Maintaining order in large parking lots is crucial to preventing accidents and injuries. Parking lot markings tell drivers where to go and how to maneuver in potentially tight spaces. However, the act of painting out these lines and symbols isn’t always as straightforward as you’d think. In understanding these different factors to consider when painting a parking lot, you can ensure that you and your team complete the job successfully. Here, we’ll detail what you need to know.
When You Paint
When painting a heavily populated area like a parking lot, the time of day you choose to do it can greatly impact your success. This is especially true in cases where you need to repaint over faded lines and markings. Projects like these need to wait until the servicing buildings close. This way, you have the entire empty parking lot to work with, and you don’t need to worry about pedestrians and drivers getting in your way. You could also choose to start the job before opening hours. However, there’s a greater risk that the paint won’t dry in time for heavy traffic.
Potential Surface Debris
As you prepare for your parking lot striping job, you should also spend some time cleaning the pavement of any surface debris. Things like dust, trash, and rocks can get in the way of your painting efforts and reduce the quality of your results. Additionally, even a thin coating of material can prevent the paint from properly adhering to the pavement. Because of this, make sure that you sweep the parking lot well before proceeding with striping.
The Paint You Use
Another crucial factor to consider when painting a parking lot is the type of paint you use. Not just any standard paint will work well on concrete. Home paints, for instance, aren’t formulated to adhere to pavement surfaces. For this reason, you’ll need something specialized for asphalt or concrete. Even then, you still need to choose between solvent-based and water-based paint mixtures. Solvent paints are traditional for parking lot striping. However, water-based products are more environmentally friendly, and, as such, many states mandate their use over solvent varieties.
Stencils and Machinery
Above all, you need to make sure that you have the right tools for the job. While you can do some parking lot painting by hand, there’s a larger margin of error, and it can take much longer. Using quality parking lot striping machines and utensils can save you a lot of time and get you the cleanest possible lines. Many manufacturers craft additional attachments as well for specialized patterns.
If you have any additional questions about the process of painting a parking lot, reach out to us at Trusco Manufacturing. We have the experience, the equipment, and the know-how to give you an advantage during your striping job. Our selection of machines and attachments will give you crisp, clean paint edges and yield quality results for any project.