A crew from Rescom Coatings Inc. was hard at work on Red Deer’s green onion Friday.
Work to repaint the Horton Spheroid water tower started on June 25 but has been a bit slow moving due to startup obstacles and recent high winds, said Jim Campbell, Rescom’s site manager in Red Deer.
The project is expected to cost the city close to $750,000.
A crew of five was washing and cleaning the structure’s exterior on Friday to remove loose dirt.
Workers were also starting to prep the surface where rust spots exist to make application of the new coating smooth, said Campbell.
Next, they will be “spot priming the bare areas” of the tower for corrosion protection.
A full coat will be applied to “fully encapsulate the existing coating and provide the bonding coat for the finish colour,” said Campbell.
Encapsulating is the process of applying specially designed products to cover existing paints, he explained.
“These new coatings bond to the existing paints to provide a barrier which can then be re-coated with polyurethane coatings . . . (this) will provide superior resistance to corrosion and will extend the life of the tower by many years and still retain its gloss without fading.”
The project is expected to wrap up by fall.