Coatings
for Poles
and Towers
Madison Chemical
pioneered the concept of using of polyurethane coatings for tubular
structures over 20 years ago and has led the industry ever since.
Throughout that period, our CorroCote® II Classic
brand name has become so ubiquitous that applicators don’t
just talk about coating poles, they talk about “CorroCoting” them.
Raising the bar on
quality has been our first priority over the years. In 1993,
Madison commenced a training and certification program for coating
application technicians. In 1998, we developed ISO 9001-compliant
Quality Assurance Documentation; over the intervening decade since
then, this documentation has been adopted to some extent by
virtually every major manufacturer of transmission poles in
America. In 2002, Madison authored and published a Power Pole
Coatings Manual™, the first and only document of its type ever
prepared for this industry. Today, that manual resides in the
library of almost every company involved in the fabrication,
galvanizing or coating of embedded tubular structures in North
America.
But that is only the beginning. Since the turn of the century,
Madison has invested over $100,000 in research specifically for the
benefit of this industry. Summarizing some of our findings, a
senior member of Madison’s Research and Development team wrote a
comprehensive technical paper on the state of the art as it was in
2003 and presented the paper as part of the Steel Structures
Painting Council annual conference that year. To view that
technical paper, please
click here.
This body of research
has led to a broader knowledge of the complexities of surface
preparation, the role of equipment maintenance, the promulgation of
standardized applicator techniques and a greater ability to predict
service life. Today, it is literally possible to decide on the
desired service life and then design a system that will attain that
lifespan. Choose from basic protection to multi-decade design life;
with Madison coatings, it all a matter of choice.
Madison’s most recent
breakthrough comes in the form of PoleClad 100®, a pair
of products that bring together the accumulated knowledge of two
decades of service to the power industry. These unique formulations
eliminate the need for abrasive blasting, thereby ensuring a more
uniform result, avoiding disruption of the substrate and reducing
costs. The product is available in both an aromatic version, for
embedded service, and an aliphatic version, for aboveground service.
Although the Madison
name is usually associated with embedded structures, we also have
the industry’s widest range of coatings for protecting aboveground
steel structures in virtually every climate. Temperature extremes,
abrasive winds, blazing sunlight, salt water, ice and snow are all
in a day’s work. Unlike other “paint-like” coatings, Madison’s
polyurethane-based polymers have the power of a high cross-linked
density to prevent aggressive elements from penetrating through to
the steel.
The list of products
in the table below illustrates the breadth of offering. CorroCote
II Classic® continues to this day to be the workhorse of
the embedded pole industry. This one-coat self-priming
fast-throughput product today quietly protects hundreds of thousands
of poles all across North America. It has been approved for
embedded structures by UL for over 30 years! Its Mix-and-Apply
cousin, CorroCote ‘S” ®, handles like paint, making it
ideal for field touch-up and repair. With the recent addition of
PoleClad 100® Aromatic and Aliphatic, the pole
manufacturer has more options than ever. The aromatic version is
ideal for below grade service and the Aliphatic version, which
consists predominantly of immersible marine grade resins, can be
used both above and below grade. With both of these products, the
applicator has the option of switching to a simple one-step acid
etch pre-treatment rather than blast the steel. The performance
normally associated with a white metal blast can now be achieved in
a less invasive, more controllable way.
For pedestal mounted
structures and the upper portion of embedded structures, there is a
wealth of choice. In addition to the one coat, fast set, plural
component choice offered by PoleClad 100® Aliphatic,
there are a number of more paint-like systems. We suggest focusing
first on AlumiZinc ‘S’®, the world’s leading edge zinc
rich primer (works well over galvanized whether it has been blasted
or simply acid etched or sanded). It can be used on its own (two
coats suggested) to impart a pleasing, silver gray patina or
topcoated with several products.
The two topcoats we
particularly recommend over AlumiZinc ‘S’® are
AcrylaThane® 5200 and Tufsheen PreCatalyzed®.
AcrylaThane® 5200 is an aircraft grade Mix-and-Apply
polymer product reinforced with NanoShield™, an additive consisting
of extremely fine nano-spheres of real ceramic. The only other
place you will find that type of technology is on prestige German
automobiles:- seriously! If you are committed to quality longevity,
look no further. TufSheen PreCatalyzed® is, as the name
suggests, a ready to use alternative; just open the can, give it a
stir, and put it on. It sets more slowly than its sibling but the
foolproof format makes it the ideal choice for field applications.
We haven’t forgotten
other substrates. All of these products work equally well on
weathering steel, including the acid etch feature of PoleClad 100®.
That’s right; it is now possible to prepare weathering steel for
severe service without the expense and effort of a white metal
blast. We even have systems that work over pre-painted metal. If
it’s tubular, we have a solution.
Whatever your role in
this industry – manufacturer, third party applicator, consultant,
trade association, utility or academic – if you are not talking to
us, you are not talking to the right company. We’ve been ahead of
the curve all the way, today moreso than ever.
