[TowerTalk] Tower Painting Question

[W0UN -- John Brosnahan]

I'll just comment about the choice of paint color.  I think BLACK,
even low-gloss black is not the best choice.  Much better to
do a mid-gray color in my experience--assuming a sky background.

If you are in a pollution-free environment or at altitude I would
probably blend in a bit of blue with the gray.  Heavily wooded areas
would want green blended in with the gray.  Black is just TOO
unnatural to "disappear'--better to have some more neutral color
like gray.

73--John  W0UN

At 06:15 PM 5/24/2004, Doug Rehman wrote:

>I am in the process of putting a 50 year old three leg windmill tower
>(Aeromotor) up. It doesn't have any rust problem, although there is some
>light surface on the upper section. I am using a stainless steel brush to
>clean up the sections. I plan on two coats of paint before putting it up.
>The first coat is a zinc rich primer from Tractor Supply. The second coat is
>a heavy enamel tractor paint (low gloss black to make the tower less
>unsightly to the XYL).
>
>The tower is made out of angle stock. Before I paint it, I plan on taping
>off all of the areas where it bolts together to preserve a good electrical
>connection. Would the use of conductive paste on these areas be suitable for
>long term rust prevention? The use of cold galvanizing paint does not seem
>like a good idea; on the sample piece I tried it on, the coating exhibited
>up to about 100 ohms over a couple of inch lead spacing.
>
>I realize that the ideal would be to have the entire tower regalvanized, but
>that is way overkill for the very good condition it is in. If not for
>painting it black, I wouldn't be painting it all (aside from touching up the
>small amount of light surface rust.)
>
>Doug
>K4DDR
-------------- next part --------------

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.675 / Virus Database: 437 - Release Date: 5/2/2004