I believe that many road construction purchasing managers must have questions in their minds when faced with the various reflective paints on the market. There are so many reflective paints, which one is really suitable for us?
In fact, the thing that consumers worry about most is that the goods are not right or the product is not suitable due to misjudgment due to insufficient understanding of the product. If the reflective paint is not suitable for purchase, it is only a small matter to return or exchange the goods. Delaying the construction progress is a big problem.
So through this article, we will explain in detail how to choose reflective paint correctly, so that customers can choose the product that suits them correctly and efficiently and avoid detours!
We will teach you how to correctly choose reflective paint from the following perspectives. Each of them is very important and is full of useful information!
1. First of all, you need to understand where the purchased reflective paint is used (what kind of substrate it is on)
Through our many years of experience in sales of reflective paint, reflective paint is generally used on the following substrates.
Cement substrate: general cement piers on both sides of the highway, curbs, highway toll stations, and markings on both sides of the tunnel.
The above are generally cement base materials. Cement base materials have a characteristic that they are alkaline. If ordinary reflective paint comes into contact with alkaline substances, it will be slightly corroded and may discolor or crack, thus affecting the appearance and reflective effect. In severe cases, corrosion and peeling will occur, greatly reducing its service life. When encountering cement substrates, the primer of the reflective paint must be alkali-resistant, so that the reflective paint will not be affected by alkaline substances and achieve normal use effects and lifespan.
Metal substrate: metal crash barriers on both sides of the highway, signage on high-speed highways, etc.
These are all metal substrates, and the types of metal substrates are different. They may be stainless steel, galvanized sheets, or high-strength steel. These do not need to consider alkali resistance, but adhesion needs to be considered. Since metal substrates are generally smooth, in order to achieve a certain strength, reflective paint with high adhesion must be preferred when selecting.
2. How to choose the color of reflective paint
Take highways as an example. The purpose of applying reflective paint on both sides of highways is to provide instructions and prompts. Generally, they are painted in yellow and black colors. Of course, the term "yellow and black" is not accurate enough. Strictly speaking, it should be brown. Yellow and black. But you will find that many businesses have adjusted the yellow color to bright yellow or golden color in order to promote their reflective paint and make it look better when painted during the day. However, these are not in line with the actual usage scenarios. The bright yellow will be dazzling under the direct sunlight of car lights at night, affecting the driver's vision, while the golden yellow will appear whitish under the illumination of car lights, and the visual effect is not obvious. Therefore, brown is the first choice for yellow in reflective paint.
3. Choose water-based or oil-based reflective paint
Let's get straight to the conclusion: in road construction, based on our many years of experience, oil-based reflective paint is the first choice.
The weather resistance, durability and expected service life of oil-based reflective paint are currently unmatched by water-based reflective paint. Especially when reflective paint is used outdoors, water-based reflective paint is exposed to direct sunlight, large temperature differences between day and night, and erosion from heavy rain and haze. It is difficult to resist and its service life will be much shorter than oil-based reflective paint.
Can't water-based reflective paint be used without advantages?
of course not! Water-based reflective paint has little smell, is relatively environmentally friendly, and has a more transparent visual effect after painting during the day. These advantages are also accepted by more and more people.
However, when you need to choose water-based reflective paint, you must consider the use environment. Here we directly conclude that it can be used in tunnels. The tunnel is less affected by the external environment, there is no direct sunlight, no heavy rain and haze, and it can provide relatively stable construction. Environment and good construction conditions can bring out the greatest advantages of reflective paint and extend its service life.
Here I need to explain to you why a stable construction environment can extend the service life of reflective paint. Because water-based reflective paint must avoid an overly humid environment during the construction process. A humid environment will lengthen the solidification time of the water-based reflective paint, which may delay the construction progress. Of course, the delay may still be a small problem. The main concern is that the surface layer of water-based reflective paint will solidify in a humid environment while the inner (inner) layer is not yet dry. At this time, the pressure on the inner and outer layers is different, which will squeeze the outer paint film and cause cracks. In the end, it has to be reworked!
So to summarize: When using reflective paint for road construction, you can choose water-based reflective paint if it is inside a tunnel. If it is outdoors, we recommend using oil-based reflective paint.
4. Be sure to confirm whether the relevant road section has requirements for the retroreflection coefficient of reflective paint
Retroreflection coefficient, retroreflection coefficient, retroreflection coefficient! Important things must be emphasized three times! The 3 points mentioned in the previous article:
Confirming the base material is related to the service life.
Confirming the color is related to future use experience.
Confirming the water-based and oil-based properties is related to construction issues.
The retroreflection coefficient of reflective paint is related to whether it can be accepted!
According to the latest "Acceptance Standards for Highway Line Marking Construction", it is clearly stipulated that the retroreflection coefficient of yellow reflective paint in highway facade reflective paint must reach 350, and the retroreflection coefficient of white reflective paint must reach 400, while for ordinary non-highway sections, No requirements.
Before purchasing reflective paint, you must first understand whether the construction road section has requirements for retroreflection coefficient, and then make the corresponding selection. If there are requirements, priority must be given to meeting the retroreflection coefficient!
Finally, let's make a summary of the article: How to correctly choose reflective paint? First, confirm the specific requirements of the construction section. The highway section needs to give priority to the inverse coefficient, then consider what base material it will be constructed on, and finally confirm the use of water-based or For oil-based reflective paint, you can easily choose a suitable reflective paint by following the above suggestions.
