Nestled in the epicentre of the Mother City, is the Southern Sun’s iconic The Cullinan Hotel. In close proximity to the renowned V&A Waterfront, the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Long Street, and several other popular landmarks, it is no surprise that this world-class hotel regularly hosts VIPs in the entertainment industry and sporting fraternity. Guests have a choice of 394 en-suite rooms, designed to offer a perfect blend of comfort and luxury. The building’s classical architectural features include high ceilings, a balconied mezzanine level and soaring columns around the pool area.
Our Role
Plascon is a household name associated with innovation and high-quality products that surpass expectations and never fail to deliver. Together with our Preferred Applicator, Skyriders, we delivered a sustainable solution for long-term results while ensuring the heritage of this prestigious hotel remained intact. Our solution comprised the provision of qualified services to repaint this iconic hotel coupled with the Plascon 360° Partnership Pledge, which included free onsite project monitoring and technical interventions to overcome various environmental and structural challenges.
Key Considerations
Working on high-rise buildings in coastal regions comes with significant challenges. In this case, there were three the key factors we took into consideration when specifying the right paint solution:
- The hotel’s proximity to the coast, which could result in delimitation of the coating
Situated within 5kms of the ocean, the hotel is exposed to the harshest atmospheric moisture associated with the coast. Being in close proximity to the sea, the salty air causes ongoing damage to the exterior paint including chipping, peeling and cracking. Additionally, the gusts of wind and subsequent sandstorms cause surface damage to the paint. Because of these factors Plascon Professional Elastoshield was specified.
Plascon Professional Elastoshield is a flexible, durable and weatherproof exterior coating with microfibres to bridge hairline cracks. Offering 30% more flexibility than standard paint, this product would not only achieve the desired results but also prove to be a long-term solution. - The shape and complexity of the building combined with the notoriously windy Cape Town conditions hindered easy accessibility for the paint team
The building was painted using rope access by the team of professional contractors from Skyriders. - Multiple cracks and accumulated dirt that needed to be addressed during the renovation
Having assessed the extent of the cracks and dirt build-up on the building, the use of Plascon Professional Elastoshield was the best solution. The low sheen appearance and microfibre interlocking technology were able to bridge the cracks and dirt.
Moisture and substrate temperatures were monitored regularly
The successful painting of a building is largely dependent on a combination of factors such as managing environmental concerns, including but not limited to temperature. During a painting project it is important to ensure temperature is a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius above the dew point to ensure no condensation will form on the surface and compromise the paint coating during application.
For the duration of this project, our Professional sales team offered the value-added service of monitoring moisture and substrate temperatures to ensure we achieved a high-quality job that would have long-term sustainability. The substrate moisture and temperature were monitored with a range of high-end, technologically-advanced equipment including hydrometers, alkameters and fluke meters.
Plascon Professional Colour Matching
To preserve the heritage of this building we needed to ensure it was repainted the exact colour or closest match to the pre-existing coating. Our Colour Specialists worked closely with our Professional team and contractors to achieve a 95% match to the original colour!