Industrial Painting Services | RayAccess, Inc.

RayAccess provides unique solutions for painting industrial structures and facilities. The major point of difference compared to most industrial painting contractors is our ability to access, inspect, prepare, and paint the hardest-to-reach surfaces. With our industrial rope access capabilities, RayAccess is able to work safely and efficiently. 

Depending on the scope of your project, RayAccess technicians can paint the exterior of a one million square foot warehouse or just a select area at the top of a bridge or smokestack. 

Our expertise in industrial rope access, visual inspections, adhesion testing, procurement of industrial paint and protective coatings will keep your project both on time and on budget. Contact RayAccess, to maintain the durability, appearance, and regulation requirements for your industrial painting project.

Industrial Facilities & Structures We Serve:

Markets We Serve:

The number one ask for industrial painting is to protect against corrosion. Our licensed painting crew safely accesses and protects various structures at manufacturing plants, oil refineries, warehouses, towers, bridges, amusement parks, etc.

Industrial Painting via Industrial Rope Access Service Area:

Whether you need pressure washing & painting for a structural steel facility in San Diego or a local machine shop in LA, RayAccess technicians are waiting for your call. Based in Los Angeles, RayAccess, Inc. proudly serves the entire Southern California region and will travel for select industrial painting projects throughout the USA. 

Industrial Painting vs Residential Painting:

Industrial painting work is very different from a traditional house painter that is primarily concerned with aesthetics. More than just applying a fresh coat of paint, a successful industrial painting job results in more profitability for the enterprise it serves. The task involves assuring the performance of the paint job provides protection against fire, chemical spills, corrosion, and environmental conditions.

In addition, industrial painters can’t get in the way with day-to-day business operations. Since disruptions to employees can impact the bottom line, it’s important to find the most efficient way to perform the painting service with little to no disruptions. The workflow of industrial painting assignments include: developing the most efficient access plan, inspection and paint adhesion testing, cleaning and surface preparation, and applying multiple coats of paint when necessary.

Safety & Regulations: 

Industrial Rope Access:

It may be counterproductive to your production facility to hire industrial building painting companies that are only equipped with traditional painting techniques such as scaffolding, swing stages or boom lifts. A common challenge for any manufacturing plant is to maintain projected output levels while keeping costs down. Inflated maintenance costs and interruptions to daily operations can reduce output. 

RayAccess can save your industrial painting project on average 30-40% by combining traditional methods with advanced Industrial Rope Access techniques. By minimizing the use of heavy access machinery, our staff uses anchors and two-line rope pulley systems. The advantages of rope access include increased safety, speed of workers to access difficult areas, while carrying out their surface prep and painting work

Color Codings For Safety:

Regulations exist for maintaining the visibility of some industrial facilities. For example, cell towers over a certain height must be painted and illuminated with red lights to fulfill requirements for the aviation industry. Industrial painting contractors are familiar with the best colors to use for safety markings at industrial facilities. Below are the five main color codes for safety markings and sample application [1]:

• ANSI Safety Color: Red: fire signs
• ANSI Safety Color: Orange: low clearance 
• ANSI Safety Color: Yellow: PPE requirements
• ANSI Safety Color: Green: general sanitation guidelines and reminders
• ANSI Safety Color: Blue: communicate procedures and rules for maintenance

Proper Disposal Of Paint:

Paint is considered hazardous waste in California. California state law has penalties and fines for improper hazardous waste disposal. RayAccess technicians are trained to be in compliance with hazardous waste laws and proper disposal of paint so your facility remains safe for employees and the environment.

Affiliations & Insurance:

Affiliations: 

California leads the nation in environmental protection and worker safety. While maintaining Cal OSHA approved operating standards, RayAccess is a fully licensed contractor in the state of California. All technicians are trained and certified in compliance with SPRAT, IRATA, SAIA, and OSHA best practices. Our affiliations include:

• California Contractors State License Board
• Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians
• Scaffold & Access Industry Association
• Industrial Rope Access Trade Association
• National Association Of Corrosion Engineers

Insurance:

Fulfilling compliance requirements for clients in the industrial market, RayAccess has complete insurance coverage. Our typical coverage is one million workers’ compensation, two million general liability, five million excess liability, and one million commercial auto coverage. Regarding the insurance requirements of your industrial painting project, contact RayAccess customer service department.

Pre-paint Inspection:

Pre-paint inspection is critical for successfully planning industrial painting projects. As part of industrial painting services, RayAccess, Inc. provides visual inspections & adhesion testing to confirm the industrial coating system delivers peak performance. 

Pre-paint inspection of existing substrate condition is completed in the most efficient way possible, via industrial rope access with certified technicians, and advanced drones with certified drone pilots. RayAccess will access/inspect hard-to-reach areas in minutes instead of the hours it takes by conventional access methods. As an output, we provide high-quality imagery and video reports in addition to recommendations.

With NACE certified paint inspectors, adhesion testing ensures the right selection of the coating system. There will be an increased risk of your industrial painting project if pre-paint inspections are neglected.

Surface Preparation:

Inexperienced painting contractors often fail to prepare the surface area for industrial painting. In fact, millions of dollars are wasted annually on good coating systems that will prematurely fail because of improper application and poor surface preparation. RayAccess ensures the step for surface preparation is completed via water blasting, pressure washing, chemical stripping, sandblasting, etc.

A Closer Look At Industrial Paints: 

Components Of Industrial Paint: 

There are four components of industrial paint: pigments, binders, solvents, and additives.

Pigments: these solid very fine particle-sized powder, provide color and opacity to the paint coat. There are different kinds of pigments that can change the characteristics of paint. 

Binders: are polymers that provide for the possibility of forming a film after drying. Examples of binders include alkyd resins, acrylic resins, vinyl resins, epoxy resins, etc.

Solvents:  provide consistency and help paint maintain its stability in the container. Solvent-free paint has a high viscosity or resistance to flow.

Additives: are chemicals added in small proportions to the main components of paint for different purposes that include thickeners, dulling agents, wetting agents, drying agents, and many more.

Types Of Industrial Paints:

Alkyd paints: a highly flexible paint as formulators can adjust the components used to create custom alkyd coatings to adapt to a wide array of conditions. Oxygen is required to complete the chemical curing reaction for this paint. It takes longer to dry than other types of paint thus heat is often applied to speed up the drying process.

Epoxy paints:  consisting of a curing agent applied over epoxy base. This formula can be altered to create flexibility in the paints characteristics. Epoxy is a highly flexible paint to meet the demands of specific environments.

Polyurethane paints: a 2-component paint mixed to form a durable film. Has high ranks in durability, corrosion resistance, withstands scratches and abrasion. These paints have a shorter shelf life and require PPE, thus should only be applied by industrial painting contractors.

Acrylic paints:  a subcategory of polyurethane paint but made with high levels of additives and binders. Acrylic paints have high bonding properties which make it a great primer for adhesion. This paint has fewer pigment dispersants helping its ability to resist corrosion. 

Polyester paints: a subcategory of polyurethane paint with a higher solid content making it stronger but less flexible. Polyester paints are ideal for marine applications.

Characteristics of Paint After Drying: 

Appearance, scratchability, salt-resistance, gloss (PVC), adherence, weather resistance, covering power, flexibility, yellowing, color, resistance to abrasions, extreme temperatures, hardness.

Coating System: 

In order to achieve each project’s goals regarding protection and aesthetics, the application process can include the following coats: primer, intermediate, finishing.

Primer: serves as an anchor for the following coats of paint to ensure adhesion to substrate and resistance to corrosion. The primer contains a high PVC or pigment volume concentrate. 

Intermediate Coats: applied over the primer, with the goal of increasing the thickness of the paint system to avoid several finishing coats. Sometimes it isn’t necessary to have intermediate coats. The PVC is lower than primer but higher than finishing coats. 

Finishing Coats: the last coat(s) applied to the primer or intermediate coats. These are usually gloss paints to reflect light. Garnering best permeability and strength, thus having lowest PVC.

Benefits of Industrial Painting:

Lower Cooling Costs:

One financial benefit for painting an industrial facility is the reduction of HVAC costs and dependence on energy. Repainting properties & structures with lower pigment concentrations (PVC) and lighter colors, helps reflect sunlight & heat away. The more light reflected the less heat attracted to your property.

A paint (PVC), is the ratio of pigment to binder. Low PVC paints will give a finish a glossier appearance. Lower pigment concentrations allow more white light to be reflected by the binder material from the surface, giving it a shiny or wet appearance.

Halting Corrosion:

Metal surfaces are subject to corrosion, due to environmental conditions such as rain, smog, and salt deteriorating ocean air. Their properties of strength and durability eventually decline when corrosion takes place. This is very common in Los Angeles, given the pollution and close proximity to the ocean.

However, corrosion can be stopped by painting and protecting the metal surface area. A layer of paint film can modify the reaction metal has with the environment.  Hiring steel painters will help against corrosion.

Beautification:

Painting the exterior or interior of your industrial property is a cost effective way to improve aesthetics for your workers or the public. The attractiveness of your property or structure reflects directly on the quality of your business.

Alternative Services:

Industrial Rope Access:

Besides being the preferred method for industrial painting, industrial rope access can be an effective method for cleaning and maintenance. 

Cell Tower Painting:

Industrial painting cell towers will protect your asset’s durability and appearance, while fulfilling the requirements of the FAA.

Mullion Painting:

Mullion painting helps reinforce the long term protection of your building’s window frames by preventing water intrusion. 

Power Washing:

Power washing building exteriors get rid of eyesores to keep your property looking clean and healthy. 

Commercial Caulking:

High access caulking and visual inspections keep your buildings and high structures resistant to water intrusion.

Getting an estimate:

Just like any industrial rope access project, a RayAccess proposal depends on the scope of our work. Due to efficiencies in rope access, our technicians are able to reach your facility or structure the safest and most cost-efficient way possible. Whether our team conducts a property walk or the plant manager or owner provides us with specifications, a complete understanding of the property and building substrate is needed. A pre-paint inspection may be required. Industrial painting proposals can only be accurate if the necessary planning is completed. 

Benefits of Hiring RayAccess for Industrial Painting:

High Access Expertise:

Unlike most industrial painting companies, we are experienced with using the full spectrum of high access equipment including ladders, man lifts, suspended platforms, and industrial rope access. RayAccess technicians have certifications in rope access with SPRAT and IRATA safe practices.

Project Management:

Communication is a major part of any project with RayAccess. We hire experienced project managers that have thousands of industrial jobs under their belt. RayAccess project managers provide a high level of coordination with production managers and plant engineers.

Coating System Procurement: 

We have the right experience needed to select the appropriate coating system for long lasting results. RayAccess provides a 12-36 month labor warranty on our industrial paint work, and the paint manufacturers provide a 10-20 year warranty depending on the product.

References:

1. ANSI Safety Colors. Creative Safety Supply. https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/glossary/ansi-safety-colors/