Folks, I'm going to tell you EXACTLY why the Reflecting Pool paint job is failing

[jmowreader]

I have dealt with coating systems for a long time. I sold them. I recommend specific ones to my company. I've applied quite a few of them.

As the nation is well aware, King Donald Trump had the inside of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool painted blue. The contractor chose an exceptionally good product called Rhino Linings PipeLiner 5000 11-70 PW to do the job. It's a two-part polyurea/polyurethane hybrid made specifically for long-term water immersion. It seals cracks and maintains its strength and flexibility over the long term. This coating is strong enough that if you were to get a big Teflon sheet, build up a layer of 11-70 PW that's about a quarter-inch thick, and peel off the Teflon sheet you could turn it into a hammock for Donald Trump that he wouldn't fall through.

Here's where they went wrong: In a rush to get the job done before Trump's birthday, they drained the Reflecting Pool, let the surface dry, recaulked all the expansion joints and laid down the 11-70PW immediately. Concrete absorbs water like a sponge. All the water that's soaked into the concrete pool walls and floor is coming back out and blowing off the 11-70PW. The hydrogen peroxide everyone keeps talking about? Unless they're dumping rocketry-grade high-test peroxide in the pool, it won't damage the finish. If they really are pouring high-test peroxide in a swimming pool the crew is in more danger than the paint job.