Sherwin-Williams provided key assists on these projects

Whether it’s the convenience of more than 4,500+ store locations or the vast array of innovative products that provide a solution for just about any task a painting professional may face, contractors have come to depend on Sherwin-Williams as a trusted and valued resource.

But on many projects, it’s the extra know-how from a Sherwin-Williams sales representative or the ability to go the extra mile in providing service that provides the difference in making a project a success. Here are some examples of such service solutions from Sherwin-Williams.

Coating the Kalahari
The largest indoor water park in the United States is the Kalahari, a massive 223,000-square-foot entertainment complex located in Round Rock, Texas. Cherry Coatings, a Dallas-headquartered contractor with a history dating to 1968, is no stranger to big jobs, and for decades, Sherwin-Williams has been its go-to supplier as such projects come along. Technical know-how is presumed in their relationship with Sherwin-Williams — but it’s the supplier’s ability to help smooth out the inevitable hiccups in any large-scale project that helped make the difference in the Kalahari project.

“Over several decades our partnership with Sherwin-Williams has resulted in successful project outcomes for our clients,” says a member of the Austin-based division that headed the project. “As technology and innovation develops, Sherwin-Williams assists our teams to define the right coating products for each commercial construction project, as well as assists us with conducting testing to ensure the products recommended are the best long-term solution for each unique application.”

Construction materials of any kind can be difficult to inventory these days, and coatings aren’t immune to such challenges. Product availability became even more critical when combined with the logistics of a having a specially trained crew on-site for the application of technologically advanced coatings such as Sher-Loxane® 800, to ensure effective long-term corrosion control and weatherability. A supplier with the resources to find product when needed is a huge benefit, and helped keep the Kalahari project on track.

“In this case, our order needed to arrive within a week. The only place that had any product in stock was in Reno, Nevada. The local Sherwin-Williams store manager assembled a team of drivers to get the product transferred over the weekend and assisted us along the way to keep the job supplied with additional material.

“This application was a big part of our coating success on this project. Our relationship with Sherwin- Williams is one that goes above and beyond expectations.”

Custom Color at an Aquarium
Custom color matching is the key to success on many projects, but color is a particular matter of focus at the Seattle Aquarium. Combined with the challenges of specifying a coating for a facility not only home to an aquarium, but literally built over the waters of Puget Sound, and it becomes a project in which a coating contractor better get the specification right.

For Novo Painting and Property Management, dependence on the aesthetic and technical expertise of a paint supplier has rarely been more important than it was on this aquarium project.

“One of the biggest challenges was to make sure that we’re allowing for proper moisture ventilation so that we don’t get a lot of blistering and bubbling and things like that,” says Cole Palea, owner of Novo Painting and Property Management,

The aquarium is known for some very specific paint colors, so it was crucial that they were accurate, he says. For example, one of the exterior paint colors was chosen to mimic the dark green shadow the building makes in Puget Sound. Colors were painstakingly custom matched by the team at his local Sherwin-Williams store.

“Given all the environmental conditions, we chose to use Emerald® Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint on this project specifically for its durability and its resistance to peeling and blistering,” Palea says. “We also chose it for its color retention for the darker colors. Sherwin-Williams was really accommodating in making our client happy and making sure the colors were spot on.

“My relationship with my sales rep has really been at the core of our success,” he adds. “He’s brought a lot of knowledge into our relationship and has helped to guide the formation of our company. He’s truly a mentor with us. Throughout every single project we do, he’s always there accommodating whatever we need, and to work for a solution to any problems we encounter. It really has been an asset to have him as part of our team.”

Getting a Stadium Repaint Right
Football makes up a special part of fall Saturdays on college campuses across the United States, and Georgia Tech in Atlanta is no different. There, historic Bobby Dodd Stadium has stood in evolving forms since 1913. When tasked with repainting the venerable stadium, Benise-Dowling & Associates, Inc. sought a coating supplier that could not only provide products that met specification but help create the specification itself.

“The Sherwin-Williams team had a large part in defining the proper specification due to the fact that there was no advance specification,” says company president Tony Benise. “Our Sherwin-Williams sales reps and the Benise-Dowling team collaborated and found the best product for every substrate with two to three options based on price and durability.”

Steel at the stadium is now coated with Macropoxy® 646 and Acrolon™ 100, according to Benise.

“First, with the steel system, our Sherwin-Williams team came out every step of the way and performed adhesion tests throughout. This gave the Georgia Tech team confidence in both the product from Sherwin-Williams and the applicator Benise-Dowling. Finally, the color renderings provided by Sherwin-Williams to Georgia Tech were definitely a positive and professional portion of the reimage.

“There were no advance specifications for this job, so color was not defined. Having the ability to put the stadium on a big screen and discuss and change colors in different areas truly helped the stadium look the way it does today.”