root cause of the problem, notify you accordingly, and indicate proper remedial measures. In case of metal substrates, these measures commonly involve adequate surface preparation followed by the application of high-performance corrosion-resistant coating products.
As specialty metal coatings control rust and corrosion by promoting maximum adhesion to substrates and forming an impermeable barrier at the substrate level, opting for the anti-corrosion coating products recommended by professionals is critically important for a high-quality, long-lasting paint job in an industrial environment.
Currently, leading paint manufacturers supply a wide range of industrial coatings that can meet any requirements relating to substrate materials, exposure conditions, downtime tolerance, and regulatory framework.
Compared to regular painting projects, industrial painting and maintenance operations can be far more challenging. It is for this reason they require well-trained, certified, and experienced industrial painting contractors. Due to our stellar performance and solid reputation, Performance Painting Contractors has become the go-to choice for any industrial painting projects and maintenance activities. For a free painting and paint maintenance estimate, please contact us today!
