When developers of the 324,000-square-foot Northgate North retail center went shopping for protective coatings to use on decorative and structural steel, Tnemec coating consultant Torin Mowbray rang up the sale. “It was a huge, mixed-use facility that included retail, restaurants and a multi-level parking garage,” Mowbray recalled. “The architects picked some really wild colors for use on store canopies to attract people into the center and bright aluminum was used on decorative steel that went up multiple levels of the building’s exterior.”
Approximately 350 gallons of Series 90-97 Tneme-Zinc, a two-component, zinc-rich urethane primer, were shop-applied at 2.5 to 3.5 mils DFT on all steel surfaces. Another 300 gallons of Series 66 Hi-Build Epoxoline, a polyamide epoxy spray-applied at 2.0 to 6.0 mils DFT, were used as the intermediate coat. Nearly 100 gallons of Series 73 Endura-Shield, a semi-gloss polyurethane coating applied at 2.0 to 5.0 mils DFT, were required for the finish coat wherever opaque colors were specified. “Royal blue, black, white and bright yellow were some of the colors we used,” Mowbray noted. “We call these gingerbread jobs because they involve all the canopies and stairs, as well as large structural columns. In the parking garage, nearly 200 bollards were coated with safety yellow.”
An estimated 200 gallons of Series 1077 Enduralume, an acrylic polyurethane containing a sparkle aluminum pigment that creates an aesthetic metallic finish, were required for the exterior decorative and structural steel. “The architect specified a roller application with a 3/8-inch nap because he wanted the surface to appear spangled, which is a term used to describe the galvanized look on metal sheets,” Mowbray explained. “Even when they sprayed the coating on, they chased it with a roller to achieve the desired effect.”
Nearly 60 gallons of Series 76-763 Endura-Clear, a clear aliphatic acrylic polyurethane with a satin finish, were roller-applied over the Enduralume to reduce the sheen.
“The real trick was to match the structural elements to a decorative, galvanized façade,” Mowbray added. “The architect didn’t want to have a different looking system on the exterior components. Everyone was very happy with the project because it looks like a galvanized finish.”
Northgate North is anchored by a 165,000-square-foot Target Store with Best Buy occupying 50,000 square feet. The project lies just north of Northgate Mall, a well-established 1 million square foot enclosed mall.