MEXICO, MO www.BrickCityPainting.com (573) 473-7186

A Precarious Ceiling Paint Job

The crew triple-bagged the expensive robotics equipment over which they would be painting.

Dana Inc.’s Columbia, Mo., manufacturing facility delivers powertrain systems used in a wide range of commercial and industrial vehicles. As the company began its transformation to higher levels of automation, it wanted to make some additional updates—on the ceiling. The Brick City Painting & Drywall team was called in to repaint sundries that included all of the facility’s ceilings, as well as guardrails, doors and miscellaneous walls, many at height or in tight spaces.

However, the biggest challenge, according to Brick City owner Chad Jeffries, was working over more than $150 million in brand-new robotics equipment. For additional peace of mind and protection, the crews began by triple-bagging the equipment with plastic so that if one layer broke there were two backups beneath. Fortunately, the robotics had a fairly small footprint, allowing the team to get in relatively easily with their articulating and scissor lifts.

The Brick City crew applied specific colors to previously black piping to track specific pipe types.

The structure had its share of water stains and failing insulation seams. The three painting crew members to put in detailed hand-cleaning of surfaces in intricate spaces, and lots of vacuuming, to get surfaces ready for coating. They painted the ceilings with Benjamin Moore Dry Fall in eggshell before turning to the piping. The piping system that ran overhead was all black, and each pipe was labeled to indicate what flowed through it. The painting crew was asked to update that with a color scheme, painting pipes in vibrant colors to make the piping purpose more clearly visible to maintenance staff.

The project was completed in two phases, each lasting 30 days and interrupted by numerous delays that included scheduled plant tours. These delays could have pushed the team off schedule, but instead they pushed through on weekends and nights to meet the required deadline.

The ceiling sported water stains and failing insulation seams that demanded plenty of prep.   The project required industrial products knowledge and a high level of attention to safety.

Key Products

• Sherwin-Williams ProBlock Primer
• Benjamin Moore Dry Fall