Featured by CNN/Money as one of “America’s Best Small Towns,” the Village of Waunakee, Wisconsin, knows the importance of a positive image, which could explain why its highly visible elevated water tank features Tnemec’s advanced technology fluoropolymer coating system. “The previous coating system was nearing the end of its useful life,” Tnemec coating consultant Cory Erickson explained. “The tank had an aluminum exterior finish with ‘Waunakee’ in block lettering, but the Village wanted to replace it with its logo that included a silhouette of prairie grass and a bird against a sunset.”
Exterior steel was prepared in accordance with SSPC-SP6/NACE No. 3 Commercial Blast Cleaning, then stripe coated with Series N140 Pota-Pox Plus, a polyamidoamine epoxy. Nearly 35 gallons of Series 73 Endura-Shield, an aliphatic acrylic polyurethane, were applied as an intermediate coat to provide additional film thickness for corrosion resistance.
Approximately 22 gallons of Series 700 HydroFlon, a fluoropolymer topcoat, were brush- and roller-applied using colors from the Village logo, including Waunakee Purple, Design Orange, Winter Mist and Tank White. The purple color used for the lettering was also applied to the lower portion of the tank bowl to hide condensation staining and mildew. “The finish coating provides the tank’s exterior with enhanced protection against ultraviolet (UV) light degradation, abrasion and chalking,” Erickson noted. “It also provides the added benefit of long-term gloss and color retention for an aesthetically pleasing logo.”
Interior steel was prepared in accordance with SSPC SP-10/NACE No. 2 Near-White Blast Cleaning and primed with 28 gallons of Series 91-H2O Hydro-Zinc, an aromatic zinc-rich urethane. Another 90-gallons of Series N140 were applied as a stripe coat and two full coats to the tank’s interior steel. Both Series 91-H2O and Series N140 are certified in accordance with NSF/ANSI Standard 61 for use on interior potable water tanks.
For its aesthetic graphic design, the Village of Waunakee water tank was named as a runner-up in Tnemec’s 2011 Tank of the Year competition.