At the historic Newcastle Museum, external steel archways flank the museum entrance. The archway beams required a durable coating solution that would resist damage from UV and require minimal ongoing maintenance.
Project partners
• Asset owner: Newcastle Museum
• Applicator: Programmed Property Services
Coatings
• First coat: Dulux® Durebild® STE @ 125-microns (μm)
• Topcoat: Dulux® Weathermax® HBR @ 100-microns (μm)
What was the challenge?
Housed in the former Honeysuckle Railway Workshops, Newcastle Museum's heritage design reflects classic railway architecture.
A series of steel archways along Workshop Way hints at a bygone era. Now fitted with shade sails, they offer valuable sun relief for visitors and provide an attractive promenade leading into the museum entrance.
A coatings system was specified and applied in 2016 to protect the northwest-facing archway beams from corrosion and UV damage, while also delivering a glossy finish befitting this popular Newcastle tourist attraction. Colour retention and protecting the beams from graffiti were also important.
What were the inspection findings?
In 2023, a full visual inspection of Newcastle Museum's archway beams found the coatings system to be in excellent condition.
Coating rating after 7 years
Rating 1*
Up close
"The archway beams are in great condition seven years after they were originally coated," says Dulux Protective Coatings Trade Specialist Representative Greg Scott. "There is no film damage other than dirt and minor staining. Even though a slight loss of gloss can be seen on some areas that are in direct sunlight, these beams still look really good. Overall, the archway beams are in great condition, with the only corrosion present due to dissimilar metals."
System benefits
The combination of Durebild STE and Weathermax HBR gives the steel archway beams a long-lasting, high gloss finish with excellent colour retention.
• Durebild STE is a high-performance surface tolerant maintenance coating. Self priming, it's available in a wide range of colours including Australian Standard AS2700 colours and the Dulux World of Colour range. Durebild STE has been developed especially for Australian conditions and offers excellent protection for steelwork, maintaining asset value.
• Weathermax HBR is a high build recoatable polyurethane coating offering high durability and low maintenance. Offering superior gloss and colour retention and excellent resistance to most graffiti media and cleaning agents, Weathermax HBR is tintable to over 5,000 colours.
*Coating Inspection 5-Level Rating System
Coatings are inspected to determine the degree of deterioration. Ratings indicate the following condition status:
1. No film damage other than dirt and minor staining
2. Soiled, stained, ingrained dirt, chalking or loss of gloss
3. Minor film damage (cracking, flaking or erosion of topcoats) in small areas
4. Minor corrosion where up to 0.5% of the base metal is showing signs of rusting
5. Widespread and excessive corrosion and damage
