Environmental regulations for the construction industry are continually developed, and in many cases increased. As most readers of this blog are likely already aware, one highly regulated area of construction pertains to the use of steel primers, particularly the level of volatile organic compounds (or “VOCs”) that they contain.

Paint and Coatings are a universe of options and complexities. Fortunately for the steel fabricator the scope is limited by the requirements. Priming forms the basis of the coating system and often that is the only coat the steel will receive. Most of our customers prime steel in red or gray. Some of the miscellaneous and ornamental fabricators choose black. A few, for marketing purposes, choose their own color, such as green or blue to stand out on a job-site so anyone seeing the steel knows it was their work. Regardless of the color the basic primer has one function. Prohibit rust until the structure is enclosed.