In our recent blog on Rust-Oleum Training we mentioned the training our Technical Team receive. Not so long ago one of the team, Ben, wrote a post on his experiences of his intensive Rust-Oleum Training session. We thought you might like to read it.
Ben’s Thoughts
After a busy day at the Promain office my journey began with a mad rush to get to the train station, in time for a trip to Newcastle. I arrived at the station with minutes to spare – and tickets still to collect.
Tickets in hand, I ran down to the platform and the train was 10 minutes late – typical!
Arriving in Newcastle at 9.30pm, I found my hotel and got my head down – I knew the next two days were going to be crammed with information.
Promain are the leading UK distributors of Rust-Oleum products. I’ve worked here, in the Technical Department, for nine months and have already learnt so much about paints and coatings. However, Rust-Oleum offer training courses to help their distributors and contractors gain expert knowledge of their worldwide leading products.
The course is run by Rust-Oleum’s Technical Services Manager and his introduction included an explanation of RPM International, who are the holding group behind Rust-Oleum, Tor, Zinsser, Watco and many more.
I was given a brief history on how Rust-Oleum began in 1921 and how they’ve progressed over the years. It was then emphasised that whether a substrate is …
- metal cladding on a building
- machinery in a factory
- concrete repair work or a concrete floor
… all substrates need protection against daily use, corrosion and the effects of sunlight and rain etc.
The training was detailed and thorough – I have just given a brief outline, below, of the products described on the course.
Metal Coatings
The Rust-Oleum 769 Damp Proof Primer started it all for Rust-Oleum and was the first product to be dealt with on the course. It’s a damp-proof rust primer containing a unique fish oil formulation which penetrates the rusted metal, driving out trapped moisture and air. A variety of primers for various metal substrates were also mentioned briefly. For example:
- Rust-Oleum 569/580 Fast Drying Primer, which is a quick drying metal primer
- High-Build 1060/1080 a heavy duty metal primer
- 3202 Galvinoleum Adhesion Primer for galvanised steel
Rust-Oleum 7500 Alkythane Gloss was the next product in the spotlight. This solvent based single pack high performance top coat for metal contains anti-corrosive properties and is also UV resistant. You can apply it in one coat (or two, in a more aggressive environment). The 7500 Gloss is a very popular product at Promain. It’s a product which you can use for many purposes and is available in most RAL and BS colour codes too.
Anti-Corrosive Protection for Roofs & Metal Cladding
Rust-Oleum’s flagship product is the Noxyde Anti-Rust Cladding and Steel Paint. It’s used on the Golden Gate Bridge, which we were reminded of on several occasions!
However, this product IS a fantastic single pack, water based roof coating, due to its excellent adhesion properties and anti-corrosive nature. It is incredibly flexible and provides excellent corrosive protection against all weather conditions.
With a 10 year life expectancy, subject to the correct application of the product, Rust-Oleum can supply a guarantee (following a site inspection).
Rust-Oleum’s Peganox Metal Cladding Paint is Noxyde’s sister product – it’s a product that’s designed to be brush and roller applied (whereas application of Noxyde is with a spray), onto surfaces such as wall cladding.
Finally, Rust-Oleum Pegarust Solvent Based Noxyde is a solvent based. It is a rust preventing coating that you can apply in temperatures down to minus 5 degrees Celsius.
The ongoing thread that ran through the course was a strong focus on guaranteeing that we were aware of the importance of preparation; CLEAN,DEGREASE, ABRADE is a constant mantra.
There were also regular reminders to read the product Technical Data Sheets and Safety Sheets (MSDS) to ensure correct preparation and application methods too.
Floor Coatings
Rust-Oleum Pegakote Floor Paint was the next product to be tackled.
This is another very popular, industrial strength product. Pegakote is a two-pack epoxy floor coating that is water based, easy to use, tint-able and almost odourless.
It’s a self-priming paint on porous substrates (dilute with 10-20% water) and has exceptional abrasion and chemical resistance. This makes it an ideal product for garages, workshops, warehouses, showrooms and indoor car parks.
The solvent based Rust-Oleum 9100 High Performance Epoxy System is suitable for metal or concrete floors, in more aggressive environments. 9100 contains rust inhibitive pigments as well as having great protection against strong chemical and solvent damage.
Cooling things down, you can apply Rust-Oleum ColdMax Rapid 9700 in very low temperatures. Very useful at this time of year. It is a rapid curing coating for internal and external use.
Repair Paint
Rust-Oleum Fillcoat and Rust-Oleum Fillcoat Fibres are two products. You can apply them directly to wet surfaces and will instantly seal leaks. Again, two great products for this time of year. Perfect for repairing leaking gutters, felt roofs and eaves.
You can reinforce Fillcoat using the Dacfill Fleece. However, Fillcoat Fibres contains elastic polyester fibres providing in built extra strength.
Over the whole course, the most surprising fact that I learnt, was that Fillcoat Fibres can actually be applied to a submersed substrate to stop a leak. In other words, you can apply it under water.
Flat Roof and Asbestos Coatings
From leaking roofs to flat ones … ageing asphalt and bitumen felt roofs will eventually need repairing and Rust-Oleum Dacfill HZ Rubber Paint is THE ideal 10 year system for flat and asbestos roofs.
Dacfill HZ is a water based two pack paint which has a two coat application. It has a reinforcement fleece embedded in between. It is flexible, breathable and has excellent resistance against atmospheric pollution and UV rays. We have a great video on our website with a step by step guide on how to apply this product.
Finally, Rust-Oleum Dacfill Roof Paint is a waterproofing coating for shallow roofs, such as corrugated asbestos. Dacfill Roof Paint is a single pack rubberlike paint which is flexible, UV resistant, hardly flammable, self-extinguishing and has CoRI approval for asbestos encapsulation.
Exhausted? I certainly was! It’s all well and good. However, having all of these products explained and described to you in the classroom, but there was also a practical aspect to the course.
Having the ability to actually see the paints in the tin and watch an application demo, was extremely useful.
In Conclusion
Following the two days of listening to paint experts, discussing paint, coatings and case studies, I feel ready to pass on advice, technical help and application procedures for a large section of the Rust-Oleum products on our website.
Working here in the Promain Technical Department at Promain, knowledge certainly feels empowering. This is because the more information we have on all our products, the more help and advice we can offer our customers.
Thanks to all at Rust-Oleum, Ben.
