Tips From The Pros

SPORTS FIELD PAINTING BASICS: PART 1-IN THE SHOP

A well painted and marked sports field always looks and performs better than a poorly marked field. Regardless of the condition of the turfgrass and playing surface, which is not always in the sports field manager’s control, marking and painting the turf fields in a professional manner is within the turf field manager’s control. I probably painted my way from Los Angeles to New York over the years and I offer some of the tips I have learned, realizing it’s a big topic and I will certainly miss some things.

In Part 1, I’ll lay out my thoughts on equipment and paints. In August’s CoverLine eNews I’ll discuss some tips to use out in the field (Part 2).

The first thing to do is check with league or sport governing body for any rules or regulations regarding field lining and decorative painting (logos).

Painting or otherwise marking the field of play can be broken down into two main areas, functional and decorative (logos). Functional painting refers to the basic, required lines of play for the particular sport. Straight, curved or circular, these lines are generally white and there is usually a specified width or range of widths for the line. If the field is a multi-sport field, there is usually a specification for line color if the sports must be laid out in a secondary color. Typically this is yellow, but it pays to check, especially on some fields that host 3 or more sports on artificial turf.

Line striping.

There are many different ways to paint a good line on grass or turf field. Which way is best for you depends on many variables, so there is no one-size-fits-all here. I’ve seen professional football fields painted completely by hand with brushes and 4-inch rollers. When legendary groundskeeper George Toma found himself in a foreign country with no paint machines, he and his team would paint a Super Bowl quality NFL field using only 2-gallon pump weed sprayers. It was something to see.

Paint liner machines come in many types, each offering their advantages (and disadvantages). The key is to get the liner equipment fit just right for your particular operation.

Diaphragm pump sprayers draw paint directly from an open bucket delivering a relatively high pressure spray to the guns. In the US, these airless paint sprayers are very popular. They tend to be versatile, allowing for hand-gun logo painting set-ups as well as nozzle outrigger set-ups for lining. They tend to be more efficient in terms of paint usage in my opinion. Some allow for 2 or more guns to run at the same time which is great for team logo painting and fat-line striping. These are generally higher pressure units that deliver a fine-droplet size. Usually, you can adjust the pressure and I always recommend painting turf at the lowest practical pressure level to avoid blasting paint into the soil. This is also key when painting dirt skinned areas on a softball or baseball field.

Tank systems, as I call them, utilize a pressurized tank that the paint is poured in to. These types of machines deliver a spray that is much lower in pressure. The paint tanks are pressured with a compressor driven by gas or electric engines. Some machines have tanks pressurized by rechargeable CO₂ tanks. Among other advantages, the strong capacity allows for multi-nozzle operation.

There are spray-can liners that use specialized, up-side-down aerosol cans which are great for small quick jobs. No mixing and the paint tends to dry more quickly in my experiences. You can also use the cans by hand for touch-ups and logo painting. These are handy and should be part of your inventory with a few cautions. The propellants used can slightly burn turf canopy in certain conditions, in my opinion. This is usually caused by not thoroughly shaking the cans. Aerosols are also more expensive per unit of painting, and you probably have to store them in an appropriate flame-proof cabinet if you stock more than a few. Check with your local fire department.

In Europe, smaller capacity wheel-transfer stripers are very popular. You may see these lining the grass tennis courts at Wimbledon this month.

There are even GPS guided robotic field paint machines. See a video here. Another one here uses GPS to keep your nozzle-box on a straight line. There is one that can lay-out logos robotically.

Selecting the right paint machine for your particular operation may mean you get two or more different types of machines for redundancy and to fit your particular paint projects.

Here’s what I look for: (no order of importance)

Capacity that fits the job. Durability. Life is hard on paint machines. Get something that is meant for tough, commercial use. Where can I find replacement nozzles, parts and expert service quickly? Versatility. Can I use the machine for striping and decorative logo work (hand-held)? Can you change the front wheels from locked positions to free-wheel “shopping cart” mode? I like wide handle bars with good, ergonomic hand positions for ultimate control when striping. How easy is the machine to clean really well? Can I demo the unit before purchase?

Nozzle tips are key! You need high-quality options that spray different widths and shapes. They should be easily interchangeable. Ask any professional field painter and they will tell you which tips they like for different jobs. Whatever your machine is, learn about the various nozzle tips offered and what kind of shape and width they have. Keep several back-up nozzles of all the types of nozzle tips you use. Paint has solids and these wear out tips. Cheaper paints use inferior ingredients that will wear out nozzle tips much faster. The better nozzle tips can be spun around in a reverse-spray to quickly release clogs. See my resources of the month below, to watch a great video that teaches us all about airless paint sprayer tips.

The friction of these paint solids blowing through the nozzles can create a strong static electrical charge. Check your owner’s manual and make sure you always properly ground the unit while in use or cleaning, as required.

As with all of your sports field equipment, cleaning your paint equipment is absolutely critical to dependability. Do a thorough cleaning according to the manufacturer’s instructions after each use. Just running clean water through your paint machines is not good enough. Some people like to use paint thinners to clean machines and spray gun parts, but that may not be safe from a fire safety standpoint I believe. Again, check with the manufacturer of the machine and look in the owner’s manual for cleaning instructions. I don’t use flammable cleaners like paint thinners and other flammable solvents for cleaning because of the potential safety hazard. Potential sparks and flammable liquids don’t go together in my book. (See static electricity potential discussed above). I have used tri-sodium phosphate (Spic-and-Span) with great success as a general parts and machine cleaner. It is non-flammable and relatively mild, diluted in water of course, and after checking with manufacturer. Break down the critical parts of your machine and soak them first in warm cleaning solution before cleaning with brushes, etc. In the off-season, go in yearly and do deep cleaning. Pressure washers can blast off caked on paints but be careful not to damage the unit. I have also used Easy-Off oven cleaner for really tough paint build-up. Always read and follow instructions carefully on all products you use. Stronger products like Easy-Off can strip paint or even damage parts if used incorrectly. After cleaning, do any lubrication and other items specified in the owner’s manual before using the machine again.

When cleaning painting equipment, you must know where the rinsates are going and make sure it is into a sanitary drain that is appropriate for this. Never clean a paint machine (or any other equipment, for that matter) without this knowledge and doing it in a responsible way. It’s not hard to trace back and find the source of paint rinsates contamination. Know and comply with the appropriate ordinances and regulations. Even when you do everything right, there can be issues.

After your deep off-season cleaning, find a local dealer mechanic or qualified independent mechanic to do regular yearly services to your paint machines that includes a detailed inspection and needed repairs. With proper cleaning, maintenance and service, there is no reason a quality paint machine can’t last 20 years, in my opinion. Some of mine have.

Turf Tips 101: Sports Field Paints

I don’t think you need to be a paint expert as a sports field manager. I know I am far from it, but you do need to know some basics you can apply in finding the best paint for you. Like paint machines, athletic field paints come in many different varieties. The first thing you do is to make sure you are using paints that are made for athletic field marking. These have been specially formulated for grass or turf playing surfaces. Using other types of paints could damage or kill the grass. With artificial turf fields, always check with the field manufacturer in selecting a good paint (if you paint part or all of your field). There may be warrantee implications with incorrect turf paints.

Very generally, paints are made up of various pigments, binders, carriers, dispersal agents and water, along with other stuff. It is a highly technical art form to manufacture quality paint, especially athletic field paints which are sprayed on living plants. High quality field paints have a lot of research and a high degree of precision processing to really make a difference in brightness and staying power. You really get what you pay for in athletic field paints. Cheap sports field paint is not inexpensive, in my opinion. Buy the best, you won’t regret it.

Of all the components in athletic field paints, early research at North Carolina State University seems to point at the pigments used as the most likely suspect in paint damage to the turfgrass, with different colors affecting turfgrasses to different extents in blocking useable sunlight. This may confirm what we field managers notice. White field paints do the least grass damage compared to colors. Each color affects that grass differently and red seems to be the worst. Phys.org has a good summary of what goes into athletic field paints and a review of the work done at NC State. STMA’s magazine SportsTurf has a good article about the research.

Generally, we buy athletic field paints in 5-gallon buckets as some sort of concentrate which we dilute with water before painting on the field. Some companies offer a paste concentrate to save on shipping. My experiences with these is that while they have their role, they are not generally processed to the high precision of other paints and may not be of equal quality.

Mixing. Through experience and good record keeping, you should know how much of each color of mixed paint you will need for any particular project. Mixing the paint concentrates with water is a time-consuming event, but it is absolutely critical. I like to mix up the paint late in the day before I paint a field, taking the time to really stir it well with a power drill and specialized paint mixing bit (Check with your paint dealer). Then, I give everything a quick stir on paint day before starting. Work to get all the settled concentrates off the bottom of the bucket. Use a stiff stick of flat wood or plastic to scrape concentrate around and off the sides of the bucket and stir again. Don’t fill buckets all the way to the top when diluting/mixing to allow for some splash with the mixer.

After mixing and putting lids back on, I use colored, round stickers purchased at any office supply store to label the color and dilution rate of each bucket of mixed paint. You can just use a dab of the colored paint on the lid to identify the color. But since we tend to re-use old buckets for mixing and dilution several times, this can get messy and confusing.

Recycle/Re-use buckets. If you are buying and diluting in 5-gallon buckets, you will need to keep a supply of clean, used buckets. The key is to wash them very well, buckets and lids, with a good plastic scrubber, and stack to dry before inserting them into each other in stacks, If you do this wet, it may be very hard to separate them when you need them. You don’t have to worry so much about cleaning the outside of the buckets, but do a thorough job on cleaning the insides. In time, you will build up an over-supply of used buckets. Re-use as many as you can. They make great on-field tool/parts boxes. Several companies even sell inserts and coverings to really make them into useful tools/parts boxes. Clean, used buckets make great stools to sit on while doing other work. There seems to be no limit on ways to use old 5-gallon field paint buckets, from toilets to food storage and from air conditioners to backpacks. If you still build up an overstock, give them away to co-workers, family and friends. The 5 gallon paint bucket may be the most versatile, reusable and useful thing in your field maintenance shop.

Or maybe you can engineer a bucket-less paint mixing/distribution system like they are at University of Florida’s Gators Turf Staff.

Dilution rates. Check with the paint manufacturer for detailed dilution recommendations. Generally, we dilute the purchased paint concentrates by at least ½ with water (50% paint concentrate and 50% water). The better quality paints can be diluted down to 25% paint (75% water) or even more in my experiences, and still deliver outstanding brightness on the field. This is why you can’t buy athletic field paints on cost/gallon alone. Different paints can handle dilution better than others. Get some sample product and experiment with different dilution rates sprayed on the field.

Note: If you don’t have sufficient facilities for mixing and diluting your purchased paint concentrate, most dealers will pre-mix the paint with water for you at their plant. Keep in mind that you will be paying for shipping water. Even a 50% dilution rate doubles your shipping costs and doubles the number of buckets needed for the order. A 25% dilution would be twice that.

Paint colors. Again, I’m no expert here but I have learned a few lessons in the field. Matching team colors painted on a dynamic green grass surface is a tough thing to pull off. Again, another reason to work with the very highest quality athletic paint companies. The Pantone numbering system is a good framework in my experiences, but you still have to work with your paint manufacturer in making small sample blends that you can try on your particular grass or turf field to see the results. You can get the team color Pantone numbers usually from someone in the marketing side of the team.

Managing paint inventory. Depending on your particular situation, storing an entire season of field paint may not be practical. Athletic field paints have a shelf life in my experiences, and they vary greatly in how fast they can go rotten on the shelf. I may sound like a broken record here, but the shelf-life issue is another reason to buy from a high-quality athletic field paint manufacturer. From experience, the unopened buckets of concentrate generally last much longer than opened buckets, diluted and mixed with water. All this leads to the need to carefully manage you paint concentrate and mixed paint inventory carefully. Plan project quantities so that you don’t leave a lot of left-over mixed/diluted buckets of paint.

“Removable paints”. I put that in quotes because, really, all field paints are removable. It just varies how hard they are to remove if you want. Generally, the dried field paint is hose-sprayed with water to soften the paint and some type of physical scrubbing of the grass canopy will remove the paint, similar to removing paint off artificial turf. While my experiences many years ago with removable field paints was not very successful, I have seen great results in recent years at multi-sport venues like Wembley Stadium in the UK and at BMO Field in Toronto.

Field paint aerosol cans. As I said, these can be very useful to have in your inventory. Get and keep a supply of the nozzles made by the aerosol paint maker. It’s hard to fix nozzle-clogs on these. It’s much easier to just switch to a new nozzle. The key with aerosols is to really shake and mix them well. Otherwise, you spray mostly propellants and other nasties onto the grass. Aerosols are generally more expensive on an applied unit basis, but they are great for touch-ups and because they dry so quickly they can be very useful in field painting during the cold, wet times of year. Matching aerosol can colors to your specialized normal field paint can be tricky. As with all field paints, test on your field before you buy.

Resources of the Month:

The Idaho Painter has a great video teaching us all about airless paint sprayer tips and how important the right selection for the right job is.

A good piece that describes, simply, the airless nozzle tip size numbering system.

Interesting video about how paint is manufactured.

End Quote:

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso