Glossy recoat for Melbourne's all-weather trains

Melbourne’s Metro Trains zoom through the city’s famously volatile weather, season after season. Extreme heat, rain, hail, UV exposure and fluctuating humidity all takes its toll on the paintwork. Add in vibration, abrasion, flicking stones and graffiti, and it's clear these trains need a tough exterior.

Stretching the maintenance schedule

Metro Trains Melbourne rejuvenated the X’Trapolis Train Fleet on behalf of the Department of Transport and Planning. Dulux® Protective Coatings' Victorian Business Development Executive, Daniel McKeown provided expert technical advice to support the refresh of 58 three carriage trains.

The result was a highly durable coatings specification to help extend the time between recoats and reduce maintenance costs.

“Dulux Protective Coatings were heavily involved in the project from the very beginning, providing advice and guidance throughout the tender stage. Our technical service department carried out comparative testing for weathering performance on Acrathane IF with and without the clear topcoat. This data was crucial in allowing the project to proceed with confidence,” Daniel explains.

Applicators Metal Morphis began the process by removing all vinyls from the train carriage exteriors and spot repairing damaged areas.

The following three-coat system was spray applied.

Primer: Dulux® Luxaprime® UMP is a fast drying, single pack formulation. It has a high level of zinc phosphate to protect steel against corrosion.
Mid coat: High performance Dulux® Acrathane® IF delivered the colour coat. Isocyanate-free as requested by Metro Trains Melbourne, this acrylic was the perfect choice to create a smooth, gloss finish that is resistant to abrasion and marking.
Topcoat: A final coat of Dulux® Acrathane IF® Clearcoat Gloss created a catalysed acrylic finish for durability. This non-yellowing clear coat helps protect assets from defacement. It is designed to withstand graffiti removal agents, to keep the finish looking good.The interior of the carriages are also subject to some serious wear and tear over time. After masking and spot repairs, the seat boxes were removed and re-painted, as well as the ramps.

An award winning process

With one train to be completed every three weeks, Dr David Collins and the team at Synergetics Consulting Engineers designed a unique ventilation solution for the 40,000 m3 workshop.

The platform engineers at USafe Platforms custom built painting platforms to accommodate each 80 metre train, enabling the extraction to run underneath and behind the painting area to take all the particles out of the air.

The project was awarded the ‘Workplace Health & Safety Solution of the Year’ at the 2022 Worksafe Awards Night, with the project team and Dulux Protective Coating’s Daniel McKeown and Shaddy De Chavez in attendance.