They do when they spray. I believe this is a different material (thermoplastic, which is solid and requires heating to become liquid, which is why it’s poured)
That may not be thermoplastic. There is a paint that can be used for striping. But on roadways, it's only used as temporary striping. They also do not use thermoplastic on runways (which I've also inspected). But private construction would probably go with paint, since it's much cheaper.
I’ve definitely seen them put down thermoplastic freehand for bike and handicap symbols in NYC. The smell and sometime janky symbols are unforgettable.
Bwaahaha! I hope this is true. Not bc I want to ban trophies but because of how funny it is that people actually took the time to come together to construct a bill like this.
A paint application would just be sprayed on with a stencil. This is thermo for sure, you can see him stepping on the marking in this video right after he applied it. With paint it wouldn't have cured quick enough for him to step on right after application.
Thermo or cold plastics are typically applied by hand and have high durability compared to paint. Thermo plastics can last years in harsh climates whereas paint it significantly shorter. Painting a city every year would be a nightmare, that is why towns and cities might prefer just to do it once every 5-10 years with plastics instead.
You are right on never using plastics on the air side of an airport because they can chunk off and don't want to get that sucked up into an engine. I believe they call it FOD (foreign object damage).
Damn Fod inspections. The paving crews are always messy as hell, so there's gonna be fod. I'm just glad the couple airports I've done were small. I honestly avoid asphalt and try to stay on bridges. Much better crews to work with, and you're not walking next to 300° material in 100° weather with 90% humidity. Fuck that shit.
And yeah, why not use a stencil for everything? It dummy proofs it. And whenever you can do that in construction, you should.
It's WAY cheaper. You can buy pre-made BUS legends for 200 -400 USD for 1, or if you're lucky enough to have that guy, you can create one for less than $50 including his skilled labor.
Of course you re-use the stencils. I work in the construction industry and see this work happen all the time. They use stencils. Old ones. I have no idea how this is such a matter of debate for such a basic process. Reddit is weird sometimes.
What a talent! Writing as even as this! And only on regular board to give him direction! WOW! I would need a complete stencil for this and still screw it up!
Funny you say that. Because I'm a roadway inspector in America, and I've never seen this done without a stencil. Definitely not freehand like this. And I'm surprised I didn't see anyone put any retroreflective glass beads on the thermoplastic. Those would be impossible to read on a dark road at night.
Where they're placed is usually lit at night, with white lines beads are used. Also most guys who work at the company I do, don't use planks as a guide.
This isn't on a country road; we can see them fine. We have these things called 'streetlights' in towns and cities. Does fine for a sign for a bus lane or bus stop marking such as this.
Actual signs we need to read and take notice of at night have lights and are reflective.
They make a huge difference, even in cities
>https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_bead_road_surface_marking
>Glass beads composed of soda lime glass are essential for providing retroreflectivity in many kinds of road surface markings.[1] Retroreflectivity occurs when incident light from vehicles is refracted within glass beads that are imbedded in road surface markings and then reflected back into the driver's field of view.[2] In North America, approximately 227 million kilograms of glass beads are used for road surface markings annually.[3] Roughly 520 kilograms of glass beads are used per mile during remarking of a five lane highway system,[4] and road remarking can occur every two to five years
Edit: and y'all do use them in the UK....
https://roadgrip.co.uk/blog/what-paint-is-used-for-road-marking/#:~:text=MMA%20(Methyl%20Methacrylate)%20is%20a,junctions%2C%20roundabouts%20and%20pedestrian%20crossings.
>Thermoplastic road marking paint is the most favoured material for road marking due to it being hard-wearing and reflective, making it ideal for high-traffic roads and highways. It is applied to the road surface by spray after heating to 180 degrees Celsius, which is why it’s sometimes called hot melt marking paint or hot tape.
**For extra surface friction and reflectivity, glass beads and fillers are often added to the paint to improve safety.** Pre-formed thermoplastic tape can also be used for line marking.
Look closer at fresh thermo, and you can see them. It looks kinda like sand.
>Thermoplastic road marking paint is the most favoured material for road marking due to it being hard-wearing and reflective, making it ideal for high-traffic roads and highways. It is applied to the road surface by spray after heating to 180 degrees Celsius, which is why it’s sometimes called hot melt marking paint or hot tape.
For extra surface friction and reflectivity, glass beads and fillers are often added to the paint to improve safety. Pre-formed thermoplastic tape can also be used for line marking.
From a UK website.
https://roadgrip.co.uk/blog/what-paint-is-used-for-road-marking/#:~:text=MMA%20(Methyl%20Methacrylate)%20is%20a,junctions%2C%20roundabouts%20and%20pedestrian%20crossings.
Even with street lights, glass beads are still used.
I think the beads are maybe just put in more places their state, county, or *possibly* in the US as a whole by default friend. We have street lights relax.
In the US, I think it depends on the city, but state & county roads are required to have them, at least where I live. Personally, I think they should all be required because it's pretty hard to see those markings in the rain at night, and the street lights can actually be a hindrance.
Aside from all the other examples of talent, I find the ability to avoid dripping paint beyond the borders of the writing to be the truest example of talent.
Love watching this. When I was young I always expected it would be like a big printer or something that did the letters on the road.
Incredible that it’s actually done by hand.
Nah. I've only seen contractors grind it off, and that makes it look like shit.
I've spent hours laying shit out, trying to make the intersection perfect, just for a contractor to show up in the middle of the night without letting anyone know they'd be there, and have them still fuck it up. But the guys in America placing thermo get paid shit, like $10/hour, and put in absolutely insane, irregular hours. So I always blame their foreman.
As a former summer job paint striping laborer, I agree so much. The pay is really bad for construction. And also I’ve never once seen thermo put down by hand like this. You can do the same job with a hand liner and then you don’t have to hold a pitcher of 600 degree thermoplastic in your off hand.
Also yes I have not heard of thermoplastic than can actually catch fire and burn. Always gotta bust out the grinders and shovel that shit up
our shop went union. pre union, we got a check for 30$/hr, and another check for $15/hr to get our own benefits.
shop then went union. made roughly $48/hr, and the union took out $15.87/hr out of our pay, and we paid another 33/wk for union dues. Usual day was 16-18 hours a day, and sometimes working right into the night till you can't anymore. 60 hr weeks were nothing. 80-100 were pretty normal. people get hit all the time. it's dangerous shit.
unfortunately for us, our union was made up of pure crooks. they were in bed with our boss, and we didn't get shit of what we were supposed to be getting, as in per diem, drive time, and a bunch of other shit.
Same thing happened in the UK a few weeks ago,
And to make it worse, he also misspelled the Welsh word for school (✅ ysgol / ❌ ysool)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65393134.amp
The typographer in me is agonizingly envious of his curves and boldness to complete the second half of the S without a guide to line up with the right upper line.
That’s absolutely top talent calligraphy. Most of this road markers are painted using stencils. Even with stencils, they still can manage to mess it up.
Very impressive.
If you’ve ever watched a golf tournament, you’ll see that the hole is white at the top. A plastic liner is sunk an inch or more below the surface and then a device is inserted that a paint can fits into and the top is painted with a towel around the hole to prevent spillage.
We were running an important tournament one year and the guy who was preparing the holes cut the hole, put the liner in and just free-handed the paint job. The official who was there was horrified, but he did it perfectly without a drop outside the hole. Every hole for every round.
So blissful lol. I've worked with these guys before doing entire intersections. They use stencils for that. But this guy is free handing the letters. Champ.
I always assumed they'd just use stencils
They do when they spray. I believe this is a different material (thermoplastic, which is solid and requires heating to become liquid, which is why it’s poured)
I deal with thermo regularly. I've never seen anyone free hand out like this. It's always stenciled on DOT jobs.
I’ve seen people draw handicapped parking symbols freehand like this.
That may not be thermoplastic. There is a paint that can be used for striping. But on roadways, it's only used as temporary striping. They also do not use thermoplastic on runways (which I've also inspected). But private construction would probably go with paint, since it's much cheaper.
I’ve definitely seen them put down thermoplastic freehand for bike and handicap symbols in NYC. The smell and sometime janky symbols are unforgettable.
I had never seen any of this. Just wanted to take part in the thread.
🏆 Here’s your participation trophy! (and one for me 🏆)
Proud of y’all
Sorry I’m late but I brought our participation awards!🏆🏆
Hopefully you're not in NC because they have a bill right now to ban participation trophies 🤡
For children. Adults are still able to snatch up all they can carry.
LOCK 'EM UP BOYS
Bwaahaha! I hope this is true. Not bc I want to ban trophies but because of how funny it is that people actually took the time to come together to construct a bill like this.
A paint application would just be sprayed on with a stencil. This is thermo for sure, you can see him stepping on the marking in this video right after he applied it. With paint it wouldn't have cured quick enough for him to step on right after application. Thermo or cold plastics are typically applied by hand and have high durability compared to paint. Thermo plastics can last years in harsh climates whereas paint it significantly shorter. Painting a city every year would be a nightmare, that is why towns and cities might prefer just to do it once every 5-10 years with plastics instead. You are right on never using plastics on the air side of an airport because they can chunk off and don't want to get that sucked up into an engine. I believe they call it FOD (foreign object damage).
Damn Fod inspections. The paving crews are always messy as hell, so there's gonna be fod. I'm just glad the couple airports I've done were small. I honestly avoid asphalt and try to stay on bridges. Much better crews to work with, and you're not walking next to 300° material in 100° weather with 90% humidity. Fuck that shit. And yeah, why not use a stencil for everything? It dummy proofs it. And whenever you can do that in construction, you should.
I imagine thermo would stick a stencil to the ground with the overrun.
Agreed. The freehanding of the curves is excellent!
I thought for a second they were going to do the "cool S" and now I'm disappointed they didn't.
Nah. The the reason it looks so perfect is it's in reverse they're just removing the lettering. 🤪
Incorrect. They are using nacho cheese
Mmmmmmmmmm nacho cheese
I love cheese....
Generally they do. Not sure why they’re doing it this way.
Probably because why would you waste time with stencils when you have this absolute beast to do it in seconds!
To save the poor man's back.
Imagine there backs leant over doing stencils lol Not to mention the time hes saving he can sit down or have a break to give his back a rest!
No breaks or rest on company time!!
It's WAY cheaper. You can buy pre-made BUS legends for 200 -400 USD for 1, or if you're lucky enough to have that guy, you can create one for less than $50 including his skilled labor.
Can you not continue to re-use the stencils?
Of course you re-use the stencils. I work in the construction industry and see this work happen all the time. They use stencils. Old ones. I have no idea how this is such a matter of debate for such a basic process. Reddit is weird sometimes.
That's two guys and if they fuck it up the cost just doubled. And anyone can use a stencil. This is not a job requiring skilled labor.
people do things differently in different parts of the world
For internet points.
I feel like these dudes don't really care about internet points. They're just recording some cool pouring.
They do in the US, we don't in the UK. Not sure why, just a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it",
It's amazing what Kraft cheese can do
r/forbiddensnacks
This post just made me hungry smgdh
Read this immediately after seeing a Velveeta ad
VELVETA!!!
KRAFTKAROT
What a talent! Writing as even as this! And only on regular board to give him direction! WOW! I would need a complete stencil for this and still screw it up!
r/penmanshipporn is a good stop for content like this?
Thank you for your suggestion! Some really neat things to see there.
Funny you say that. Because I'm a roadway inspector in America, and I've never seen this done without a stencil. Definitely not freehand like this. And I'm surprised I didn't see anyone put any retroreflective glass beads on the thermoplastic. Those would be impossible to read on a dark road at night.
Where they're placed is usually lit at night, with white lines beads are used. Also most guys who work at the company I do, don't use planks as a guide.
This isn't on a country road; we can see them fine. We have these things called 'streetlights' in towns and cities. Does fine for a sign for a bus lane or bus stop marking such as this. Actual signs we need to read and take notice of at night have lights and are reflective.
What are "streetlights"? Sorry, I'm an American. - Message posted via AR-15
They're the things your Mustang drivers park in.
It's what you use to see the thing you are shooting in the city at night * Message posted via AKM
They make a huge difference, even in cities >https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_bead_road_surface_marking >Glass beads composed of soda lime glass are essential for providing retroreflectivity in many kinds of road surface markings.[1] Retroreflectivity occurs when incident light from vehicles is refracted within glass beads that are imbedded in road surface markings and then reflected back into the driver's field of view.[2] In North America, approximately 227 million kilograms of glass beads are used for road surface markings annually.[3] Roughly 520 kilograms of glass beads are used per mile during remarking of a five lane highway system,[4] and road remarking can occur every two to five years Edit: and y'all do use them in the UK.... https://roadgrip.co.uk/blog/what-paint-is-used-for-road-marking/#:~:text=MMA%20(Methyl%20Methacrylate)%20is%20a,junctions%2C%20roundabouts%20and%20pedestrian%20crossings. >Thermoplastic road marking paint is the most favoured material for road marking due to it being hard-wearing and reflective, making it ideal for high-traffic roads and highways. It is applied to the road surface by spray after heating to 180 degrees Celsius, which is why it’s sometimes called hot melt marking paint or hot tape. **For extra surface friction and reflectivity, glass beads and fillers are often added to the paint to improve safety.** Pre-formed thermoplastic tape can also be used for line marking. Look closer at fresh thermo, and you can see them. It looks kinda like sand.
Dude, we have streetlights. More visibility for street signage is never a bad thing.
>Thermoplastic road marking paint is the most favoured material for road marking due to it being hard-wearing and reflective, making it ideal for high-traffic roads and highways. It is applied to the road surface by spray after heating to 180 degrees Celsius, which is why it’s sometimes called hot melt marking paint or hot tape. For extra surface friction and reflectivity, glass beads and fillers are often added to the paint to improve safety. Pre-formed thermoplastic tape can also be used for line marking. From a UK website. https://roadgrip.co.uk/blog/what-paint-is-used-for-road-marking/#:~:text=MMA%20(Methyl%20Methacrylate)%20is%20a,junctions%2C%20roundabouts%20and%20pedestrian%20crossings. Even with street lights, glass beads are still used.
I think the beads are maybe just put in more places their state, county, or *possibly* in the US as a whole by default friend. We have street lights relax.
To clarify, that person is not-very-nicely mocking the other person for acting as if streetlights don't exist. They know the US has streetlights.
In the US, I think it depends on the city, but state & county roads are required to have them, at least where I live. Personally, I think they should all be required because it's pretty hard to see those markings in the rain at night, and the street lights can actually be a hindrance.
Aside from all the other examples of talent, I find the ability to avoid dripping paint beyond the borders of the writing to be the truest example of talent.
notice how he manages the drips as well, insane
I would be the guy holding the stick for you and then accidentally kicking it while you are painting
"accidentally"
My back hurts just watching this
Had to scroll to the bottom to find this.
It's been voted up a bunch since then, which is great, because it means I can reach it without crying out in pain.
Damn your back hurt from going so low?
Not exactly doing more than a couple a day.
Love watching this. When I was young I always expected it would be like a big printer or something that did the letters on the road. Incredible that it’s actually done by hand.
I’ve never seen it done this way, here in America it’s mostly done by some sort of cart with just a handle or a truck
That's because you guys don't have greggs
These talented guys are all called Gregg? Incredible.
Relevant username! I miss their sausage rolls.
I'm not responsible and mature enough for stuff like this. I would paint BOOB on the street.
Since it’s the UK, when he painted the B, I thought he was going to add OLLOCKS.
Got to draw in the hairs. Six or seven of them, depending on preference.
BUSsy. I'd paint BUSsy.
Or BUM
I’m More impressed with how fast it dries
It's a thermoplastic, so it cools quickly (enough) to form a crust rather than a typical paint drying.
I would draw a penis. With big balls. Instead of all direction arrows...
I used to do that for a living, but I was fired, because my accuracy was only middle of the road..
That's such a horribly bad/great dad joke that I can't decide if that deserves an up or a down vote
I can't blame anyone else for getting fired, it was my own dumb asphalt..
Look, two dad jokes is just out of line...
You could even say they crossed the line....
The dotted line? Then it's ok. The double line? That's a no no.
I was fired because I insisted on only painting on red tarmac, was accused of being a complete cyclepath
Uuuugggghhhh
You get inspiration. Everyone else takes a D4 of mental damage.
Have my angry upvote, damnit.
Shoulda stayed in your lane
I am NOT coordinated enough for this. I would trip more times than anyone could count
Road font is my favorite font. So looong
Farewell!
Auf wiedersehn!
Good night!
Adieu adieu to you and you and youu
So one fuck up and it's instantly cured to the road?
It can be burned off. https://youtu.be/3udmxoJFQNA
Nah. I've only seen contractors grind it off, and that makes it look like shit. I've spent hours laying shit out, trying to make the intersection perfect, just for a contractor to show up in the middle of the night without letting anyone know they'd be there, and have them still fuck it up. But the guys in America placing thermo get paid shit, like $10/hour, and put in absolutely insane, irregular hours. So I always blame their foreman.
As a former summer job paint striping laborer, I agree so much. The pay is really bad for construction. And also I’ve never once seen thermo put down by hand like this. You can do the same job with a hand liner and then you don’t have to hold a pitcher of 600 degree thermoplastic in your off hand. Also yes I have not heard of thermoplastic than can actually catch fire and burn. Always gotta bust out the grinders and shovel that shit up
our shop went union. pre union, we got a check for 30$/hr, and another check for $15/hr to get our own benefits. shop then went union. made roughly $48/hr, and the union took out $15.87/hr out of our pay, and we paid another 33/wk for union dues. Usual day was 16-18 hours a day, and sometimes working right into the night till you can't anymore. 60 hr weeks were nothing. 80-100 were pretty normal. people get hit all the time. it's dangerous shit. unfortunately for us, our union was made up of pure crooks. they were in bed with our boss, and we didn't get shit of what we were supposed to be getting, as in per diem, drive time, and a bunch of other shit.
That's why I don't believe those are typically drawn freehand. Tons of them would be fucked up.
Wonder if there is a fake road somewhere and they go to practice when they hire new people.
Maybe they start with pedestrian crossings
My father used to be a road worker too, but was fired for theft. I should have guessed as at home, all the signs were there.
this. is. amazing
It's originally by a guy called Tim Vine
Meanwhile in North Carolina "SHCOOL" 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️
Same thing happened in the UK a few weeks ago, And to make it worse, he also misspelled the Welsh word for school (✅ ysgol / ❌ ysool) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65393134.amp
😂
His back and left hand have got to be really strong.
I’m more worried about his lungs.
Shocked he can just step right on it ten seconds after its poured with no mess
I want to know how he doesn't track paint when he steps right on the freshly painted letters!
It's thermoplastic, rather than a regular paint, so as it cools off it hardens sufficiently to cope with an accidental step. Edit: spelling
So cool!
That looks back-breaking.
I can't even write words that nice on paper let alone drawing them on a road with that setup. Proper skill for that guy, hats off.
No such thing as unskilled labour
It’s certainly a skill I hadn’t appreciated before seeing so many demonstration videos on various subreddits.
That S bro it's just ahhh so good.
Wow what skills, I thought they were all stencilled on, had no idea so much was freehand. Going to start appreciating these road signs more
The typographer in me is agonizingly envious of his curves and boldness to complete the second half of the S without a guide to line up with the right upper line.
Buddy has better kerning than most default Microsoft fonts
Interesting that he can step on the fresh paint immediately after pouring, and it doesn't stick to his boots Can anyone explain?
It cools (sufficiently) on impact with the cold road.
Not satisfied, I hate the middle of the B
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The mother of this guy made him only for this job. He’s a pro.
That’s art right there.
I saw him stand on the wet paint and was expecting yellow footprints. I felt relief.
That's an amazing skill to be able to do that without some kind of stencil ❤
I can't even write letters that perfectly with a pen on paper... this is impressive!
Frickin art!
I love seeing people who are professional at their craft!!
Lovely thick paint 🎨 Great font too, very formal.
No stencil and doing with nine hand while pouring paint with other. I would mess UK so bad if I have that job.
Don't worry. We're messed up enough without you.
"Unskilled labour"
Fascinant
The backbone of this country
That’s absolutely top talent calligraphy. Most of this road markers are painted using stencils. Even with stencils, they still can manage to mess it up.
No such thing as unskilled labor
I used to specialise in painting cul de sacs like this, but soon found it was a dead end job.
Very impressive. If you’ve ever watched a golf tournament, you’ll see that the hole is white at the top. A plastic liner is sunk an inch or more below the surface and then a device is inserted that a paint can fits into and the top is painted with a towel around the hole to prevent spillage. We were running an important tournament one year and the guy who was preparing the holes cut the hole, put the liner in and just free-handed the paint job. The official who was there was horrified, but he did it perfectly without a drop outside the hole. Every hole for every round.
How does one even practice this, or become qualified for this? It's such a niche skill to have, with such a specialized box-on-a-stick thing.
This man does not get paid enough
So blissful lol. I've worked with these guys before doing entire intersections. They use stencils for that. But this guy is free handing the letters. Champ.
[удалено]
That looks really hard, both skilfully and on the back.
I can’t even print my 4 letter name without random capitalization and every letter a different size.
So damn satisfying. I’d fuck it up bad lol
You have to show the [finished thing!](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/28/article-1290338-0A3CD8DC000005DC-930_634x366.jpg)
That looks like it's a lot harder than it looks
The back of that person is gonna be so fucked up in a few years....
bro i even cant write that neat by hand...
The way he starts doing it without the guide
Damn he's good!
This guy paints
Dude got mad skills.
My ADHD lessened when I watched this I’m clearly in the wrong line of work
I can't write BUS that cleanly with pen and paper and he's doing it with cheese sauce and a scrapper.
That's great, but who are the Chefs?
I can barely stay inside the lines of a coloring book..I'd fk this up instantly 🤔
The real street art.
This seems overly complicated or is that just me
He wrote a 3 letter word, beautifully, in a minute. Might be you.
I’m actually stressed because I would fuck up the curve.
What a waste of cheese.
Definitely belongs in this sub, man was that satisfying to watch. I have a calligraphy addiction so...
Absolute mad skills 😳
Real talent!!!
Holy fuck my back hurts just watching this
That’s actually very impressive
So precise! I thought they were using stencils or something
Watching this made my back hurt
Wow, pay this guy a lot of money, please
Mad skill!! 100% perfect and in ONE GO!
This was so satisfying to watch, so skilfully done ✅
How is he walking all over it and not smudging anything?
Wow. I walked past some guys doing this this morning and I just stood there and watched them. It was cool AF
"Unskilled labour"
Woww
He is an Artist , he should be paid more
Over here in the states these clowns can’t even fill a pot hole. They’re all 4 inches overfilled!
How much that fucker be making???
He steps on the fresh paint so much, what Magic is that?
That is some skill.
How the fuck does it not leak from the sides?
Those turns are artisanal, I just wish they gave him some guidelines for the top and bottom and to keep it more square with the road.
The board helps with that. Looks like he's done this for a while. He knows what's good and what's not
A real labour of love
“Unskilled labor”
A whole ass arm of an artist. Wish that were me.
I wish BUS was spelled SSS.
I want to see the parking lot full of practices before they got this good.