MRO Today - Five ways spray paint helps protect against winter weather

Five ways spray paint helps protect against winter weather

In many parts of the country, winter flurries will be approaching soon, accompanied by extreme temperatures, slush and sleet. Each year American industry is charged with approximately $7 billion in losses resulting from corrosion of machinery, buildings and equipment. To prepare for the bitter elements ahead, Rust-Oleum Corp. offers these tips on using spray paint to safeguard buildings and equipment:

1. Protect outside building structures before the harsh cold appears. Metal on storage tanks, forklifts, utility towers, trucks, stadium seating, fences, gutters and roofing can easily rust during the winter and is harder to repair after corrosion. For extra muscle, add a rust-preventative primer on rusted, bare or previously painted metal.

2. Retouch paint on indoor operating systems such as motors and heavy manufacturing equipment, to provide year-round corrosion protection. Maintenance repair operators, facility managers, and plant engineers may consider overcoating existing coated surfaces to eliminate peeling, cracking and abrasions from incidental impacts during the winter season.

3. Consider applying anti-slip aerosol paint to slick indoor and outdoor surfaces. The National Safety Council states that about 14,000 people die every year as a result of a fall, the second leading cause of accidental death. Handrails, stairs, walkways and ramps all need preventative coatings against slip-and-fall accidents. Anti-slip aerosols also resist chemicals and other harsh substances.

4. Recheck special instructional markings for visual accuracy and attention. Maintenance repair operators, facility managers and plant engineers can use spray paint to outline a space for fire extinguishers, to stencil instructions, room numbers and arrows on walls and other metal surfaces, and to create color-coded marks on industrial piping to differentiate between utilities. Power plants, hospitals and food processing plants need to pay special attention to color-coded pipes and should be careful about maintaining the vibrancy of the colors to eliminate confusion or an emergency situation.

5. Touch-up small items that need regular preventative maintenance. Handcarts, file cabinets, racks, lockers and metal doors are easy to touch-up with spray paint and a new coat will prevent fading, rusting and chipping during the heavy-weather seasons.

“With the winter season approaching, smart maintenance repair operators, facility managers and plant engineers will think ahead and consider preparing their facilities for the toughest weather," said Rust-Oleum’s manager of technical/support services, Roy Carlsten. "Spray paints are ideal for touch-up applications since they’re convenient to use. With a little preventative maintenance, companies can save literally millions of dollars in property losses.”

Rust-Oleum provides high quality spray paints for every industrial coating need. Two fast-drying formulas are available:

• Industrial Choice Multipurpose Spray Paint - Designed specially for mild to moderate industrial environments, Industrial Choice Multi-Purpose Spray Paint delivers the optimum balance of performance and value. Industrial Choice dries to the touch in 12 minutes or less and is perfect for everyday projects, both indoors and outside, on items such as: tools, cabinets, handrails, ducts, vents, ladders, furniture, lockers and more.

• Hard Hat Rust-Preventative Spray Paint - When maximum performance is needed for tough environments, hard hat rust-preventive aerosols offer durable protection against corrosion and weathering. These products are designed to save time, money and worry, while providing superior performance and excellent appearance.

For more information on Rust-Oleum Corporation Industrial Choice and Hard Hat Spray Paints, call 1-800-769-6565 visit www.rustoleum.com.