Parking Lot Striping DYI

Many times I have read where some small parking lot owners are looking for do it yourself tips for parking lot striping. Below is a small guide to help the DYI crowd do just that.  So if your the bold type who want to give it a go with your own parking lot striping then this post is for you.

The first thing I would do is look and decide if you need to pressure wash the area or lot to be striped and, if so let it completely dry (unless it’s newly paved).  Using masking tape, string, and/or chalk liners, lay out sections 9′-10′ wide. Next, lay out straight lines 25′-28′ long, allowing for 4″ wide stripes.   Once designs are laid out, you are ready to paint.   If you used string or chalk liners, you will need a 4″ x 3/4″ roller cover, 4″ roller frame, 4″-6″ pan or one gallon roller grid, and water-based or oil-based traffic marking paint (use water-based on new asphalt).   If you used tape to outline stripes, you can either do the above or use upside down traffic marking spray paint.   Some of these spray cans require a specific striping machine.   If you roll these paints, you will need to move relatively fast as they are extremely fast drying. Usually they will resist hot tire pickup after 30 minutes to an hour.   Of course, if you are repainting existing lines, you need only roll or spray new paint over them after it has been properly cleaned.   Parking stripes are usually yellow or white. Handicap spaces are blue and are laid out according to the area they will be occupying as well as code.  No parking cross hatched areas are usually laid off in traffic marking red.  There is also blackout traffic marking paint to hide unwanted paint on a street or lot.  Professional parking lot striping machines are also an option; however they require a great deal of experience in order to properly use these.

So the basic steps are as follows:

• Clean Area
• Layout Striping Lines & Handicaps
• Paint Lines by Roller, Spray Paint or Machine
• Follow Codes for Line Width and Local Federal Standards
• Clean Up and You’re done

If this job seems like it’s too much to take on than give us a call:

714-495-9321