Tag Archives: Kendall Smith

Georgia Power Concrete Poles: Not Your Usual Specification

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By: Kendall Smith, Induron Power Market Manager

Usually, the coatings specifications for T&D structures are predictable. For example, in North America, weathered galvanized, high-voltage, electric transmission poles, towers and substation structures are often protected with sealers and coatings that are surface-tolerant, low stress on aged coatings, easy-to-apply, high-solids, high-build, and proven to protect for 20-25 years in one or two coats. Continue reading Georgia Power Concrete Poles: Not Your Usual Specification →

Induron Market Manager Interviewed for IEEE

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IEEE, (pronounced “Eye-triple-E”), stands for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The association is dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity and is the world’s largest technical professional society. Kendall Smith was honored to be asked to do an interview about Induron: Continue reading Induron Market Manager Interviewed for IEEE →

Specifying Coatings for T&D Structures

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By: Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Representative

When deciding how to specify coatings on T&D structures (lattice towers, poles, pylons, etc.), it’s important to realize that there are sometimes different “zones” on these structures. For instance, if a galvanized steel transmission pole is partly buried in soil, the below-grade portion is exposed to a different corrosion environment than the above-grade section. Likewise, the “transition zone” just above and below the ground line can present corrosion protection challenges.

So, before you buy it, coat it and bury it, consider the following corrosion variables.   Continue reading Specifying Coatings for T&D Structures →

The Importance of Goals, Part 3

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By Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Representative

Aim HigherGoals are very important to a small company like Induron. In our previous two blogs, you can read Linc York’s thoughts on making SMART goals and celebrating successes as well as how goal-setting has fueled Tex Enoch’s career.  Today, I’ll discuss how goal-setting can help your company compete with others.

In my opinion, the key to beating big companies that tend to have rigid goals (quotas) for sales is to aim high and have “the long game” in mind.  Continue reading The Importance of Goals, Part 3 →

The 9 Lives of Galvanized Steel, Part II

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By Linc York and Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Reps

The previous blog post, The 9 Lives of Galvanized Steel, Part I, describes the stages or conditions of galvanized metal as it ages or weathers. The pure zinc layer on the surface first reacts with oxygen to form zinc oxide, then that oxide layer reacts with moisture in the environment to form zinc hydroxide. Finally, zinc hydroxide reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to yield a thin, quite insoluble dull grey layer of zinc carbonate. Continue reading The 9 Lives of Galvanized Steel, Part II →

Defining the Best Solutions for Your Rusty Structure

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By Kendall Smith

As Induron Protective Coatings becomes more of an international company, it makes sense that we incorporate more and more global standards, guidelines and procedures into our written specifications. One such example of this trend is within the “T&D” coatings industry, or the painting of high-voltage electrical transmission lattice towers, steel poles and substation structures and equipment. Continue reading Defining the Best Solutions for Your Rusty Structure →

The 9 Lives of Galvanized Steel, Part I

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By Kendall Smith

Galvanized steel can be very tricky to paint! Just look at any stop light at any intersection or any galvanized gutter with paint peeling. Properly assessing the condition of galvanizing, properly specifying the cleaning/surface preparation and using the proper coating or paint CAN be difficult! You need to assess the condition of the galvanizing accurately, which most people never accomplish, partly because there are no readily available visual guides to show “before and after” photographs of new and weathered galvanizing. The first step is to define the stages of Hot Dipped Galvanized steel’s (HDG) life. Continue reading The 9 Lives of Galvanized Steel, Part I →

Shedding a Little Light on Induraguard

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By Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Rep

Most of us, thankfully, don’t have an aged-galvanized electrical transmission tower in our backyards. What we DO have, more often than not, is an old shed that’s probably seen better days.

That was the situation at the Smith residence recently. My trusty old backyard shed was in dire need of some TLC. If I’m perfectly honest, the rotting wooden shed needed to be torn down and taken out of its misery, but in a last-ditch effort to save myself the expense and time of building a new one, I slapped some Induraguard 9200 on it. Continue reading Shedding a Little Light on Induraguard →

Take me to your Leader (in corrosion control)

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By Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Rep

Marvin the Martian

Did you ever notice that when the future is portrayed in movies (especially in dystopian sci-fi movies), nothing gets properly maintained? There are no corrosion consultants specifying abrasive blasting, containments, chloride removal, 3-coat coating systems, spray application, etc?

Perhaps in the future there will be limited budgets for all the elements of a successful coatings job that people have come to believe are necessary. However, those elements are not always needed for a great coatings project.

So what would I recommend to a post-Armageddon society to keep rust at bay while keeping inter-galactic costs low? Induron’s Induraguard 9200 and E-Bond! Continue reading Take me to your Leader (in corrosion control) →

Let’s Face it – Linseed Oil Needs Help!

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By Kendall Smith, Induron Sales Rep

Let’s face it: when you’re trying to overcoat aged, failing coatings, badly weathered galvanized steel or even rusted carbon steel, linseed oil as a barrier coating needs all the fortification it can get.

Granted, modified linseed oil provides maximum wetting and penetration properties, as well as minimum curing stresses and disruption of the existing coating. But by itself, as a barrier coating, it would not hold out long against the elements (wind, rain, salt fog, sun, etc.).

So how do you get maximum barrier protection out of one high-build coat of modified linseed oil? Ask for it in the specification!

One purpose of a coatings specification is to be specific about what you want. High-build, properly pigmented linseed oil coatings have been providing excellent corrosion protection for 50 years when pigmented with functional pigments that provide an effective shield or barrier. Historically, once lead pigments were removed, those barrier properties have been best achieved with combinations of metallic zinc dust and other lamellar pigments, such as micaceous iron oxide and leafing aluminum.

When zinc is not used as galvanic protection (and at any concentration below 83 percent, it does NOT), it is best supplemented with platy-type pigments that orient themselves parallel with the substrate and overlap. These lamellar pigments align themselves much like mica. This lamellar formation creates a difficult pathway for the elements of corrosion to migrate through the system, and stops them from camping out on the vulnerable substrate, where corrosion cells will form and develop into pitting corrosion if moisture, salts and other corrosion inducers are left for any time at all.  Continue reading Let’s Face it – Linseed Oil Needs Help! →