Recently, the commercial painting team of Custom Painting, Inc. has completed a large warehouse project at Kairos Power. It is a nuclear research and testing facility located in Alameda, CA. The project is on an old Navy base because the site was an old hangar built in the 1940s. Before Kairos Power leased the building in 2017, it was used as a manufacturing building.
Custom Painting, Inc. was tasked with repainting Kairos Power during the winter months. With this, the team faced various challenges, including weather-related ones like rain and cold temperatures. If you are from Alameda or another San Francisco Bay city, you are likely aware of how the weather can be a problem during the winter season.
But even though the team faced issues, they were still able to succeed and have completed the project smoothly. Read on below to learn about these challenges and what we did to overcome them.
What are the Challenges We Faced?
Weather plays a significant role when it comes to exterior painting projects. It’s because it presents challenges that may affect the project’s overall outcome, such as extreme heat, intense winds, and heavy rains. That is why it is particularly important for painting companies always to monitor the weather conditions when painting exterior surfaces.
Below are some weather-related challenges our team faced while painting Kairos Power’s exterior. Learning how each of them affects exterior painting is important to achieve a successful outcome.
Rain
Heavy rain is among the major obstacles when it comes to exterior painting projects, and it is one of the challenges that Custom Painting, Inc. faced while repainting the exteriors of Kairos Power. Rain can wash away the paint and cause it to run or streak, leading to an uneven and unattractive finish.
You can take measures to minimize the impact of heavy rain on your painting projects. One of them is to monitor the weather forecast closely and plan the painting schedule accordingly, which is what our expert painters did. When rain is predicted, it is best to postpone the painting until the weather gets better. Aside from that, plastic sheeting or tarps can also be utilized to cover the painted areas and protect them from rain.
Cold Temperatures
Painting during cold temperatures also presents unique obstacles, which are experienced by Custom Painting, Inc. However, with a few strategies, the process can still be successful. One of the main challenges when painting exterior surfaces in colder weather is that the paint takes a lot longer to dry. This is quite frustrating as it can prolong the timeline of the project.
One solution to overcome this issue is by using paint that is specifically made for colder weather conditions. These paints are often made to dry fast at lower temperatures. Also, another issue with painting in cold weather is that the paint may not stick well to the surface. It’s because cold temperatures can cause the paint to become thick and less smooth. To solve this issue, preparing the surface before painting is especially important. You can also place the paint cans in a warm room or use a space heater to thin out the paint and make it easier to use.
Fog
Several paint issues may arise due to high humidity. When there is excessive humidity, fog occurs. Therefore, it is also not advisable to work on exterior painting tasks when there is a risk of fog. Excessive moisture in the air prevents paint from drying effectively and may cause major defects, such as bubbling and peeling, in the long run.
It is also not a good idea to paint immediately after a heavy fog or dew occurs. It’s because the wood will absorb a lot of dampness. Therefore, it is better to allow the surface to dry for at least a day or two to ensure that it is ready to be painted.
Wind
Wind is another enemy of paint. It’s because when you paint the exterior surfaces of a building on a windy day, the wind can blow dust and debris into the paint, ruining the project. It is also a struggle to dab a coat of paint when the wind is strong. Even if you can apply paint on surfaces, there is a high possibility that the results will not look good, as wind can make the paint dry fast, leading to inadequate film development.
In addition to that, painting exterior surfaces amid high winds is also dangerous as it might get you off the ladder or scaffolding while you are working. What our team did was to wait until the winds became less intense or just a gentle breeze, as it is an indication that it is safe to paint outside.
In addition to weather-related challenges, our team also faced a couple of other challenges during the Alameda project. One was that the warehouse had many windows. The team had to protect 10,000 window frames and glass panes from overspray and paint drops. It was a time-consuming process that included long and tedious work. But it is worth it as the project resulted in a clean look.
How We Overcame the Challenges
As we’ve mentioned earlier, even though our team experienced challenges during the exterior painting of Kairos Power, we were still able to finish it successfully.
Our crew had to keep paying close attention to the weather to adjust for any rain or wind. Furthermore, we needed to employ products that dry quickly in chilly settings, such as RESILIENCE by Sherwin-Williams, which can tolerate diverse weather conditions. While this increased the finishing time, it resulted in a surface lasting many years. Our contracts also included a phrase or wording that provides for additional time due to inclement weather if necessary.
The most typical problem was rain. It caused the freshly applied paint to dry on the surface but not entirely cured. This would result in water bubbles accumulating beneath the dried layer and alligator skin. We were delayed for about 20 days (approximately three weeks) owing to rain.
For the non-weather-related challenges, our team had to use brown masking paper and tape to protect 10,000 window frames and glass panes from paint. The process was time-consuming, but it helped us achieve a clean look.
Conclusion
A simple coat of paint can transform even an old commercial building to look and feel updated. It is also among the best ways to preserve buildings that have been around for many years. For the Custom Painting, Inc. team, the extreme weather was the biggest challenge while painting the exteriors of Kairos Power’s warehouse. But despite such challenges, we still successfully transformed and updated the building into a modern facility, which made the client satisfied.
Therefore, if you have purchased or leased an old commercial building and are planning to transform it into your new business space, we can help you. You can plan your future commercial painting and repainting projects with Custom Painting, Inc. To learn more about our services or request a free quote, you may call us at (510)-795-0903 or complete this online contact form.