Line Marking  On Artificial Grass.

I am often asked what we recommend and use for lining artificial grass, and whether the lines should be inlaid into the new pitch or painted on the surface.

If I was installing a new pitch I would have no hesitation with the answer. I would paint all of the lines on the surface with artificial turf paint and be prepared to over-paint them on an annual basis. The reasons for this are twofold, firstly, as the pitch ages huge stresses are applied to the carpet as it contacts and expands during extremes of temperature. Where are the weakest points on the carpets? Where the lines are cut in and cross carpet roll seams, especially where two different coloured lines cross each other.

Secondly I have seen so many pitches that have slightly moved on the shock pad over a period of time with the result that side lines, centre lines etc, are no longer straight. In extreme case we have had to mix STC paint to the same colour as the pitch and then reline over the top with our beam rider.

Next question what do we use? One thing we don’t use is two pack polyurethane paints, although these paints look great when they are applied and last exceptionally well they are, in my opinion a major problem for the following reasons, foot traction is different on the painted line, they can be slippery and also abrasive if someone slides on them, the big problem however is that the lines painted with this material do not wear at the same rate as the rest of the pitch, after a number of years the line will stand proud in high wear areas, this can effect ball roll, especially for hockey, and potentially become a minor tripping hazard.

 

The above situation occasionally occurs with flexible paints, when repeated applications or certain weather conditions produce a hard and raised build-up of paint.

If problems with raised lines occur we have developed a machine to remove them from certain types of carpet.

To  get a free site visit and discuss your particular requirements please call 0121 747 9255, or email info@sweepfast.com