12 replies to this topic

[bottos.tanya]

We have painted steel beams in our meat processing plant, which we would like to cover with a permanent solution (like plastic?) instead of scraping off the old paint and repainting.

 

Has anyone come across this problem, and know of a company that can do this?

We are located in the East Coast, major city Philadelphia

 

Thank you

[Scotty_SQF]

Why repaint?  Just have a company come in to or have someone internal scrape off the paint and let it like that.  If you repaint you'll run into the same issue years down the road.  

 

I have yet to hear of a permanent solution to this other than getting them powder coated which is costly.  I would be interested to hear what others may have encountered.

[olenazh]

I don't understand either why you need to paint steel. Completely agree with Scotty_SQF: scrape the paint off and leave the beams as is.

[Scampi]

I'm sure the issue is that the beams will rust

 

We have the same problem and every year we scrap and paint

 

A high humidity or wet processing area and steel will always produce rust 

[MDaleDDF]

we also have to scrape and paint every year......

[G M]

I don't understand either why you need to paint steel....

 

The rust itself can flake off.  If a piece of equipment or structure shows any sign of rust, our inspectors insist it be reconditioned or removed from the production area.

 

We resurface and repaint lots of things every year.  A durable polymer coating that is more durable than paint sounds nice, but it is probably also expensive.

[kingstudruler1]

do you use paint or a more durable coating like amerlock or rust grip?

[jfrey123]

Old plant I worked at reached out to a company that does the heat shrink wrap for boats to seal open beam wood insulated ceilings in the warehouse space they occupied.  They had them go up and install the plastic over our production areas and every SQF or customer auditor complimented the out-of-the-box idea.  Weather-proof, durable, cleanable, and in my years at that facility we didn't have any issues with tearing or anything.

[Salmus]

Old plant I worked at reached out to a company that does the heat shrink wrap for boats to seal open beam wood insulated ceilings in the warehouse space they occupied.  They had them go up and install the plastic over our production areas and every SQF or customer auditor complimented the out-of-the-box idea.  Weather-proof, durable, cleanable, and in my years at that facility we didn't have any issues with tearing or anything.

 

Sorry, could you explain a bit clearer what they did by installing the plastic over your production area?

Did they coat the ceiling to prevent water leaking?

[jfrey123]

Sorry, could you explain a bit clearer what they did by installing the plastic over your production area?

Did they coat the ceiling to prevent water leaking?

 

I attached a photo as an example of the shrink wrap applied to boats.  They used the same material to wrap all exposed beams and cover large open spaces of the ceiling in areas where product would be opened or worked.

 

The purpose was not to prevent water leaking.  Water leaks should be addressed on top of a roof before they can intrude down and drip from a ceiling.  This wrap was installed to encapsulate the metal beams and exposed insulation in the open ceiling, preventing any debris from falling down into the production area.

 

 

Edited by jfrey123, 09 December 2022 - 04:22 PM.

[MDaleDDF]

Hmmmm.   I've been shrink wrapping boats for years, and I don't know that that would fly with my inspector....

 

Is it food safe?  No.   Metal detectable?   No.  

 

That stuff is not nearly as tough as you'd think, and over time stretches, rips, etc.  I'm not saying it's a no go, but I'd tread lightly on that....Great for keeping snow off a boat, but I dunno about in my building for food stuff.....

[jfrey123]

Hmmmm.   I've been shrink wrapping boats for years, and I don't know that that would fly with my inspector....

 

Is it food safe?  No.   Metal detectable?   No.  

 

That stuff is not nearly as tough as you'd think, and over time stretches, rips, etc.  I'm not saying it's a no go, but I'd tread lightly on that....Great for keeping snow off a boat, but I dunno about in my building for food stuff.....

 

 

Eh, they'd had it for 10+ years before I came along to the plant.  I'm sure there are different thicknesses available, and this stuff was really thick and strong.  And given it wasn't touched except for a dry cleaning a couple of times a year, not much risk of damage to it.  Their use of it was to help safety-fy a very old 30 ft high warehouse that we didn't own.  Many other ceiling materials are neither food safe nor metal detectable either.  Many auditors we talked about it with, including FDA, thought it was a novel idea and didn't see any problems with it.

 

I'd never suggest it's the best fix for everyone, but just wanted to show that some outside-the-box thinking, applied with careful consideration, can offer affordable solutions in unlikely places.

[Brothbro]

Is there not some kind of epoxy solution that would cover the beams in a foodgrade material more durable than simple paint? I don't have direct experience with this, but companies like the one linked below seem to advertise solutions. I googled "epoxy covering steel beams" for results similar to this. It may be worth calling one of these business to see what they offer.

 

https://tmicoatings....ams-case-study/