[Edwardo]

I had heard it would be painted next off season as
Well. That's good because it's the last coaster that looks faded. Everything will be looking fresh and new for 2017.

[chknwing]

speaking of paint. why does it fade so quickly. I get its in the sun. cars dont fade that quickly.

[Edwardo]

Cars have a very expensive type of paint with a clear coat baked onto it. The process for painting a car wouldn't work for a coaster.

[FamousAmos]

Not to mention how extra shiny it would be

[Koallinbear]

I wonder if any parks have tried some sort of clear coating to preserve a coaster's paint longer...

[FamousAmos]

Carowinds has done something similar with Woodstock Express. It's not really paint, actually, but a purple stain which helps to both preserve the wood and maintain the vivid color. Then they go over it again with another sealer to protect from weather (not every off season, but maybe once every 5 years or more).

[Edwardo]

Clear coat on a steel coaster would have to be stripped before they could paint it another color and is not cheap. Again, it's ine thing to paints car, another to paint a coaster.

Stain on a wooden coaster is an all together different beast. Phoenix is stained its signature green. I wish more parks would stain their wood.

[RollerBee]

Source: http://liquid-finish.com/opti-coat/
Aftermarket automotive clear coats are recommended to be redone 3-5 years with proper maintenance.

I imagine even a clear coat on the rails would chip off due to friction. Another thought I have is wouldn't the increased thickness add extra drag and friction?

[arby]

Also, for some reason red paint seems to fade quicker in the southern summer sun. I don't know why that is, but I seem to notice that red cars in the south tend to fade more than other colors unless you keep it waxed and/or have the clear coat reapplied.

[pproteinc]

Not that anyone cares, but is there any word on the progress of Starbucks??

[FamousAmos]

I've never been to starbucks, but it certainly is one step closer to making the front plaza look beautiful. I haven't seen any update photos, but I'm sure that they've started erecting the wood structure by now.

[Edwardo]

Actually arby, red and blue pigments are the two fastest to fade and even more so in the sun.

[arby]

I never knew that. Good to know. Thanks, Edwardo! I'll have to keep a closer eye on blue cars, too, but since red stands out better it was more obvious.

[pproteinc]

Looks old Scooby is getting some TLC as well. Of course there's the bitter Thubder Road comments. Let it go people.

[Merthecat]

That first turn and lift hill were really bumpy before; I'm sure it will be much nicer now. One think I find curious about it is why they waited to do this until after they repainted the coaster. It would seem to me (but I don't have any knowledge of matters like these) that painting should come after the retracking, unless the paint won't be affected.