Protective Coatings at IKEA Rhodes: An AKD Painting Project
AKD Painting restored and protected the steel waste compactors at IKEA Rhodes with a Dulux Protective Coatings system: rusted equipment ground back to sound metal, primed, and finished in a two-pack coating built for years of hard industrial use. This page shows the job from rusted steel to finished result.
Project snapshot
- Client: IKEA, Rhodes NSW
- Scope: Industrial waste compactors and hoppers, full exterior restoration and coating
- System: Dulux Protective Coatings, two-pack epoxy over prepared and primed steel
- Warranty: 5-year written workmanship warranty, backed by Dulux Protective Coatings
- Working constraints: live loading dock at an operating store, work staged around trading
The problem: steel that lives outdoors, works hard and rusts
Waste compactors cop it from every direction. They sit outside year round, they get knocked by bins and trucks, and their steel skins hold water in every scratch. At Rhodes, beside Homebush Bay, the units had surface rust spreading across roofs, doors and panels, and standard paint was never going to hold it back.
The fix: preparation first, then a protective system
A protective coating is only as good as the surface under it. The AKD crew scraped and ground the corrosion back to sound metal, treated the affected areas, pressure washed every surface, then primed and finished the units in a Dulux Protective Coatings two-pack system. This is a different class of coating to house paint: it cures into a hard, chemically bonded film made for steel that gets hit, scraped and rained on. Our guide to two-pack epoxy on commercial steel, plant and signage explains how a system like this gets specified.
The result
The finished units went straight back into service with a sealed, cleanable surface that sheds water instead of holding it. AKD has looked after painting at IKEA sites for around five years, and this fleet now has protection matched to the way it actually gets used.
The same protection works on homes near the water
The system we used at IKEA is the same family of coatings we bring to houses along the Parramatta River, Iron Cove and the Bay Run. If you have a steel pergola, metal balustrades, gates, or a deck frame that sits in salt air in Drummoyne, Balmain, Rozelle or Five Dock, a protective coating stops the rust cycle instead of repainting over it. Our guide to painting galvanised steel and outdoor metal covers the primers and preparation that job needs. Read more about our industrial painting and protective coatings service or our commercial painting work across Sydney.
Questions about this project
What kind of paint was used on the IKEA Rhodes project?
A Dulux Protective Coatings system: a two-pack epoxy applied over prepared, primed steel. We specify the exact products for each job based on the surface and its exposure.
Why not just repaint industrial equipment with exterior paint?
Standard exterior paint sits on top of steel and fails quickly where the surface gets knocked or holds water. A two-pack protective system bonds chemically, resists impact and abrasion, and is made for exactly this environment.
What warranty applies to protective coatings work?
Every AKD protective coatings job carries our 5-year written workmanship warranty, backed by Dulux Protective Coatings.
Does AKD Painting only do protective coatings for big companies?
No. The same preparation and coatings protect steel and metalwork on homes, especially near the water, and on strata and commercial buildings across Sydney.
Steel worth protecting?
From factory equipment to a rusting pergola by the bay, AKD quotes the preparation and the system in writing, with a 5-year workmanship warranty.
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