While product specification and substrate preparation are two key elements of successful painting projects, they are not the final element. To complete the application successfully, managers need to ensure workers apply the products properly.
To complete this phase of the project successfully, workers need to avoid common applications mistakes. The first step is to understand the material safety data sheet provided by the manufacturer.
“Every product has a data sheet, and on that data sheet it will tell you how to prep the substrate and how to apply the product,” Elliot says. “Many guys go out there and prep and apply like they have always done it, (but) maybe for this particular substrate or this particular coating system, it needed something different. Preparing and applying coatings according to the data sheet can drastically limit failures within the system.”
After properly preparing the substrate and applying the paint or coating, properly maintaining that substrate ensures optimal performance.
“There’s no such thing as maintenance-free,” Boyer says. “Some (paints and coatings) are lower maintenance, (and) some are easier maintenance, but there’s no such thing as maintenance-free. In general, coatings need to be maintained, and issues need to be properly addressed.
“Paints and coatings do require maintenance, and they do require the proper chemistries to maintain them beyond (using) just the generic pH neutral cleaner.”
Painting Projects That Perform
Specifying the Proper Paints and Coatings
How to Properly Apply Paints and Coatings
