The government and all their regulations, right? Federal law says that all towers must be properly illuminated and/or
painted; if they are difficult to see, they may become a danger to air traffic. Which would be… bad.
Obviously, remove any existing rust, old cracked paint, or general gunk that might have built up on the tower. A good
wire brush is helpful here. Next up is primer.
TowerPlex Acrylic Bonding Primer is the best solution to prevent corrosion and guarantee that the next step, the paint, has a fighting chance.
The paints have to be specific colors, which are chosen by the government. Â Tower paint must be the Federal Standard 595 color #17875 for
white and #12197 for
aviation orange. These colors provide excellent contrast which can be seen from a very long way away. Plus, they make the tower stand out. Nuclear fission white and neon orange aren’t exactly colors that are too common in nature.
If your tower isn’t the right color… lookout. Heavy fines could be coming your way. GME Supply’s
handy color chart gives you an easy way to check compliance. It’s simple to use, just compare the chart to the tower with the windowed scale. The colors represent the minimum and maximum color saturation, as well as the limits for lightness, darkness, redness, and yellowness.
Alright… so you’ve used the color chart to determine what you need to paint. After you get the tower paint, how are you planning to apply it? Painter’s mitts are a great solution. They’re lined so your hand doesn’t become a federal standard color. Plus the synthetic fabric is very durable. You could also use a good old paintbrush, but it’s not the most popular way.
How much paint do you need? That’s tough to say. Every tower is different, and depending on the weather conditions, the paint may go on easier. We can confidently say that the suggested coverage is 296 ft
2 per gallon at 2 mil dry, assuming you didn’t let ANY paint drip… We’re not that neat of painters.
Check out the product page for more information on coverage and application. You can always hang on to extra paint, but applying the paint too thin to make it go farther isn’t a great idea. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
