Parking lot painting can be as simple as painting a few straight lines to divide a private lot. But you may need to create a unique, custom, curved, or angled parking design to suit your client’s needs.
Worry not, as we will discuss each type of line painting method in more detail below.
1. Tracing
Tracing is the easiest, quickest, and most profitable parking lot painting job out there. The goal is to refresh the current lines, correct any previous mistakes, and leave it looking crisp and professional.
In order to trace you need to begin with your job preparation routine as discussed in Part 2: Surface Preparation.
Remember:
Blow, brush, or sweep off debris
Make your T-markings
Chalk your vertical lines
Take your line striping machine and align it with the spray gun pointing at your fresh chalk lines. A laser guide can help you line up your striper with the lines you need to repaint.
Begin striping, following your chalk line pattern. Remember to position your spray gun on the appropriate side of the chalk line, so you are not pushing your machine through wet paint when backtracking.
2. Creating a New Layout and Pattern
For many people, this format is also an easy task. It involves creating a well-spaced, free-flowing parking area on a clean surface. This type of job is like tracing without an existing pattern. Get out your measuring tape and measure the surface you are going to stripe. Mark your T’s and snap your lines.
Tip: You can also use a parking lot layout tool to make your job easier.
Helpful Hints:
Take your 300 ft. measuring tape
Measure out your lot
Divide your lot into 18ft. (length) by 9ft. (wide) stalls
KEEP IN MIND: You MUST leave 24ft. between the back of each stall for the drive lane.
To Start Parking Lot Painting:
Pick a landmark (i.e. sidewalk)
Take your chalk string and measure from Point A to Point B (you are going parallel to the sidewalk)
Measure the length (Point A to Point B) and make sure that you only chalk a length that can be equally divided by 9ft.
Now take your chalk string and measure 18ft. from Point A to Point C (you are now going perpendicular to the sidewalk).
Go to Point B and measure from Point B to Point D 18ft.
Now you Mark your T’s.
Take your measuring tape, one end at Point C, one at Point D.
Walk back towards Point C, every 9ft. make your T mark using your railway chalk.
Your parking lot should now look like a grid; all lines are in chalk at this point. Your next step in parking lot painting is to paint over your chalk lines with your line striping machine.
Align your line striping machine at Point A and stripe to Point B. When you get to point B start striping your inside lines. Point B-D first, then move across your grid striping the whole way until you are back at Point A.
As mentioned above, if you have a large lot, do your t-markings and your chalk grid exactly the same way as discussed, just make sure you leave 24ft. in between each section of stalls for the driving lane.
3. Angled Parking
There are three common angles in parking lot painting you will be asked to blueprint: 45 degree angle, 60 degree angle and 75 degree angle.
These angles can be easily done with your Parking Lot Protractor (pictured right). Simply begin the same way as you did above
Find a landmark (i.e. Sidewalk)
Chalk from Point A to Point B
Chalk from Point A to Point C
Take your parking lot protractor, place one end 9ft. out from Point C and the other side at your desired angle.
Using your Chalk String Line, line it up with your protractor and snap it, showing your new angled line.
Continue down the grid, measuring on a perpendicular angle ensuring that the width between your STALL lines is 9ft (this does not mean your AB line).
NOTE: Angled parking reduces the amount of stalls available, BUT can be handy in certain cases, where inadequate or lack of space is an issue as you are able to squeeze in one more row of angled parking than straight parking.
4. Stencils for Parking Lot Painting
Stenciling is very straightforward. It involves placing a stencil in the desired location and painting over the stencil, leaving only the stencil design once the stencil is removed. The most common types of stencils are:
As with many things in life, mistakes happen. Not to worry, we recommend having a 5-gallon bucket of commercial-grade asphalt sealer and a hand roller on all jobs. These will help cover any errors or line stripe mistakes while painting.
Simply dip your hand roller (preferably 4 inches wide, the same width as your lines) into the sealer and cover the error. Once the sealer has dried, you can re-stripe the area!
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