KEY POINTS:
It's the never-ending job. It takes so long to paint the Auckland Harbour Bridge that by the time the painters finish, it's time to start again at the other end.
For 20 years, painter Taulagi Afamasaga has reported to the same place of work - the underside of Auckland's Harbour Bridge.
He dons hard hat, climbing equipment and layers of warm clothing, ready for a day's work as one of the bridge's spray-gun Spidermen.
He could end up hanging 60m above the water over live lanes of bridge traffic, or you might find him squeezing inside tiny gaps in the bridge's maze-like structure.
His job: to rid the old girl of rust and keep her paint job looking fresh.
It's tough work, 'Lagi' says - and never-ending. "It's true, by the time we get to the other end, we have to re-start."
It takes more than 10 years to paint the entire 1.1km long bridge. The painters' work is never done - and it's dangerous, Lagi says. "You have to comply with safety regulations every single second, because for 90 per cent of the time you are suspended," says the 46-year-old.
He had "a problem with heights" when he started painting the bridge, in 1987, but quickly got over it.
"It's like working on the ground now."
Ale Iolamo Mo'a, 54, has worked on the bridge for 18 years. He admitted he was terrified on his first day.
"It was very, very, scary. You look up, you look down... ooh.. it's very high."
Now, though he enjoys the view from his "office". He started on $10 an hour though now is on about $16.
Junior Tiaiti, 29 has 10 years' bridge-painting experience. He can relate to Spiderman. "You know how Spiderman throws a web and swings from place to place?"
It's not a simple matter of painting a quick layer to get the old girl sparkling, he adds.
Section by small section, the boys have got to first "pre-blast" everything, to get the heavy, red-coloured rust off the metal, then water blast, sweep, and paint, five coats - the exact thickness is measured - cleaning the area between every coat.
Weather conditions are the only real bother, though aside from the wind and rain there's the possibility you may lose anything you're carrying into the drink.
"I've lost one cellphone, spanners, clips, basically any tool we work with," Junior says.
Dropping anything is out of the question when painting the bridge's arch, suspended 60m above the water, or 22m above live lanes. "We just have to be extra careful."
The painters finished off the bridge's arch last year - it took two years to do.
"It gets to the point where you do enjoy it.
"There are times when you just don't want to be here. But work's work and it's kept me here for 10 years," says Junior.
Adds Lagi: "I think I will just hang on for another year or two."
