Straight Lines in Less Time


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Acrylic Latex Paint on Athletic Fields

Field marking has come a long way from the days of lime, chalks, and oil-based paints used to mark sports field lines. Today, latex painting has a distinct advantage over its predecessors for being safe for the environment, non-damaging to the turf, having relatively low cost per application, and being easy to clean up.

Field marking paints today are derived from a mixture of a vehicle, the liquid portion of the paint, and pigments, the solid portion of the paint. Within each of these segments, the paint derives its own characteristics.

In field marking paints the vehicle contains three primary ingredients:
   *   the solvent (water),
   *   the binder (latex resin),
   *   and wetting or dispersing agents (the same liquids used in dish soap).

The pigments include titanium dioxide (the whitest pigment available) used as a primary pigment and filler pigments such as calcium carbonates, silicates, talc, and Kaolin (clay). All of these materials are combined and ground to form a coating desirable for decoration or identification of boundaries.

Click here for Iowa State University acrylic latex paint field test plot (2002).


Click here for larger image

Latex is King

Latex has become the binder most used in field marking paints due to its unique structure and ability to be reduced with water. Once latex has dried, it forms a complex polymer structure of lattices (hence latex) much like latticework in construction. However, these lattices build layer upon layer in all directions to produce a paint film. This allows the substrate, in this case the grass, the ability to "breathe." This structure also allows for evaporation of very small water molecules leaving the blade of grass, fueling the grass for continued growth.

Pigments give the paint its color and are generally organic for field marking paints. Nontoxic organic pigments have been used since man first began drawing on cave walls; organic pigment colors, however, have changed significantly in the past 100 years. Only recently have organic pigments become popular; earlier problems included their relatively high cost compared with leaded pigments.

Click here to learn How to Select a Field Marker. The article lists a series of questions and notes concerning the capabilities and features you should consider when making a purchasing decision.

Today, organic pigments can now be synthetically manufactured, offering you stronger tint strengths, better light fastness (ability to keep its color), and in a few cases, new pigment types or color shades allowing for a larger range of colors. With these recent advancements, organic have offered increased value.

Surfactants or "wetting agents" and dispersants are the smallest part of field marking paints. Typically only 1-2 percent of the total paint consists of these agents. Surfactants and dispersing agents get their name from how they perform. Surfactants are "surface active agents." Most dry pigments are "hydrophobic" in nature, meaning they fear water. Therefore, these surfactants allow the latex and water to combine with the pigments and stay "wet" in solution. Depending on its nature, surfactants will also aid in the wetting of the substrate or grass. The dispersing agents keep all the ingredients mentioned above in solution and prevent settling out.

Click here to understand the cost savings advantage of using acrylic latex paint over aerosol paint.


Make your lines and stencils stand out with
Tru Mark Premium Quality Field Marking Paints.
Tru Mark field striping paint for synthetic/artificial and natural turf surfaces.


Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker Model E-100 walk-behind athletic field marker has demonstrated the capability to apply acrylic latex traffic zone marking paints. This demonstrated capability adds a new opportunity for customers to use the E-100 as a 3-in-1 sprayer: field marking, traffic zone marking, and herbicide application. The 12-volt 3.3 gallons per minute electric pump supplies sufficient pressure and volume to one of the spray nozzles for a professional looking 4" line. The traffic zone marking paint was diluted with either 16 ounces of water or 16 ounces of latex paint conditioner to 1 gallon of paint.

Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker also produces and sells a RS-500 self-propelled field marker that is capable of applying more than 250 linear feet of 4" line per minute. The two 20 gallon tanks make it a long endurance marker for large sport complex operations. If you have multiple field locations, Tru Mark produces the Paint Mule, a utility trailer to carry the RS-500 or three E-100s, 40 gallons of liquid, pumping transfer equipment, and storage for tools and supplies.

Visit Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker's web site at http://www.AthleticFieldMarker.com for product, parts, and turfgrass information. Call them at 1-800-553-MARK or send an email to Sales@AthleticFieldMarker.com. Choose Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker for making "Straight Lines in Less Time."

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