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