Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Traffic Safety Paint

Remember:   Proper Surface Preparation is the most important thing you can do to assure the quality of your paint job. This applies to any paint job, for that matter. Your surface must be clean, dry and free of contaminants that might interfere with the adhesion properties of your product: Oil stains, grease, food, roadkill, leaked anti-freeze, skid marks, dust, dirt, mud, bird droppings, and so on. Loose or chipped surfaces may need further treatment to assure long-term paint adhesion. High-pressure air may work, or in some severe cases high-pressure water may be needed, sometimes in combination with detergents or other cleaning agents .
 
Q:   What solvents are best for reducing solvent-based paint?

A:   Aexcel paints are designed not to require reduction upon application. They are meant to be sprayed directly from the can, for best coverage and quality. Furthermore, unnecessary additives can cause the paint to change color or the pigmentation to lose resistance to the sun’s UV rays. Gasoline must never be used as an additive or thinner.
 
Q:   Okay, that’s fine for the summer, but what about when it’s cold out and the paint has been sitting in my unheated warehouse?

A:   Be careful with additives. Added unnecessary solvent can bleed through to the asphalt or sealcoat and cause job quality problems like sloppy or darkened lines, dirt pick-up, poor adhesion or even lifting of the line or surface beneath. If you find yourself working in low temperature applications, review the MSDS or Product Data Sheet to determine the solvent used in the product. Hint: It’s also the solvent recommended for clean-up. A small amount, working up to no more than a pint per five gallons, may be added to make the paint more workable on cold days.

Q:   I have an occasional problem with some of your alkyds or chlorinated rubber paints overspraying or fogging when applied through airless equipment. I have a lot of overspray on some batches but none at all on some others. Should we be using a different solvent to eliminate this?

A:   No, as above, you should spray straight from the can. If anything, thinning the paint may exaggerate the effect. Warmer paint can have an effect as well, since solvent-based paints thin out as they get hotter. How do you store the paint? If possible, make sure it's in cool, dry conditions. Control the temperature during use, too, if possible.

You may also have the same condition others experience with newer airless equipment. Your machine simply sprays too well, at least as compared to traditional equipment. You'll need to:
       (1) Lower your spray pressure, or;
       (2) Change to a smaller tip, or;
       (3) Change to a different style of tip, or;
       (4) Adjust the height of the gun.

On a lot of newer walk-behind systems, all you can work with is the tip size and tip style.

Q:   So explain how tip styles work.

A:   To understand tip openings, think of a rubber band and how it changes as you stretch it out between your fingers. It goes from round to oval; from wide to longer and narrower. For instance, a 121 tip is a round hole with an area of 21 thousandths. A 421 tip has a narrower and longer slit to make a wider line. A 521 tip shape is yet narrower, even though the total opening is still .021 (21 thousandths).

All three tips have an orifice area of 21 thousandths. When you make the slit narrower, the pressure exiting the gun tip is more severe than in a more rounded slit. This severe pressure causes too much of a good thing; it breaks up the paint too well, causing overspray and fog. Compare this to conventional spray, where the fluid tip has a round hole and you use the fan cap to adjust the pattern.

Q:   How do you recommend we stripe a newly paved surface?

A:   It’s best to apply a thin first coat of waterborne paint as a primer. Let this cure with the surface for thirty days. Then, go back over it with the final product application after the asphalt has had time to set up.
 
Q:   What about fresh sealcoat?

A:   Another difficult surface, where adhesion depends on what's in the dried sealcoat as much as it does with what surface prep steps have been taken. Some sealcoat products are better than others, and we have heard reports of used oil being passed off as sealcoat. You can guess how good the adhesion to that is.

Good quality sealcoat should be striped with waterborne paints, preferably all-acrylic resin, fast-dry types.

Q:   What do you mean by "all-acrylic resin?"

A:   Resin is what makes paint work. It's what creates the dried paint film, it's what causes the film to adhere to its intended surface, and it is what carries the blended, colored pigments for best color, hiding, durability and coverage.

Acrylic resins are generally higher quality and better clarity resins that have good adhesion to a variety of surfaces and which resist the yellowing effects of sunlight's UV rays. The label, Product Data Sheet or MSDS should indicate which paints are of this type.

Q:   What should I do with my empties?

A:   There is a whole industry dedicated to putting steel 55-gallon drums back into multiple useful lives as drums for paints and other materials.

     Reusable Packaging and Container Systems , LLC - 1-866-4REPACS

     Reusable Industrial Packaging Association ,  1-301-577-3786

Steel pails from solvent-borne paints should be emptied completely (you did pay for the material, after all) and scrapped out after they are drip-dry clean. See if your local steel scrap yard will take them.

Plastic pails from waterborne paints should be cleaned, rinsed and scrapped. Better, however, is that they can be re-used in a variety of creative ways. Try these ideas: Parts bucket, mixing bucket, tool bucket, rag bucket, trash can, spill absorbant/oil-dri bucket, clean-up bucket, water bucket, lunchbreak seat, beer cooler, charcoal bucket, grout or cement mixer, container for range balls, plant stand, tarp weight, …. The list is endless.

Q:   I drove through wet paint on the road and got paint on my car. What can I do to remove it?

A:   There are products from Clay Magic that may help.