12 replies to this topic

[Limelight]

So in general how often are lifts repainted? Every summer? And what is the process? Do they spray each chair, or use a roller? Same with the towers? What kind of paint is used?

I recently repainted my center pole Riblet with Rust-Oleum gray primer, and flat black paint, but only after I spent three days sanding at least 20 years worth of old paint off the chair.

So is it stardard practice to just paint over last years paint every year?

This post has been edited by Limelight: 06 October 2006 - 07:42 AM

[Emax]

"So is it stardard practice to just paint over last years paint every year?"



Sadly, that is most often the case. Keep sanding - that's the right way to do it.

[Lift Kid]

Do they ever sand blast the lifts?

[Emax]

"Do they ever sand blast the lifts?"



We've had that done - and it's a great way to get paint to STICK the way you'd like it to. Also gives a very nice finished look.

The problem is that there are many places on lift machinery where intrusion of the sand can (will) cause big problems in a short amount of time. These areas must be very well protected from the abrasive.

Usually, sand blasting (shot blasting) is reserved for components that can be removed from the lift and stripped of any grit-sensitive parts.

This post has been edited by Emax: 06 October 2006 - 10:56 AM

[Allan]

I don't know if it's standard practice to paint a lift every year (is it? are we really, really, really REALLY behiind the times??) We've only painted one entire lift in the past 20 years.

[skiersage]

Lift Kid, on Oct 6 2006, 01:44 PM, said:

Do they ever sand blast the lifts?

http://www.skiliftforum.com/index.php?s=&a...ost&p=35575

the above link will take you to pics of a Riblet triple being sand blasted. Notice how the sheaves are covered and how even then they still do not blast the tower caps.

On another not I remember one year the guys at boyne mt painted the meadows quad and did NOT blast the towers. The paint looked nice but big pathes of the old paint below lost adhesion and as a result they had to paint the lift again the next year. Really it is a good reason to blast or at least get rid of loose paint chips to prevent the need to paint twice as much as needed.

[skier14]

I dont know how often we paint lifts but this summer we are only doing two lifts. We contract it out and the contractors sand loose paint and rust (with sand paper and wire brushes, no fancy sand blasters) and then they use a spay gun and spray the tower and chairs.

[Jonni]

We've been using a grinder to sand down the nasty spots, and feather them out right before priming. We would sand blast, but the management says it's not in the budget. (refraining from adding additional comment)

[Lift Kid]

Does anybody know about how long it takes to sand or sand blast and then paint a lift. (On average)

[skier691]

well my .02., we will wire brush the rough spots first, then paint. We have fairly recently purchased a sprayer, before we were a brush and roller crew. We use a water-based paint?? for clean up purposes, although I would think an oil-based would last longer. We are gettin about 3 winters from a paint job before repainting. We have a couple light pastel colors, pink and yellow which show pole scrapes(rust) much faster and seem look crappier after just a year. Of our other colors, red and purple seem the last the longest, although they show the lime build up from snowmaking alot more. I truly wish we could just have someone like Brian and High Peaks come and do it, but we are a do-it-yourself, save a dollar company

[chairliftpaint]

Thanks for the plug John. That's my biggest challenge runnning my business. I am not competing against other companies who paint lifts. I am competing against the ski area to win the job. So many ski areas paint their own lifts. I believe I offer a fair price for what I do. And then there are alot of ski areas who would just rather hand it off to someone who can come in and knock it out quick and they can attend to everything else on the plate. As a ski area if you have the time to paint on your own lifts great. I have talked to several ski areas after they painted their own lifts and they wished they would have hired someone else to do it. Quality was the biggest response I heard. I have been told I would have been cheaper in the long run. Workers Comp Insurance is the biggest issue. For instance: Montana is $64.99 per $100.00 paid to the employee. So every $100.00 I pay to my employees I pay $64.99 towards work comp insurance. Minnesota is $55. Wisconsin is $58. Colorado is $44. And Pennsylvania is $27.00. And I often get the coment why does it cost so much. Insurance. I am not getting rich by doing what I am doing. I just have fun doing it. If anyone would like a short video on CD email me and I will send it to you.
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Relaxing on the gold course in Big Sky

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Eldora Ski Area, Boulder

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Montana!

[CH3skier]

Speaking of lift painting, how come Alta has painted some of the towers on Sugarloaf and Sunnyside white, some black, and the terminals green?

[SkiBachelor]

CH3skier, on Oct 10 2006, 10:08 AM, said:

Speaking of lift painting, how come Alta has painted some of the towers on Sugarloaf and Sunnyside white, some black, and the terminals green?

This thread might answer your question: http://www.skiliftfo...p?showtopic=300