Project: Meridian Airport Hangar Interior Painting
While every painting assignment has its unique elements, certain environments require a specialized set of skills and industry know-how to get the job done correctly. Such is the case with secure environments such as airplane hangars, where producing above standards work means taking more care, more steps and providing more attention to detail that you normally would with a straight-forward painting project.
Alpine Painting was hired by Meridian Airport to complete an interior painting job for one of their hangars. The assignment entailed cleaning, preparing, priming and painting the interior of a private hangar that houses private air carriers, G5 and G6s. The interior areas that needed to be painted included the main hanger (including walls, ceiling, insulation and steel surfaces), alternate rooms (including wall surfaces in support area of two rooms and one hallway and ceiling), a jack room, a utility room and a tool bay room.
A Challenging Assignment with a Tight Timeframe
The hangar was built around the year 2000 and showed significant signs of wear and tear. For Alpine to have full access to the hanger, it needed to be shut down entirely. Therefore, the team was required, without exception, to complete the entire job in only three weeks. This timeframe reflected the longest period of time the hangar could remain closed.
Other challenges presented themselves at the offset of the assignment. For example, sensitive equipment in the hangar, a thermal coupler line, needed to be protected. This heat trace line, if triggered, would set off a foam suppression across the entire building. The project also required that airless sprayers be used in large areas of the hangar. In order for the assignment to be done correctly, the crew needed to be highly skilled in the use of spray equipment given that 95% of the work used airless sprayers. It was critical that no paint be wasted and that overspraying be avoided.
Several steps were taken to prepare the project’s surface. These included:
1. Covering and protecting surrounding surfaces where work was not being performed including all sensitive equipment such as sprinkler heads, existing lighting & foam equipment. Special attention was needed to cover the thermal coupler cable.
2. Supplying and erecting the necessary lifts to access areas to be painted.
3. Utilizing simple green cleaner/degreaser to wipe down two vents at ends of west elevation.
4. Utilizing brooms &/or compressed air to blow down dirt, dust and loose material from surfaces to be painted.
5. Preparing surfaces to be painted with a hand tool to scrape the remaining loose/peeling paint.
6. Wire brushing rusted metal surfaces prior to painting a tightly adhered surface.
7. Supplying tarps and plastic underneath the working area to contain all paint chips.
8. Cleaning the immediate work area and removing paint chips and debris from the job site.
Alpine Delivers a Smooth Landing
Alpine came highly recommended to Meridian Airport and they did not disappoint. During the bidding process, Alpine’s proposal was more thorough and the scope of work included more details than the other bidders. The level of attention and thoughtfulness given to acquiring the business was equally reflected in the actual work performed. Integrity was key in this assignment and Alpine was able to honor its guarantee to complete the project within the requested time frame.
Karol Kuleza, Meridian Airport’s Facility Manager, had this to say:
“Job well done! Under my supervision, the Alpine’s team was able to complete our large hangar in the time allotted. We had a small window and [the Alpine] team really hit the mark. I really appreciated the time you have put into this project, from the detailed proposal to fully understanding all details and delivering the final product. Your team worked really hard, additional manpower, extra equipment and long days to get his big venture wrapped up. Thank you for the hard work. I am looking forward to working together on our next painting project.”
