The Chief Joseph Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in Northwestern United States, 1.5 miles upriver from Bridgeport, Washington. The dam is 545 miles upriver from the mouth of the Columbia at Astoria, Washington. The Dam is operated by the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Chief Joseph Dam Project Office. The Chief Joseph Dam is the second largest hydroelectric power producer in the United States, having the hydraulic capacity of 6,030 m3/s (213,000 cf/s). The electricity generated at the Dam is marketed by the Bonneville Power Administration.

The painting and maintenance crew have been using Rust Bullet for over a year and a half on any metal surfaces requiring paint and/or corrosion control products. From hand rails and metal grating to the giant spill way gates which are submerged for most of the year and therefore, not top coated. All areas requiring specific color identification for safety are then top coated with the appropriate OSHA Safety Color.

Previously the Spillway gates were painted with a vinyl epoxy, which has failed (see photo). At this time they are not stripping all the vinyl but patching the vinyl where it has failed with Rust Bullet. You can see from the picture of the one gate that was spot primed the white patches are where the previous vinyl paint was patched and failed again. Now with the application of the Rust Bullet the patches are holding and the Corrosion has been abated until the entire gate can be stripped and recoated with Rust Bullet from top to bottom. The painters prefer to use a conventional spray gun and have been applying 3 coats of the Rust Bullet Standard letting each coat dry to the touch before recoating. They acheive an approximate 12 to 15 dry mil dry film thickness.

The 27 pieces of electrical machinery located above one of the Turbines are already scheduled for coating with Rust Bullet. Similar machinery that was not coated with Rust Bullet is exhibiting coating failure due to the exposure to extreme atmospheric conditions of moisture and UV rays. The painting and maintenance crew now insist on using rust bullet and have stated that they would personally promote Rust Bullet to any industrial painter who has to deal with corrosion control.

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