Fire Truck, Ōtāhuhu
Blast and Protective Recoat

A fire truck being handled by Truck Repairs at Otahuhu, Auckland needed more than a fresh coat of paint. Corrosion and failed coatings had already affected the steelwork, compromising both the truck’s protection and its presentation, and as part of a wider repair programme, the vehicle’s steel needed to be properly assessed before any repairs or recoating could go ahead. That meant removing the existing paint and rust first, since corrosion hidden beneath old coating cannot be properly diagnosed or repaired until it is exposed.

BlastOff carried out this stage with plant and equipment sandblasting, stripping the fire truck’s steelwork back to clean, bare metal across the vehicle. Blasting back that far revealed corrosion that had been hidden beneath the old paint, allowing it to be addressed as part of the broader repair programme rather than being sealed in under a new finish. Once the steel was properly prepared, a new three-coat protective coating system was applied to deliver a durable, uniform result across the truck.

The vehicle returned to service both protected and presentable, with the corrosion and the finish addressed together in one coordinated scope rather than treated as separate jobs.

For fleet operators and repairers managing similar emergency or commercial vehicles, this project shows the value of blasting back to bare metal as a diagnostic step in its own right, not just a preparation stage. Scoping comparable work should include an allowance for repairs that blasting might uncover, since the true condition of ageing steelwork often only becomes clear once the old paint is gone. Building that contingency into the programme from the outset avoids delays later, particularly on emergency service vehicles where downtime needs to be kept as short as practically possible.