[TowerTalk] Removing Tower Paint From Galvanized Tower Sect

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  I will be undertaking a major tower project next year with  gently used 
Rohn
55 tower sections. I bought 18 sections for a insanely great  price and they
were in almost new condition. The only issue is they are all  painted red or
white.

>  The wife would like to see the new tower (180ft tall)  not painted and
returned to its deep gray galvanization. I tested the paint  on the tower
sections and it does *not* contain lead paint. 


>  What is the best way to remove this paint and leave the  zinc galvanizing
intact? My crazy idea is to build a 'tub' that will hold a  section,
submerge it in the tub filled with chemical paint stripper and use a  broom
to brush off the paint. Or am I over thinking this.   :-)
 
    I'd suggest just re-painting the tower with cold  galv. You can get it 
in spray cans or gallon buckets.  Do a decent prep job  and the coating will 
last some years. WAY too much work to take the red and  white paint off! 
The red and white paint will protect the galvanizing  underneath! Talk about 
your belt-and-2 sets of suspenders - hi.
 
    When you get to the painting part, I'd also suggest  some paint gloves. 
Tower monkeys use them to paint towers. You just dip your  hand in the 
paint and apply directly. Reasonably cheap and fast. 
 
Cheers & GL,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH