"I'm installing a small sided synthetic turf football field (half the length) that will be using a crumb rubber infield. What do you recommend for painting permanent field lines to include wide area boundary, hash marks, end zone and custom center field stencils? We are currently in the Los Angeles area." Joe, a Pittsburgh Steeler fan

I'm not necessarily a fan of painting the lines before the infield is applied as I'm not convinced the synthetic turf fibers will be in as a vertical configuration as when the crumb rubber infield is applied and groomed in. However, there is an issue of over spraying, primarily due to a high field marker pump pressure and painting the crumb rubber infield. You want to try and achieve even coverage on both sides of the turf blade. It is better to apply two thin layers rather than one thicker application. Does anyone in the sports turf community have input on this subject?

For synthetic turf paint application you are looking at a more permanent application. Although some aerosol paint formulations work better than others, especially if you can apply a aerosol clear coat (considered a colored product) or what I call a "primer" coat to improve the binding properties to the synthetic turf blade. There is a tendency that this application will still flake off over time as the fiber becomes agitated by foot traffic, thus requiring more touch-up applications. Given your high percentage of UV coverage any application will tend to get "baked on" and increase durability. Unfortunately, creating a crisp straight line will be more difficult using a standard aerosol striper with the narrow wheel deck platform. Using a string line will be paramount.

For a more professional looking paint application the high pressure line striper (usually a gasoline or 110-volt airless pump) should be your choice. The Titan Speeflo Powrliner 850 striper is the most cost effective solution for your operations if you decide to purchase. We do offer the Titan TR2 spray tip which allows for a quick conversion to wide area marking to include sidelines, goal lines and field stencils.

Many professional painters and pavement striping business in your area have the necessary airless pump sprayers. For stationary pump system you'll need to use two parallel tapes, e.g., construction/police barrier tape, and painting between the lines. Also industrial rental firms will typically have the stationary pump sprayers that can be loaded on a movable cart. In all cases pulling a string line is paramount (or painting between the two tape lines).

The TrailBlazer Solar Trail permanent bulk paint formulation is our recommended product to be applied using an airless pump sprayer. This product will cover about 300 linear feet per gallon of paint. These synthetic turf paint formulations are not diluted which is the primary reason you need a high pressure airless pump. As mentioned before we would recommend applying the paint in two passes. The Titan 850 does allow you to adjust the pump pressure to reduce the amount of over spray. We do offer custom colors in Solar Trail to include Bison Gold (burnt yellow), Deep Blue, and Red Zone.

To help increase the professional image of your football field we would recommend using a football field hash mark stencil which includes the cross hash. Using two people this rigid plastic stencil can be moved up and down the field for striping with a spray gun. Also consider Tru Mark for your custom sports field stencils and large block letter stencils for the end zone. We would be glad to provide you with a price quote free of charge.

Go Steelers!!!