would require a minimum abrasion resistance of 10,000 cycles.
Further validating the approach, the slight difference in performance between the two traffic marking paints noted on the test
deck was also observed in the abrasion resistance testing.
The use of abrasion resistance testing as a tool to guide new
product development promises not only to shorten the product
development cycle, but also suggests significant improvement in
the durability of traffic marking paint is possible. It has long
been recognized that the ratio of latex binder to coating pigmentation has a significant impact on abrasion resistance; this fact is
illustrated in Figure 7.
The drawback to this approach is that formulating a higher
latex binder level would increase the cost of the paint formulation, placing the paint manufacturer at a disadvantage in the
competitive bid process.
Alternatively, higher abrasion resistant latex binders could
dramatically improve durability. Figure 8 illustrates the perfor-
mance of a traffic marking paint based on a high abrasion resis-
tance latex (Latex C). This approach would enable multi-year
performance without requiring the application of thicker lines.
Indeed the abrasion resistance data suggests that 3 year durability
could be achieved with a 15 wet mil line if a high durability latex
binder was employed in the traffic marking paint formulation.
Conclusions
Abrasion resistance appears to be a promising tool in the
development of new traffic marking paints. It is a simple
and inexpensive technique which yields highly reproducible
results in a short period of time. These results correlate well
with available NTPEP test deck retroreflectivity and durability ratings.
Abrasion resistance testing suggests that traffic markings
with 3 year durability could be achieved with a 15 wet mil
line if a high durability latex binder was employed in the
traffic marking paint formulation. CW
Figure 5: Skip-line Retroreflectivity Prediction Formula
Figure 6: Abrasion resistance of white traffic marking paints as a function of
line thickness
Figure 7: Abrasion resistance of white traffic marking paints as a function of
line thickness
Figure 8: Abrasion resistance of white traffic marking paints as a function of
line thickness
