Frequently Asked Questions
Q36. Should tower be painted before erection?
Ans : It is a standard practice to paint the towers after erection. Electrical conductivity between members is an important requirement for performance of communication system as well as for lightening protection. Other reasons for painting the tower after erection are:
1. Nut bolts cannot be painted beforehand. After assembly, these nut bolts will stand out unpainted. Per haps repainting
will be called for by the buyer.
2. During erection of tower, it is necessary that electrical contact be maintained between members. If electrical contact is
not maintained between the tower members, then there could be problems in the system performance. To get the electrical contact, it may become necessary to scrap the ends of members to get the contact. This scrapping cannot be precise, therefore repainting will be required.
3. The ID markings on tower members is done in 2 ways simultaneously. a. Punch marks which are permanent and are about
0.6 mm deep. Galvanizing fills up the ID markings to certain extent but not fully therefore marks remain readable. b. Marking with permanent ink after galvanizing and before painting . The marks will get covered up by paint, if painting is done at factory. If marking with permanent ink is done after painting, then these marks will not look good aesthetically after erection of tower.
Moreover the punch mark will also lose visibility to large extent because of leveling effect of paint. Hence factory painting of tower before erection is not recommended.
4. The paint on members , gets damaged during transit, because no elaborate packing is done on these steel members. Repainting, invariably is required after erection.