Water tanks play a critical role in ensuring a reliable and safe water supply for communities, industries, and agriculture. To maintain their longevity and structural integrity, protective coating systems are essential. However, not all coatings are created equal, and selecting the right one is crucial for the tank’s performance and durability.
In a repainting two identical 500,000-gallon wash water tanks, Aqua PA (Owner), MBA (Engineer/Inspector), IK Stoltzfus (Contractor) and Induron Protective Coatings (Coatings Supplier) were afforded the opportunity to directly compare costs, application process and performance of two different coatings systems.
Comparing the coating systems
The existing coating systems on the two wash water tanks located in the King of Prussia Water Treatment plant had exhausted their ability to protect the tanks. Consequently, both the interior and exterior of the tanks required repainting. Check out the details of the project and coatings systems below.
Surface Preparation:
Interior – SP10 Blast Clean
Exterior – SP6 Blast Clean
Left Tank Coating System:
Interior:
Primer: MC67 (zinc) @ 2.5 – 3.5 mils DFT
Stripe Coat:PE 70 (Epoxy) @ 2.0 – 4.0 mils DFT
Finish: Permaclean 100 (Ceramic Epoxy) @ 25 – 35 mil DFT
Exterior:
Primer: MC67 (zinc) @ 2.5 – 3.5 mils DFT
Intermediate: PE70 (Epoxy) @ 2.0 – 4.0 mils DFT
Finish: Permagloss (Flurourethane) @ 2.0 – 4.0 mil DFT
Right Tank Coating System:
Interior:
Primer: Ceramaprime @ 2.0 – 4.0 mils DFT
Stripe Coat: PE 70 (Epoxy) @ 2.0 – 4.0 mils DFT
Finish: Permaclean 100 (Ceramic Epoxy) @ 25 – 35 mil DFT
Exterior:
Primer: Ceramaprime @ 2.0 – 4.0 mils DFT
Intermediate: PE70 (Epoxy) @ 2.0 – 4.0 mils DFT
Finish: Permagloss (Flurourethane) @ 2.0 – 4.0 mil DFT
As you can see, the coatings systems were identical except for the primers. The right tank utilized Ceramaprime Ceramic Epoxy as the primer for both the interior and exterior.
The results: A standardized primer
Because of the ease of application, performance, and cost savings, Aqua has standardized on Ceramaprime as their interior and exterior tank coating primer. Since these tanks were painted, Ceramaprime has been successfully applied on their last 15 tank rehabilitation projects.