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It’s got to be spring if they’re getting the “Blue Streak” ready to roll at Cedar Point.
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Jason Werling/Sandusky Register |
| Melissa Topey of the Sandusky Register tries her hand at helping the Lakeside Interior Contractors crew paint the Blue Streak roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. |
Never mind the chill in the air and remnants of snow on the ground at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The calendar may have indicated it was early March, but the painting crew from Lakeside Interior Contractors Inc. swung into action to give the supports and framework of the soaring Blue Streak roller coaster a new coat of paint.
It’s a ritual that is repeated every seven years or so, as Cedar Point seeks to retain the coaster’s trademark blue color—and the integrity of the wood structure.
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Jason Werling/Sandusky Register |
| All paint application is by brush and roller, as overspray from spray painting would land on adjacent structures. |
“Luckily we’re getting some good weather,” said Randy Deniston, vice president of Lakeside Interior Contractors. “And with these high-performance acrylic coatings, we can do the painting down to 35 degrees (F).”
In this case, the acrylic paint being used is The Sherwin-Williams Company’s Duration Exterior Acrylic Latex. The company’s informational literature on the product describes the paint as a high-build, one-coat paint that delivers a film that is 70% thicker than conventional house paint while offering extended durability.
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Jason Werling/Sandusky Register |
| Topey and Scot Walterreit, project foreman. |
The product is reported to produce a cured film characterized by a high degree of flexibility for resistance to peeling and cracking, and can be used on a variety of substrates including wood, stucco, masonry/cement, vinyl, and galvanized metal.
A primary target market for the product is vinyl siding; the company says the paint’s VinylSafe™ color technology allows use of darker colors on this type of siding.
Deniston said the Blue Streak’s existing paint was “not in horrible shape,” but was showing some age. He estimated it had been painted “maybe seven to 10 years ago.”
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Jason Werling/Sandusky Register |
| A lift device in use during the painting project. |
Preparation consisted primarily of power washing, followed by spot priming of areas of bare metal and wood and application of one finish coat. All application was by roller and brush, as overspray would affect adjacent structures.
The work required “a lot of fall protection,” with “100% tie-offs” for work on the extensive network of scaffolding needed to do the job, Deniston said, adding that safety gets top-priority attention at Lakeside Interior Contractors.
A video on the project can be viewed at Blue Streak Paint Job.
Streaking Along for Nearly 50 Years
The Blue Streak Roller Coaster made its debut at Cedar Point in 1964, and has delivered more than 50 million thrills. It’s the senior wooden roller coaster at the park, sharing billing with its larger sibling Mean Streak, which opened in 1990. At that time it was billed as one of the “tallest, fastest and longest” wooden roller coasters in the world.
Blue Streak is defined as an “out and back” coaster, in that it climbs a lift hill, races to the far end of the track, does a 180-degree turn, and then speeds back to the station.
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Cedar Point |
| Blue Streak in action at Cedar Point. |
The coaster is considered one of Cedar Point’s classic rides, and makes the list of many roller-coaster fans’ favorite wooden coasters, according to Wikipedia. The sky-blue color was not part of the original design, as the wood was unpainted when the ride first opened.
Lakeside Interior Contractors, based in Perrysburg, Ohio, offers a range of services including painting, plastering, and other finishing work.
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