We have a proposal to do for a paint contractor. It's for an elementary school play area. They need 21 games painted on raw concrete. Most of the games resemble hopscotch (approx. 4'x8') and three of them are 8' circles. Each game has either letters, numbers or geometric shapes incorporated into it. Each game requires 2 colors.
I checked out a paint guide and it looks like no matter what paint is used, a primer is required. We don't have specs on the paint as yet. Normally, the paint contractor supplies the paint materials and we bid labor and misc.
If you imagine a hopscotch game, there are plenty of straight lines, 1" wide in this case. The letters and numbers are Gothic Bold, most are 8". Each square is 1'.
We figure on making templates for the letters, numbers and shapes. hmmmm, maybe this would be a good time to practice letting techniques...
I'm curious how you would go about laying out the 1" lines, and time involved to so?
When I was a kid, chalk or a rock on the street, hopscotch layout, less than 3 minutes...lol
Cher.
-------------------- Co-Host: SANDCASTLE Panel Jam 'a Dixie Letterhead Reunion' Fort Myers, Florida
Cheryl Lucas a/k/a "Shag" on mIRC Vital Signs & Graphics, Etc. Cape Coral, Florida 239-574-4713 VSignsNgraphics@aol.com
Posts: 987 | From: Cape Coral, FL USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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PROBABLY - (depending just what is involved) I would make patterns on butcher paper, pounce with white chalk on location and use 1 inch masking tape to "make the lines" on the hopscotch grids to determine the line width without a lot of measuring & marking - then tape on either side of that tape, remove the tape in the middle, burnish down the inside edges of the tape by pounding with a stiff brush, and paint away. Most likely with traffic paint, several coats. For bigger stuff - lay out on location. Make a compass out of a long stick, snap lines, etc.
[ November 11, 2001: Message edited by: Mike Languein ]
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I was listening to the WGN "Mr. Fix-it" guy, Lou Manfredini yesterday morning. He was talking about some kind of paint to use directly on concrete without primer. You could e-mail him for the product name at LouManfredini@wgnradio.com.
good luck
-------------------- Jeff Vrstal Main Street Signs 157 E. Main Street Evansville, WI 53536 1-608-882-0322
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In Oz we can get a "road marking" paint, either in aerosol cans or in bulk for bigger jobs. You can brush it or put it thru an "airless" or low pressure spray gun. Foam rollers work well too on rough surfaces. Doesn't require an undercoat and dries fast.
Cut templates for lines, curves and lettering out something light and flexable. Fluteboard? or cheap panel board. Mark out your lines one side with a chalk line and spray away ...
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The stuff the line markers use is called chlorinated Latex (I think) and as far as I know doesnt require any type of priming. As for masking it, there are a lot of different ways, I'd be inclined to make a mask out of corflute (coroplast?) or something equally cheap and easy to work with. HTH, David
-------------------- David Fisher D.A. & P.M. Fisher Services Brisbane Australia da_pmf@yahoo.com Trying out a new tag: "Parents are the bones on which children cut their teeth Peter Ustinov Posts: 1450 | From: Brisbane Queensland Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Don't forget to include the cost of a couple of visits to the Chiropractor! This is like doing a basketball court...only worse on the knees! Traffic paint doesn't need primer...check with your local paint store.
-------------------- Si Allen #562 La Mirada, CA. USA
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Brushasaurus on Chat Posts: 8827 | From: La Mirada, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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As long as we're on the subject, I did project 2 summers ago for a customer who wanted a shuffleboard court painted along side of their new swimming pool. Well, that job didn't go quite so well. I did a nice layout of the court, numbers, etc. by masking off the lines and handpainting the numbers, but I think the key was finding out EXACTLY what the surface of this shuffleboard court was finished with beforehand.
I used black one-shot with an enamel hardener added, and it went on very nice, but it just didn't bite well enough to the surface. On top of that, the scratches that the family pooch put into it actually scratched the surface of the shuffleboard finish as well, so I didn't feel so bad, but isn't it funny that you can spill lettering enamel on your shop floor that has lord knows what including oil, grease, dust, pop, and various small critters, and 5 years later that paint spill is still there? Yet, I hand scuffed the entire layout of this darned court, and couldn't get the paint to really bite.
That is one job failure that still really bugs me to this day, and I have yet to "fix" this for the customer. I got some swimming pool paint from the guy who put the finish down first, and it's a 2 part epoxy, but that's the easy part, now I have to remove all of the old crap, and basically start over. Sure would have been nice if I would have "done it right" the first time.
-------------------- Kurt Gaber Chippewa Falls, WI Thank You Letterheads for being a part of both Brush Bashes in '02 & '06!
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Cheryl, I wish that you could find it in your concience to "hop" out of this project and focus on that AWESOME carving that you are now doing !!! We are all waiting for you to post all 3 photos of your latest work on the portfolio table !!!
-------------------- John Smith Kings Bay Signs (Retired) Kissimmee, Florida Posts: 816 | From: Central Florida - The Sunshine State | Registered: Jan 2000
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I have a Rustoleum surface striper that acommodates rattle can paints made for striping. It has an adjustable handle that allows striping 2"-5" (perhaps it could be modified for 1", the can would really have to be low). This unit has 4 wheels which keeps it somewhat on track. I have done some custom parking lot graphics as well always using templates. I have taken PVC board and "Rotozipped" the stenciling right along my vinyl letters for some pretty accurate layouts. This technique seemed to work fast for me. I would always use a guide for straight lines and would freehand the curves. Doing 1" stripes I would use stencils like this.
-------------------- Rich Stebbing RichSigns Rohnert Park CA 707-795-5588 Posts: 755 | From: Rohnert Park, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Hi Cheryl, I wana see those carvings too! Be careful painting on "green" concrete as most paints require seasoning or aging before application of paint. I like the suggestions for using highway paint because you see them painting lines on freshly laid pavement. Good luck.
-------------------- Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist. Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Since this is an odd job for us, we're hoping to come up with the most effecient way to get the job done.
We're still waiting for specs and a list of answers, so we don't quite know what we're dealing with yet.
I'm also waiting to hear back from a concrete contractor. I'm curious how long the pour needs to cure prior to painting and any suggestion of paint to use. I hope the paint contractor knows this, but looking into it, to cover my butt.
I'm curious how you would estimate your time?
The 'play area' resembles the size of a basketball court. (for reference sake)
I guess our first day on the job, we'll measure and identify placement of each game. Making sure that everything fits! Ha!
The second day, we'll come prepared to layout and paint. I'm sure we'll have to iron out some unforescene problems.
Hopefully, by the thrid day, we'll be on a roll, so to speak! I'm guessing by then, we should be able to layout and paint 3-4 games per day. 2 hours +/- per game.
Is this realistic?
Concrete absorbs moisture and could possibly be wet in the early hours. This time of year, we have 10-11 hours of daylight.
Hopscotch anyone? Cher.
Oh, the carving... The customer absolutely loved it! I'll be posting on the portfolio page soon. Thanks for the compliment, John.
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Cheryl Lucas ]
-------------------- Co-Host: SANDCASTLE Panel Jam 'a Dixie Letterhead Reunion' Fort Myers, Florida
Cheryl Lucas a/k/a "Shag" on mIRC Vital Signs & Graphics, Etc. Cape Coral, Florida 239-574-4713 VSignsNgraphics@aol.com Posts: 987 | From: Cape Coral, FL USA | Registered: Aug 2000
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