Two Different Types of Preformed Thermoplastic Pavement Marking Materials: Preheat vs. No Preheat

Recognized Types of Preformed Thermoplastic Pavement Marking Materials

• The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Traffic Control Devices Handbook
     recognizes two types of preformed thermoplastic pavement marking materials:

     1. No preheating of the road surface to a given temperature is required

     2. Preheating of the road surface to a certain temperature is required

• These are completely different products and should be treated as such.

“Preheat” Key Application Considerations

•  Satisfactory bonding and proper embedment of factory-installed surface elements
     (glass beads and/or skid resistant material) occurs in a controlled manner only when
     the application surface has been pre-heated to approximately 300°F prior to
     placement of product on the pavement.

•  If the surface is not preheated and is only at ambient temperature, either:

     a) sufficient bond will not be achieved with optimal embedment of factory-installed surface elements; or

     b) although unlikely, sufficient bond could potentially be achieved by severe overheating of the material
          surface resulting in heavy charring/damage and less than optimal anti-skid and retroreflective properties

“No-Preheat” Key Application Considerations

•  Satisfactory bonding and proper embedment of factory-installed surface elements occurs in a controlled  
    manner only when the application surface is at ambient temperature when the product is placed on
    the pavement.

•  If the pavement surface is preheated the marking will bond to the surface but possibly risk over-embedment of the
    factory-installed surface elements thus negatively impacting retroreflectivity and/or anti-skid properties.

The applicator should be concerned with achieving three primary results:
     
1. Sufficient bond                            2. Optimized retroreflectivity        3. Maximized skid resistance

For More Information

A complete 8-page document, Optimal Application of Preformed Thermoplastic Pavement
Marking Materials: Preheat vs. No Preheat Categories Explained, is available with more
details. Flint is the manufacturer and supplier of the world's leading “no preheat” product,
PreMark® and the world's leading “preheat” product, HotTape™. Contact Flint Trading, Inc.
at (336) 475-6600 for more information.