What Is Real High Reflective Road Marking？

Mar 29,2024

What Is Real High Reflective Road Marking？

Road Marking owns a long history and plays a crucial role in traffic safety by giving out people’s warning so as to protect them from accidents, and that’s exactly the reason why the high reflectivity of the road marking should be stressed. But do you really understand what real High Reflective Road Marking is? According to China’s latest standards for road marking, data of the high retro-reflective road marking from the United States, Canada and Australia, and the road reflective marking data currently used in Southeast Asian countries, etc., Tory is here to summarize and introduce the standards of high reflective road marking.

Ordinary High Reflective Road Markings

● With certain anti- pollution performance;

● Continuous retroreflection coefficient is more than 450mcd (under dry condition);

● The initial retroreflection coefficient is more than 600mcd (under dry condition);

● Clear visibility at night;

Note: The new Chinese national standard GB/T16311 divides the reflective road markings into 4 classes:

Level 1 reflective: 150~250mcd

Level 2 reflective: 250~350mcd

Level 3 reflective: 350~450mcd

Level 4 reflective: above 450mc

High Reflective Road Markings on Rain Nights

● With certain anti- pollution performance;

● Clear Visibility at night;

● The initial retroreflection coefficient is more than 500mcd (under dry condition);

● The initial retroreflection coefficient is more than 260mcd (under wet condition) ;

● The initial retroreflection coefficient is more than 150mcd (under continuous rainfall condition)

● Continuous retroreflection coefficient is more than 300mcd (during normal use, under dry condition)

● Continuous retroreflection coefficient is more than 160mcd (during normal use, under wet condition)

● Continuous retroreflection coefficient is more than 90mcd (during normal use, under continuous rainfall condition)

Note: Data sources Sichuan Provincial Local Standard: Quality Requirements and Testing Methods for Reflective Markings on Highway Traffic on Rainy Nights

Hot-Melt High Reflective Road Markings

Basic requirements:

Resin (total organic matter): ≥19%

TYPE 3 internal mixed glass beads: ≥35%

Rutile titanium dioxide: ≥12.5%

Others: 33.5%

Basic specifications of hot-melt high reflective paint:

Softening point: ≥100℃

Compressive strength: ≥15Mpa

Brightness factor: ≥0.85 (200℃ constant temperature for 4 hours cannot be less than 0.75)

Construction performance: No precipitation at constant temperature of 200℃ for 4 hours (no stirring state)

Drop on glass beads: TYPE 3 (Amount: ≥0.5kg/㎡)

Initial retroreflection coefficient: ≥600mcd

Continuous retroreflection coefficient: not less than 450mcd

Two-Component High Reflective Road Markings

Resin Content: ≥35%

TYPE 3 glass beads: ≥35%

Titanium dioxide content: ≥12.5%

Others: 17.5%

Note: Sprayed two-component road markings do not have continuous reflective properties. The reflective properties will disappear after the surface layer of glass beads falls off. If the resin content is less than 35%, the structural fineness of the paint will be reduced after film formation, the performance will be greatly reduced, so do the anti-pollution and pressure resistance properties.

Screeded Two-Component High Reflective Road Marking Performance:

Screeded thickness: 1.5~1.8mm

Gel time: ≥10 minutes (at 23°C, fully ensure paint penetration performance and improve road adhesion)

Cross-linking curing drying time: 20~40 minutes adjustable

TYPE 3 drop on glass beads: ≥500g/㎡

Usually if the screeded road markings can be constructed based on the above ratio and performance, the initial retroreflection coefficient will be above 600mcd.

Summary: Usually, the reflective road marking doesn’t have to own continuous reflectivity, however, it definitely can’t be called and counted as high reflective road marking if it cannot meet the requirements of "initial retroreflection coefficient ≥ 500mcd, retroreflection coefficient ≥ 250mcd during normal use". High reflective markings do not matter what material they are made of: hot-melt, waterborne, and two-component can all meet the requirements for high reflective road markings.

The ultimate purpose of installing and maintaining road markings is to improve road safety; for this, high-quality raw traffic safety materials are essential.

As a leading manufacturer of traffic safety materials with more than 30 years’ experience, Tory is committed to ongoing product development and excellent customer services that makes us the perfect partner for your road marking paint supply needs. We can provide you with raw materials (such as reflective glass beads, MMA resin, AW element etc.) with very competitive prices which can be customized to meet the specific requirements of customers and projects. For more information, or to get started on your traffic safety solution: https://www.cntory.com/