Although Las Vegas is known for its gambling, that was the last thing developers wanted to do when it came to selecting protective coatings for the new 10-story, 5,300 space employee parking structure at the elegant Bellagio Resort and Casino.
That’s why proven protective coatings from Tnemec were applied on the parking structure’s interior concrete, exterior concrete columns and shop primed steel, located on the tenth floor, as well as the decorative ornamental steel. The new construction replaces an employee parking lot located on the site of the $11 billion Project CityCenter, a 66-acre mixed-use development described as the largest privately financed development in the U.S.
Nearly 34,000 gallons of Series 180 W.B. Tneme-Crete, an acrylic emulsion coating, were applied to the concrete in the parking structure, according to Eric Brackman, Tnemec coating consultant for the project. “The interior of the structure was a little more than two million square feet,” Brackman noted. “Being a dry-fall material, we didn’t have to worry about overspray of the product on employee or customer vehicles.”
Concrete substrates were pressure washed to provide a clean, dry and sound surface prior to the application. Afterwards, the interior coating was applied by airless spray equipment. “They first started applying the material in December 2005 when the temperature can get cold, so the ability to apply the coating in cooler weather was critical,” Brackman acknowledged.
“The fact that the coating can be applied as soon as seven days after the concrete is poured was another important factor,” Brackman said.
Series 90-97 Tnemec-Zinc, a two-component, zinc-rich aromatic urethane primer, was shop-applied to the decorative ornamental steel prominently displayed on the side of the parking structure. Once on the project site, the shop-applied primer was touched up using the same material. One coat of Series 73 Endura-Shield, an aliphathic acrylic polyurethane, and a finish coat of Series 1070 Fluoronar, a fluoropolymer, both in gray, were brush- and roller-applied.
“For this high-end type of property, the owner chose a system that would stand the test of time by providing outstanding corrosion resistance and exceptional long term color and gloss retention,” Brackman added.