For several years, a highly visible water tank owned by Miramar, Florida, stood in stark contradiction to the city’s motto of “Beauty and Progress” until public officials decided to rehabilitate its faded exterior using fluoropolymer technology from Tnemec Company. “Although the tank is no longer used for water storage, several cellular telephone companies use it for cell tower installations,” acknowledged Tnemec coating consultant Mike Kendig. “It was in bad shape for many years in terms of aesthetics, so the city wanted an exterior coating system that would stand up to the wear and tear of South Florida sun exposure and give them a long service life.”
The existing alkyd exterior coating was evaluated and found to have adequate adhesion to be overcoated. Rusted areas were power-tool-cleaned, spot-primed and the entire tank was prepared in accordance with SSPC-SP1 “Solvent Cleaning”. The exterior was completely recoated with Series 135 Chembuild, a high-build polyamidoamine epoxy with superior wetting for marginally prepared rusted steel and tightly adhering older coatings. A finish coat of Series 700 HydroFlon, a fluoropolymer polyurethane, was applied to complete the system. HydroFlon provides long-term gloss and color retention, as well as outstanding resistance to ultraviolet light degradation. “Since the tank is located right next to the heavily traveled Florida Turnpike, the contractor was required to brush-androll most of the project,” according to Kendig. “They selected a beige color for the tank with the city’s name and logo showing palm trees on two sides.”
Cables anchoring the cell phone towers were coated with Series 35 HydroPlate, a self-crosslinking hydrophobic acrylic, which was spray-applied. “They were able to spray the HydroPlate because of its dry-fall capabilities,” Kendig noted.
“City officials were ecstatic with the way the project turned out because the contractor had some real weather issues during that time of the application,” Kendig added. “They had a pretty heavy rainy season, so they had to work around that, but he was still able to complete the project well within his allotted time period. The tank is now considered a landmark and also a source of revenue for the local government.”
Located in Broward County, the City of Miramar has experienced exceptional economic and community growth in recent years and is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other city in South Florida.