Road markings play a very important role in guiding drivers on the road. Roads will become dangerous for both vehicles and pedestrians if road markings are not present. That is why states and governments invest a lot in highway painting projects because they are critical in keeping roads organized and safe for drivers.
Highway projects are also what keep businesses of road marking suppliers alive. However, road painting is a serious business; that is why only the trusted suppliers, like the road marking paint by Ennis Flint, are chosen for use in such critical projects. Road marking suppliers can offer a wide variety of products that can be used in improving traffic conditions and in ensuring road safety.
Usually, road markings are applied on road pavement using reliable, weather-resistant road paint and other coating chemicals. These are called non-mechanical road marking materials. They are non-mechanical because they lay flat on the pavement and do not have a physical effect on the traffic. Vehicles pass and cross road paints without being physically affected. There are also what they call mechanical materials, which commonly refer to accessories that complement road markings to improve traffic conditions. Examples of these materials are road studs. They are mechanical because they lay raised on the pavement and can physically affect vehicles when crossed.
Road paintis considered to be one of the most economical yet proven reliable non-mechanical road markers. It is essentially the most widely-used on road pavement. Road paint is used to mark road pavement with standard traffic lines and markings like center lines, edge lines, cross walks, stop lines, hazard warning lines, and arrows. It is also used to mark parking designations in parking spaces or lots.
Like any other paint, road paint has three main components—pigment, resin, and solvent. Pigments are what give color to the paint; resins are the binders that act as adhesives to make the paint bind with the painted surface; and solvents are the liquid chemicals that maintain the paint’s capacity to be applied on the surface. Paint can either be water-based or solvent-based. Road painting may also be mixed or combined with retro-reflective glass beads to enhance its visibility.
Road painting is applied using special vehicles called stripers. Stripers carry drums of paint that amount to hundreds of gallons. They have special mechanisms for both automatic and manual paint application. The paint is directly applied on the road pavement as the striper runs across the pavement. Stripers are only used to apply road lines; the retro-reflective glass beads may be added using a gun spray after the paint is applied on the pavement. Road arrows, on the other hand, cannot be applied using stripers; they should be manually applied using stencils.
Other types of road marking paintcan also be used, like the thermoplastic coating and pre-formed thermoplastic markers. These are also considered as non-mechanical materials; however, thermoplastics are found to be less skid-resistant and become slippery when wet, so they may actually physically affect the vehicles that pass or cross over them. Some countries prohibit the use of thermoplastics on their roads because of the cases of accidents that arise from the use these road markers. That is why thermoplastics are often combined with retro-reflective glass beads because they add roughness to the coating’s texture, thus creating a skid-resistant surface.