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Park Service Taps Line-X for Desert Coatings

Monday, October 25, 2010

The National Park Service will award a no-bid $310,000 contract to Line-X Protective Coatings of Huntsville, AL, to coat comfort stations and recycling bins in California’s Joshua Tree National Park.

The award is being made without open competition. The Park Service contends that Line-X offers unique products for the project as well as a unique warranty. The company will supply and apply the coatings.

“Line-X is the only company providing the required surface protection application of a two-part coating in a manner that is free of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) & Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and meets all requirements for initial application in a manner that protects the fragile environment and vegetation in proximity to the assets,” according to the National Park Service’s combined synopsis/solicitation.

Extreme Climate, Heavy Use

The comfort stations and recycling bins are subjected to heavy use and abuse by park visitors and by the extreme climate of the Mojave Desert.

Temperatures inside the vault toilets can exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and drop below freezing during winter, resulting in delamination of previously used coatings systems. In addition, park visitors light fires inside the structures about five times a year for warmth, the Park Service said.

Line-X will prepare the comfort stations and recycling bins by stripping all surfaces to bare materials, using environmental containment to protect the park’s ecosystem, the Park Service said. Line-X will apply its SE515 primer, XS-AG2010 anti-graffiti and SE252 fire-rated coatings in all comfort stations, which include 62 255-square-foot single-stall toilets and 22 double-stall toilets.

The company will also apply its SE515 primer, XS-AG2010 anti-graffiti & XS100 hardened coatings to all 27 recycling bins, the synopsis/solicitation said.

The comfort stations will be coated on-site with containment, while the recycling bins will be shop-coated at a separate facility. Line-X will be restricted to a 48-hour turnaround for each comfort station.

Fire-Rated Coating Noted

The fire-rated coating is the only one “to pass both of the certifications (E84 & ASTM 162) required by the coatings industry to be used on public facilities,” according to the Park Service.

The coating will not discolor, fade or show damage after a fire, “allowing for immediate reuse of the facility after a simple washing,” the agency said.

Line-X was also the only manufacturer to provide an unconditional lifetime warranty for the surfacing coating, the agency said.

Reported by Paint BidTracker, a construction reporting service devoted to identifying contracting opportunities for the coatings community.