[Case Study] Canopy Re-Spraying

We specialise in on-site spraying of architectural metalwork which ranges from cladding on warehouses to wrought iron railings in public parks. In this instance our remit was canopy re-spraying in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. The old tax office was being converted into a registry office and the exterior canopy over a set of entrance doors was being renovated.

The canopy was in a terrible state! There were at least six layers of old paint on it and they were all bubbling and flaking off as can be seen on the top right photo. Initially, all the loose, peeling coatings had to be scraped off and a specialist paint stripper was used to remove the rest of the stubborn paint. After this process, the surface was sanded back so that it was flat. This abrading was more physically grueling than usual for our team because the canopy was above them. It was too high for the operatives to reach, but too low once they were on hop ups, so they had to crouch down. Once they’d worked out the most comfortable angle for sanding down the canopy and finished this stage, they tidied up all the loose paint.

The next thing for our operatives to do was to mask up around the area that was to be re-sprayed. The even surface (shown in the bottom right photo) was then washed down with a degreasing agent as a dirty substrate prevents the top coat from sticking to it properly. The canopy also had to be keyed to help the paint adhere to it as galvanized metal is too smooth. The metal was washed with a high-quality primer that finely etches the canopy for good paint adhesion and also prevents the top coat from chemically reacting with the substrate. As is almost always the case, the preparation was the most time consuming part of the project, but it is important for a perfect result.

The white semi-gloss top coat was formulated for galvanised metal and this gleaming finish markedly improved the appearance of the entrance. This restoration work will also add years and years of life onto the entrance, so in this case canopy re-spraying was well worth all the effort.