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Road marking is the silent curator of road safety and has become a prerequisite in today’s era of 4-6 lane highways. Cost incurred in the road markings is fractional but is irrefutably important making retro-reflective paint testing a necessity.

At Sigma Test & Research Centre, we offer road marking paint testing for analyzing the quality of retro-reflective paints used in road marking and signaling as per the international standards, so that its efficiency remains unaffected with changing weather or with constant wear-out. Testing of reflectivity of road marking paints at Sigma is cost-efficient and the team takes into consideration the difficulty and cost of traffic management while conducting the tests.

To ensure smooth flow of traffic, reduced probability of accidents and safety while driving.

On highways, it is an essential to have good pavement markings and vivid road signals. Thermoplastic road markings are resin-based material and are better than the conventionally used cold paints. It is applied in a molten state on the roads and gives a smooth even line with good definition.

Principle: Due to retro-reflection, the paint used in the road markings reflects when the rays from the headlight beam of a vehicle hits them. This helps the driver to stay alert about another vehicle on road and thus, control its speed or change lanes accordingly. The quality of retro-reflectivity of paint can be determined by the levels of retro-reflectivity, luminance and skid resistance.

Composition

• Binder contents provide flexibility and adhesion
• Glass beads gives retro-reflection
• Titanium dioxide as pigment for color and opacity
• Inert fillers provide body and abrasiveness

Types of Road Marking paint

• Thermoplastic retro-reflective material is applied using heating method. Road sign test in India is available for these paints.
• 100% acrylic retro-reflective water-borne paint is categorized by features like fast-drying and highdurability
• Solvent or water-based road-marking paints which is conventional method of road marking

Applications

• Marking of highways
• Runway marking of airport
• Floor marking in warehouse
• Way marking in parks
• Concrete and asphalt roads
• Kerb stones
• Speed breakers
• Car parking structures
• Intermediate decks
• Ramps
• Centre line
• Edge line
• Zebra-crossing

Features

• Easy application
• Adhesion to cement
• Permeability
• Water resistance
• Toxic nature
• Algal and fungal contaminants
• Pollution resistant
• Pick-up dirt
• Resistance to ultraviolet radiations
• Plasticizer for maintaining flow properties

Retro-reflective paint testing parameters:

• Resin detection
• Hardness
• Binder/ bead content
• Pigment
• Color performance
• Flash point
• Brookfield viscosity
• Bond strength
• Adhesion and abrasion test
• Chemical resistance
• Water resistance
• Heavy metal testing
• Scrub resistance
• Gel/drying time
• Slip / skid resistance
• Resistance to temperature cycles
• Cracking resistance
• Drying/ setting time
• Retro-reflectivity of glass beads
• Roundness, color, air inclusion, coating and gradation

Degradation through climatic conditions and wear-out due to traffic flow demands for its replacement with a fresh strip of paint at regular intervals. Given that, the interval should be calculated accurately and wisely, as replacing it too soon increases the maintenance cost while replacing too late can compromise with the safety and comfort during driving.

Proper street sign test and traffic sign test in India keeps you on a safe side, especially during nights, no matter if you are a driver or a pedestrian.