'The boys are back in town' , announced a New Hampshire daily newspaper after a successful restoration project refurbished four historic cast-iron lion statues and installed them at their century-old resting place at the Rockingham in Portsmouth.
The restoration project by Universal Powder Coat, Inc. of Portsmouth involved removing the life-sized lions from their century-old home, sandblasting them, patching and filling seams and crevices on the lions with Alvin Products' Hi-Temp Lab-metal, painting them using a multiple coat powder-coating process, and returning them via crane to their State Street home.
Scott Barker, president and owner of Universal Powder Coat, said he and his staff tried every filler material they could find for pre-powder coating patching jobs, but had little success until trying an aluminium filled metal repair compound called Hi-Temp Lab-metal. Barker said a Sherwin-Williams rep suggested that he try Alvin Products ready-to-use metal putty, Lab-metal, a durable, easily applied product that fills seams, does not shrink, sands and finishes beautifully, and withstands multiple bakings. Because of the multiple coatings specified by Barker for this application, Alvin’s high-heat formula, Hi-Temp Lab-metal, was tested and approved. Universal’s president reports that he is now touting the product to everyone he knows in the powder coating industry.
Barker saved many hours of work and a considerable amount of money by using Hi-Temp Lab-metal, he said. And the quality of his repair and restoration work cannot be overlooked in Portsmouth, where the lions have marked the entrance of the former Rockingham Hotel (now condominiums and a restaurant) since 1872. The regional daily paper called the project the 'Return of the Kings' , adding that 'the restoration of the historic lions has given them a terrific shine'. The gleaming lions can now be seen by travellers on US Route 1 as they pass Portsmouth.