Some of the most challenging projects encountered by protective coatings contractors are tank repair and maintenance work done during the cold weather months. The winter season can hinder productivity more than the spring or fall seasons ever could. Even skilled painting contractors struggle with painting activities when cold temperatures and freezing environments are major obstacles. And even when humans put great effort to paint against the weather, all is in vain when even equipments and mechanical tools are less responsive when operated in cold weather.
This is why the winter season is considered by the protective coatings industry as one of the two seasons which are slow times for tank painting activities. The other season is summer, when obviously the hot weather months require water availability at all times, and thus making it impossible for any service and maintenance activities to be conducted to water tanks, if at all.
With only the spring and fall seasons as the available times for protective coatings projects, contractors are turning even more to the possibility of painting water tanks in winter, despite the challenges. In the aim to increase the window of time to service tanks in a yearly basis, the protective coatings industry has made some progress in making tank painting easier in winter, with new technologies such as ambient temperature utilization and management, heat loss prevention systems, and innovations on application techniques and protective coatings suitable for cold-water painting.
