In addition to its colorful design as an inflatable beach ball, the elevated water tower on U.S. Route 501 in Marion County, South Carolina, bears the county’s official slogan, “It’s just right,” which is also a fitting description for the tank’s fluoropolymer coating system from Tnemec. “The project’s specifying engineer, who has a long and successful history with Tnemec, reached out for help regarding an eye-popping tank,” coating consultant Nick Vause shared. “When the design moved toward a beach ball pattern with bright colors, the tank started to become a very high profile and visible project, which raised the bar in terms of expectations.”
“Exterior steel was power washed using a 5,000 psi sprayer with a rotating turbo nozzle to remove all loose paint, rust, dirt, scale and foreign matter,” Vause explained. Specifications also required the exterior to be prepared in accordance with SSPC-SP3 Power Tool Cleaning to remove rust and corrosion. Series 135 Chembuild, a modified polyamine epoxy for marginally prepared steel and tightly adhering old coatings, was used to prime the exterior, followed by a coat of Series 1075 Endura-Shield II, an aliphatic acrylic polyurethane that is highly resistant to abrasion, wet conditions and exterior weathering.
The specified finish coat was Series 700 HydroFlon, an advanced thermoset fluoropolymer with outstanding ultraviolet (UV) light resistance and excellent color and gloss retention. The aesthetically pleasing coating is recommended for coastal environments and on structures where extremely long-term maintenance cycles are desired.
“The coating contractor worked closely with Tnemec and the specifying engineer to create an incredible looking tank,” Vause observed. “Passersby are often seen pulled over on the side of the road taking pictures of the tank and both the county and the specifying engineer have had numerous conversations with curious and impressed visitors.”