Anti-corrosion coating for the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is getting a new look for its 120th birthday. The monument, which was constructed for the 1889 World’s Fair and was originally intended to remain in place for only 20 years, is repainted every seven years. “Bayferrox” pigments from Lanxess AG provide the colour for the Paris trademark’s high-grade anti-corrosion coating. The iron oxides offer maximum light and weather stability, high tinting strength and chemical resistance in addition to outstanding hiding power. The order to paint the 324-meter-high, 7,300-ton steel structure every seven years is part of the legacy of the tower’s builder, Gustave Eiffel. 25 painters use 1,500 brushes and rollers to apply 60 tons of anti-corrosion coating over an 18-month renovation period. The new look for the 250,000 square meters of steel costs roughly 4 million EUR. The painting work is scheduled for completion in fall 2010. The painters working for the company that won the contract for the project are applying the anticorrosion system based on urethanized alkyd resin in two coats.