There are several good reasons to maintain the painted interior of a production facility. A clean and aesthetically pleasing environment improves employee motivation and promotes a professional atmosphere for client and investor walk-throughs.

In the case of this production facility, used to manufacture soaps, makeup, and skin care products, a sterile environment is required within their production areas at all times. The FDA maintains strict guidelines that must be followed when painting in production areas of this kind. The surfaces that required work were surrounded by sensitive equipment and mixing containers.

Cleaning and repainting this facility required attention to detail, a careful approach, and the ability to work around a tight and unyielding schedule.

Before the project began, a jobsite meeting was scheduled so that our project foreman and the facility’s operations manager could review these requirements, ensuring that all processes and materials used would meet FDA standards and all project goals would be met.

The first step was to make sure all water sensitive or electrical equipment was carefully masked. Then, the surfaces receiving paint were chemically cleaned and power washed, removing any contaminants that could interfere with proper paint adhesion. The surfaces were then hand sanded and power washed to ensure the removal of any loose paint or rust, followed by another round of power washing.

The final step before paint application involved patching and caulking any pre-existing damage to the substrate with urethane sealant.

Because of the harsh chemical environment, a chemical and abrasion-resistant coating was selected for application. As a primer coat, the team applied Sherwin Williams B58W610 Macropoxy 646, and two full finish coats of Sherwin Williams B65W961 Fast Clad Urethane. These products have excellent adhesion, color, and gloss retention properties, and will also withstand exposure to chemicals and abrasion.

The right people, products, and processes helped to make this job a success.