What's the Going Rate?

To receive a no-bid contract from the United States government requires an exigent need exist; that the government would be “harmed” should work be delayed by the typical 11–15-week competitive bidding process. 

And that the contractor possesses “unique qualifications”  that enable them to perform the work—qualifications that must be detailed in the justification for any award.  Documentation which must be completed by government employees in advance, requiring that they attest to those truths on behalf of the United States.     

So when it all goes bad they know who to scapegoat. 

I’ll leave it for others to debate if Americans could have been harmed by the Reflecting Pool not being painted before July 4^th, preferring to skirt the politics of the issue and speak just to the facts.  Which is what I hope you’re used to here, because paint geeks vote for both parties, and all are welcome here.  But the standard for no-bid contracts states that the government must face harm, which seems impossible in this case as no harm to the government could be plausibly foreseen had the pool not been painted.  Raising questions about the no-bid contract awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to paint the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, our national paint shame.

I spent much of last week investigating the pool, where plywood has been laid over seams never intended to be there according to the contract, which calls for the installation of a single film of “uniform monolithic thickness.”  But instead Atlantic installed a patchwork,  with so many seams that when the wind blows through the National Mall, the star-spangled banner is not the only thing waving.

As for Atlantic’s “unique qualifications” to do the job, sources confirm they had none, beyond their relationship with the owner of Rhino Coatings John Cafaro, a Trump donor and convicted felon from Ohio.  Who I’m told got the job from Trump himself, before subbing it out to Atlantic.  Which had other qualifications which earned them that job, according to Rhino International Sales Manager John Henningsen.  Though I’m not sure you’d call them unique.

And it turns out that Atlantic Industrial Coatings is no expert in the field, with neither the staffing nor equipment to handle a job of this size.  Forcing them to subcontract out part of the work to Mid-America Industrial Coatings out of Oklahoma.  Finding the firm after posting about the job in a Facebook group for polyurea applicators, obliterating any argument about unique qualifications.

In addition to the peeling there are other symptoms of application error, according to sources who walked that job before, during and after application.  Including variations of the color and air bubbles in the film, both likely caused by a failure to maintain proper pressure at the tip during application, changing the properties of the coating’s particles and the ratio of the mix.  Too much pressure and you create a fog of overspray, dust which lands dry and affects both color and finish.  A common mistake even when using longer-drying architectural paints and a hazard when spraying polyurea, with its seconds-long gel time, which requires the use of an external-mix plural-component system that Atlantic should have read the directions for when they unboxed it on the job. 

THE investigation of the Reflecting Pool monopolized my week, with the exception of a call with one manufacturer wary of the rate of inflation, already in the 8-12% range for coatings through this point of the year.  We agreed that before the year was out prices would likely rise again, allowing the chance to pass on a persistent rumor I’ve been hearing of an 8% price increase coming from Sherwin-Williams in September, which seems in line with other increases I’m expecting.  Driven by the rising price of petrochemical-based raw materials since the war began; the resins, solvents and additives of the paint making process.

The war with Iran has been more disruptive to oil markets than any war in living memory, with lost production already exceeding the production capacity lost during Russia’s War with Ukraine, the US-Iraq War, the Iran-Iraq War, the 1973 Oil Embargo, the Iranian Revolution and the Gulf War.  Which was calculated before the bombing of the Saudi Arabian Abqaiq facility earlier this week, taking as many as 7,000,000 more barrels per day out of production, more than half of all Saudi output.    

Add that to the 20,000,000 barrels per day of oil production  lost since the war began and I’m expecting more than just high prices.  Worse, I’m expecting shortages and force majeures if the war does not end soon, which common sense suggests it will not.