Reagan Presidential Library
A few years back one of our customers, a decorative flooring contractor, had an opportunity to do some work at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
The library is a magnificent facility with a replica of the Oval Office, the Situation Room and many other educational opportunities. The showcase of the library is the display of Air Force One and Marine One, the airplane and helicopter used by several of our Presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush, 1972 thru 2001.
The room where Air Force One is displayed is a two level, 40,000 square foot room with 20,000 square feet on the balcony level. This is where Air Force One proudly sits with its nose extending over the lower level as if it was going to fly right through the glass wall that looks out upon the hills of Simi Valley.
The Reagan Library is used for high visibility events, like Presidential debates and press conferences. When television crews set up for events, for safety reasons, they tape all of the power cords, etc. to the floor with a product called Gaffers tape, a tape much stronger than duct tape. When the events were over and the Gaffers tape was removed from the floor the original industrial concrete coating would come up with the tape, exposing a bare concrete surface that was unsightly and vulnerable to soiling, and, ultimately, difficult to clean. The challenge was to come up with a coating that would adhere to the concrete even under the stress caused by the removal of the Gaffers tape.
With the help of SURTEC’s on staff chemist, many options were tested. The final solution was that one coat of SURTEC’S two component solvent borne urethane coating would bond tight enough to the concrete to withstand the stress caused by the Gaffers tape removal.
To prolong the life of the urethane coating, we applied FP-575 High Solid Floor Finish as a repairable maintenance wear coat for the urethane coating. One of SURTEC’s more popular finishes FP-575 levels well, offers exceptional wear and restores quickly with simple cleaning and High Speed buffing. This system has been used successfully by The Library with simple routine cleaning, and only periodic deep scrub and re-coat application.
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