In a modern warehouse, special tape or paint is often used to mark off certain areas. These places are clearly marked for a reason or to keep people safe. A path for a forklift could be marked in one area.
How exactly do you finish and mark a warehouse floor so that it looks the same and can handle a lot of traffic? Keep reading!
4 Phases of Industrial Line Striping
Line striping is used in industrial settings to identify areas, make them safer, and improve efficiency. You don’t use paint in industrial and business settings to make lines. Instead, a strong resin is used, which is more challenging to work with than just painting lines. Here are the four steps of industrial line striping, which will help you get good results that last:
1. Preparing the Ground for Line Painting
The concrete slab must be free of existing floor coatings, paint, grime, and other things for the resin to adhere correctly. In addition, the concrete’s surface must have a particular profile that the resin can “grip” when it dries, resulting in strong adhesion. The resin manufacturer will suggest the surface profile that is ideal for line striping.
The best and quickest approach to get the concrete ready for the resin coating is to use a shot blaster to clean, strip, and profile the surface. The standard blast path of 8 inches on most shot blasters makes them unsuitable for use in industrial line striping. The Impacts S210 is a great choice since its 8-inch blast path can be quickly and easily reduced by installing the provided plate.
After you’ve finished preparing and profiling the slab with the shot blaster, use a magnet to pick up any stray shot and polish the surface. Any shot or dust will be low if the correct dust collector is used.
2. Taping Off the Area to be Marked
Taping off the area outside the line striping is the next stage. , this prevents resin from seeping into untreated areas. Resin that leaks into covered or unclean concrete that hasn’t been prepped can ruin the entire job, whereas bleeding paint just makes things appear sloppy.
It’s crucial to use high-quality tape; regular painter’s tape won’t do. If you want to line the outside of your prepared space, we suggest using Clean Green tape. This prevents the glue from soaking through or bleeding underneath during industrial line striping.
3. Applying Your Coating
Once the area is taped correctly, you can start making your concrete coating. As we said, you’ll need to use a line striping resin that can be colored or tinted to suit your project. After that, just use a roller made especially for solvents to put on the coating.
4. Taking off the Tape
Taking off the tape is probably the step that needs the least care, but it still needs to be done carefully. You want to make sure the resin is set enough that it won’t bleed or run when the tape is taken off, but you can’t wait until the resin is completely dry. If you don’t, you won’t be able to pull the tape off the cement. We suggest giving it some time to get tacky and sticky, but not dry.
After the tape is up, you should look at the manufacturer’s instructions to see when you and your team can walk or drive over the new line striping. Most of the time, it takes between 12 and 24 hours, but you should check with the manufacturer to be sure.
Different Ways to Add Lines
There are several ways to add lines:
Striping Tape
The use of striping tape might be the easiest way to do this. Find out how big the area is that needs to be marked. Next, add your line striping using a good tape that sticks well, like Tuff Mark. It is a strong floor-marking tape that is often used instead of paint in the business world.
It comes in different widths, like 2 inches, 3 inches, and 4 inches. With this method, it’s easy to add stripes, and you can choose from red, black, white, green, yellow and black, red and white, solid yellow, and blue. This kind of tape is made to last for a long time.
Aluminum Tape
You could also use a cheaper tape made of aluminum to mark the floor. This type is easier to shape because it has aluminum in it, but it can also be broken more easily than Tuff Mark. It is also easier to take off, so any damaged parts can be replaced quickly.
Line Striping Paint
You can also paint the floor in the old way. A paint striping machine is the best way to do this. At this point, your best bet is to hire a pro to come in and stripe the floor for you. The problem with real paint is that it flakes off much more quickly than products like Tuff Mark. This means you have to touch it up more often and waste time.
It is also slippery, which can be dangerous. Scuffing and scarring the floor helps keep it from getting too slippery, but again, this is a time-consuming step that you don’t need to do if you use other methods.
Thermoplastic
Preformed Thermoplastic is the last method. This can make a bad smell for a short time, especially if it melts on the floor. It is a 90-mil thick substance that can only be used on a surface with pores.
A simple way to check the surface of your floor is to pour a small amount of water on it. It should start to make sense right away. If it stands on concrete, your floor is probably not porous enough to use Preformed Thermoplastic. If it goes away, your floor could benefit from this process. When the surface is right, it is a durable material.
On any smooth surface, tape is the best way to get the job done. Paints and thermoplastic are great choices for areas that are more porous. If you follow these simple rules, you’ll have a striped line floor that looks good, lasts a long time, and does its job well.
Contact Diverse Technology Inc. Today!
We have everything you need, from a shot blaster to get the perfect surface profile to resin coatings that can withstand heavy machinery and foot activity. To get started, fill out our contact form, or give us a call at (209) 250-7828!
