Road Marking Equipment

Road markings play an important role in keeping motorists and pedestrians safe. They also help maintain a safe flow of traffic and provide drivers and pedestrians with directions and visual markings to follow. Road marking machines and road striping trucks are designed to paint roadway markings quickly and efficiently. Road striping machines also allow for variations when it comes to the thickness of the stripes and gaps. You can also add reflective paint to some road painting machines for increased visibility at night. While most road striping equipment paints horizontal lines, some machines are equipped to paint vertically as well.

How Does a Pavement Marking Machine Work?

Not all road marking equipment works the same way. For example, if a road paint sprayer is using thermoplastic paint, a hot melt kettle will first heat up the paint to 392 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees celsius before spraying it onto the roadway. After the paint cools, it forms a thick polymer layer which is reflective, bright, and water-resistant.

Other road striping machines use a white paint that contains titanium-dioxide pigments mixed with small reflective glass beads that give the road markings their reflective overlay. Large road marking machines use internal computer programming to paint lines in the desired color, direction, pattern, and thickness.

While most road painting machines are full-sized trucks designed to complete large-scale jobs, some road paint sprayers are much smaller. Small cart-like pavement marking equipment can be used to mark floors, sports fields, and to perform small-scale jobs and repairs. This type of road striping equipment doesn’t utilize a computer program but instead, is operated using manual controls and labor.

What Type of Paint Does a Road Paint Sprayer Use?

Most pavement marking equipment uses water-based paint, MMA, polymer tape, and epoxy resin. This mixture guarantees that the paint adheres to the pavement, asphalt, grass, floor, or other surface without wearing or washing away. Thermoplastic road marking machines are also popular. This type of pavement marking equipment increases line quality and longevity. It also helps create safer traffic conditions by controlling the thickness and consistency of the lines while reducing overspray.