THE NEWS
A jolly big paint job
Shurtech introduces FrogTape Pro Grade Painter’s Tape T There’s a new blue tape on the market. FrogTape Pro Grade Painter’s Tape from Shurtech features the company’s patented PaintBlock technology—a super-absorbent polymer that reacts with the water in latex paint and instantly gels to form a micro-barrier along the tape’s edge that seals and prevents paint bleed, creating clean, crisp lines. Find it in a four-roll contractor multi-pack exclusively at Sherwin-Williams stores. FrogTape.com/prograde
Deck the halls with the greenest paint ever T Researchers at The University of Sheffield’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the UK have discovered a potentially new source of creating paint: Christmas trees. The major component (up to 85%) of pine needles is a complex polymer known as lignocellulose. The complexity of this polymer makes pine needles useless to most industrial processes. However, when heat and solvents, including environmentally friendly glycerol, are introduced, the chemical structure of pine needles breaks down into a liquid product (bio-oil) and a solid by-product (biochar). Acetic acid contained in the bio-oil is often used in the production of coatings additives. While additional research and testing needs to be done, there is hope that there may be a second life for the 25 to 30 million Christmas trees sold in the U.S. annually. 8
inPAINT | May/Jun 2019
T For 40 years, the Jolly Green Giant has stood watch over Blue Earth, MN. Standing 55.5' tall and mounted on an 8'-high base, the fiberglass behemoth weighs approximately 8,000 pounds and sports size 78 boots. But as it turns out, even a giant is no match for Mother Nature. According to Tim Knaak, owner of Mike’s Painting & Sandblasting, which was tasked with restoring the green guy to good form and appearance, the Minnesota weather had taken its toll on the giant. “At the initial inspection,” says Knaak, “the first thing we noticed was about a foot and a half of water in his boots. Cracks and pinholes throughout the structure had allowed water in. Plus, there was a larger hole in his head where he’d been hit by lightning.” Working from a 65' lift, Knaak’s crew tackled the restoration by first drilling holes in the boots to allow the water to drain. The next step was to power wash to remove dirt and debris. The crew then used USC Duraglas for the large holes, Crest Industries Formula 21 Structural Adhesive (a two-part auto body seam sealer) for the large cracks, and Crest seam sealer for small cracks. Next, a coat of SAFE Encasement Systems was applied all over to seal up any and all pinholes. As a last step, two coats of Sherwin-Williams Duration—50 gallons in all—was sprayed, brushed and rolled on. Knaak noted, “While he’s a giant, it wasn’t the biggest project we’ve ever done. But it certainly was the most unique.”
Really bad paint names. Thanks, AI. T A research scientist with a lot of time on her hands and a goofball spirit decided to see if artificial intelligence could be used to generate new paint colors and corresponding names. The researcher, Janelle Shane, began by introducing a list of about 7,700 SherwinWilliams paint colors along with their RGB values to a
recurrent neural network. While the network was ultimately able to generate new colors (and had an apparent affinity for brown, beige and gray), it was less successful at creating names that might actually make it to market. But they’re too good not to share. Burf Pink
Dorkwood
Snowbonk
Burble Simp
Horble Gray
Stoner Blue
Bank Butt
Stanky Bean
We value your input. (Like $100-value it.) T Our annual reader survey is a chance to share your growth plans for the coming year and potentially be rewarded with a $100 VISA gift card. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to let us know what tech and equipment you’re using, and fill us in on your growth strategies. We’ll share the survey results in our Jul-Aug issue so you can see what your peers are up to. The survey will be available June 4–14: inpaintmag.com/survey
