Warranty Work For Wind Point Lighthouse
By Sue Clark on Jul 9, 2009 in News 
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Wisconsin Lighthouse To Get New Paint
Although having received a new and shiny coat of paint in the fall of 2007, Wind Point Lighthouse (WI) is getting another one this year. That’s because the paint job failed from the last time. According to a story in the Journal Times, this new paint job will covered under a warranty from Masonry Restoration, Inc. Visitors to this iconic lighthouse will have to hold off on taking the scenic pictures like the one by James Jordan at the left, at least for a little while.
Workers are blasting the lighthouse tower with high pressure water streams, and removing the chipped paint. The reason for the failure is that when it was water blasted previously, not enough time was given for drying before the new paint was applied. By early 2008, officials noticed that some of the paint was beginning to chip and fall from from the tower. The decision was made to hold off until this year to make sure there’s adequate time for drying before reapplying the paint.
Maybe a Case For Dry Ice?
When Split Rock Lighthouse was stripped and repainted, the workers there used dry ice to remove the paint. This is a relatively new technology, but it holds much promise for rehabilitating old buildings. It’s much less damaging than other media such as sand, clean up is minimal, it’s environmentally sound and certainly doesn’t leave wet spots for anxious workers to paint over prematurely. It’s also less expensive, very important in these uncertain economic times.
It would be great if more lighthouse restorations used this method. But until they do, it looks like you’ll have to stare at the splotchy brick (from the story: “little pocks here, little pocks there”) until it’s dry. And depending on the weather, who knows how long that will take.
Photo Credit: Snarl by James Jordan. Some rights reserved.
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