Traffic Paint

In 2012, the Canadian Federal Government banned high VOC oil based traffic paint. As a result, paint manufacturers were forced to take the meat and potatoes out of the paint and consequently that’s what made it last longer. Unfortunately, due to this change, low VOC Traffic Paint’s lasting durability is 30-40% less as traditional oil based paint and much less effective in many ways.

Clients are now finding that they must paint their lots more frequently. It used to be that our clients could get away with oil based painting every other year, but now most centres are painting annually or twice a year because of the lowered durability of Traffic Paint. On a positive note, this is great for consistency of repeat business for line painters.

Why Traffic Paint?

Traffic Paint currently is the most economical way to put down traffic markings; it has been used for over a century to put down lines in traffic and pedestrian areas. Line painting keeps everybody safe and calls attention for pedestrians and traffic to any possible dangers, distractions or intrusions to the area.

Traffic Paint comes in multiple forms; it can be acetone based, water based, or an oil based product.

Material Comparison

In the material comparison below, there is a list of how Traffic Paint compares to various forms of Line Paint.

• Low Durability – Water-based traffic paint – Expected to last less than 6 months in medium to high traffic areas.
• Medium Durability – Acetone-based traffic paint (or Low VOC Traffic Paint) – 6-12 months in medium to high traffic areas.
• High Durability – Oil-based traffic paint paint- 12 months in medium to high traffic areas. This material is now illegal to apply during the production season because it goes over government VOC guidelines.

Key Points

There are a variety of different traffic paints available from different manufacturers that continue to be of economical use in the marketplace. Typically most line painting companies use the cheapest and lowest durability available; however, we at EverLine find that it provides greater value to our clients to use Municipal Grade Traffic Paint.

Where to install?

Typically put on:

• Parking Stalls
• Stencils
• Curbs
• Speed Bumps

Traffic Paint can be applied to any other traffic markings, however in high traffic areas this paint will wear away faster than Durable solutions. A lot of your choice for material will depend on the client’s budget. If there are areas that you anticipate wearing away fast due to high traffic, then consider a Durable option for those areas as a combination application.

Value for Our Clients

Economical: Traffic paint is the cheapest, easiest and fastest to get traffic markings on the ground

Save Time on Annual Line Refresh: Utilizing municipal grade traffic paint will increase the chance that the lines will be visible when painting the year after and will not require a new layout. This saves time and money!