'It really is possible: marking an entire field bright white with just 3 liters of paint' |
|
|
|
|
 |
| 190 sec |
Efficiency and sustainability in sports field marking with Performance paints
The total concept EX Evolution by Expo-Line includes, in addition to the E-Marker line marking machine—with interchangeable E-boxes for the machine components—the Performance marking paint line, which is suitable for all marking machines and robots. Raf Bogaerts from Expo-Line explains what makes the Performance line stand out: not only better performance but also lower costs due to reduced paint consumption and faster drying times.
| At the OHL stadium (owned by Leicester City owner King Power), the lines are set by field manager Kevin. He is the assistant to Luke Russell, Pro League Groundsman of the Year 2024. |
'We are unique with our three types of paint in the Performance line: Standard Performance for re-marking and training fields, High Performance, and Brilliant Performance for main fields,' says Raf Bogaerts from Expo-Line at the start of the interview. Should this piece be labeled as advertorial? After all, there are various suppliers of white paint that apply advanced technologies and additives to minimize sedimentation and settling of the paint, including suppliers of road and coating paints. These powders, such as titanium dioxide, are added for thickening, consistency, texture, coverage, or resistance to weathering. Bogaerts smiles: 'I know everyone says that about their own product. But with our water-based Performance paints, there is no settling of powder pigments. That truly sets them apart from all other paints in the sports field market.'
Development of sediment-free paint
With all water-based paints, there is a risk of sedimentation or settling in the jerrycan: the powders sink to the bottom, with a layer of water on top. 'After a few weeks to months, the powders clump together due to the weight of the water layer, forming a hard layer,' explains Bogaerts. 'You can hardly shake it loose; you'd really need a hand mixer inside the jerrycan. For this reason, we already developed sediment-free paint in 2002, which can stay on the shelf for one to two years before settling occurs and shaking is needed.'
Bogaerts frequently hears from clubs that the nozzle of the marking robot or machine gets clogged. 'That never happens with our Performance paints,' he says. 'After developing clump- and sediment-free paints in 2002, we launched our Performance paints in 2023. These are clump- and sediment-free and highly concentrated, allowing for application in smaller volumes (low consumption).'
 | | The field management team works with Expo-Line's EX Evolution concept. The E-Marker marking machine and Performance paint line are part of this. |
|
|
|
|
'Nozzle clogging never happens with our Performance paints'
| |
|
Practical experiences
Recently, Bogaerts visited a French-speaking top club in Belgium that had paints from all suppliers on its shelves. All these paints turned out to settle and clog the marking robot. 'I know that other suppliers of quality paints score just as well on whiteness. However, these visits confirm that the absence of clumping and settling is truly our USP,' says Bogaerts.
He is not only referring to the line marking market in the Benelux. He also claims that all English producers of marking paint supply paints that settle. 'The groundsmen of English professional clubs are highly skilled. This might give the impression that English paints are also of above-average quality,' he says. 'So I found it admirably honest that the renowned groundsman Luke Russell of Leicester City told the media that our paint is superior to others because it does not clump.'
This is good news, as more and more clubs are using marking robots. 'Such a robot can start marking immediately with our paint and continue without stopping, meaning no valuable time is lost. We hear from marking robot users that they sometimes have to stop three or four times per field because the nozzle gets clogged and needs cleaning. The same applies to manual marking machines. Clubs solve this by using larger nozzles, 2 mm instead of 1 mm, but that results in unnecessary paint use. Groundsman Russell says he never has to clean his marking machine extra to unclog it.'
In early February, Bogaerts visited Russell at Leicester City for a video shoot. 'He told me that before the match against KV Mechelen, he didn't need to re-mark the field because the paint from the last marking—three weeks earlier—was still intact. That shows how well the paint adheres to the grass. This is a stadium field under camera scrutiny, so the lines must be top quality. Russell, who has been using Performance paints for eight months, added that he has never found sludge at the bottom of a jerrycan during that time.'
Lower paint consumption through homogeneity
The smaller the spray nozzle, the more important the quality and homogeneity of the paint. According to Bogaerts, Performance paints are designed for the smallest nozzle, 0.5 mm. At the end of January, he visited a Belgian professional club that used an average of two 10-liter cans per field with a 2 mm nozzle. 'On a misty, drizzly day, we worked together with a 1 mm nozzle and Brilliant Performance paint. There were no clogs, and we used only one 10-liter can. We even had paint left over. So paint consumption was at least halved. And this can be reduced even further with a 0.50 mm nozzle. This is sustainable because it reduces transport and stock needs.'
|
|
'We used only one 10-liter can and still had paint left over'
| |
|
Long-lasting pigment fixation
Once sprayed onto the grass, marking paint pigments usually slide down the upright grass to the ground. According to Bogaerts, this is because standard marking paint lacks properties to properly hold pigments in the grass. 'Immediately after marking, the result looks bright white. But ten to twenty minutes later, the color appears duller unless it's rainy weather—then the whiteness fades even faster. A field manager once thought the paint was being absorbed into the soil! I explained that gravity causes the pigments to slide down the grass blades. Performance paints fix pigments to the grass, maintaining their whiteness for a week.'
This article was originally published on February 22, 2025, on the Fieldmanager website.
| LOG IN
with your email address to respond.
|
|
|
| There are no comments yet. |
Tip the editors
|
