It looks like someone employed in public works for the City of Montreal, Canada is going to be fired because new road markings painted on city streets seem to wash off thanks to recent rains. It didn’t take a detective to realize something was wrong with the newly painted lines as shortly after a recent rain ran through Montreal, streaks of yellow could be spotted on the road next to the new road markings. Check out the embarrassing photos courtesy of Montreal Blog below.
Road marking paint is some of the most durable paint out there. Its special properties allow it to be seen during daylight hours as well as in the middle of the night provided you have your lights on while driving. Thermoplastic paint, also called road marking paint, is made up of a synthetic resin, additives to increase the plastic percentage, pigments that give it its bright colors, packing materials for mechanical strength and sometimes ground up glass beads to make it “sparkle at night.”
Get the mixture wrong or use the wrong paint altogether and yah, a little water can ruin a good road marking job.
Making matters worse is that is that the melted paint is running down towards the middle of the street marking tires as people drive through it, and in some cases, hitting car panels with flecks of the yellow stuff. Fortunately, due to its apparent water solubleness, people affected can just hose off the offending stuff.
It looks like Montreal public works will either have to scrub off the defective paint with a solvent or high-pressure water and repaint it or wait for mother nature to finish the job for them.
My theory is that the city cut some corners somewhere in the budget and opted to try out a cheaper brand of road marking paint this time around. It looks like they’ve learned their lesson.
