The baseball home of Westerville South High School, and Pioneer Athletics striping machine user, was featured in Sports Turf magazine’s October 2009 issue for winning the 2008 Sports Turf Managers Association Parks/School Baseball Field of the Year.

To read the feature article on Sadler Field, visit www.SportsTurfOnline.com.

There are two main reasons why paint may not stick to a new field. First, when your turf was manufactured, the strands of fibers were likely treated with a lubricant. When synthetic turf is made, the fibers, which come on spools, are pulled through tubing where they are fed to the needles that stitch the carpet. The lubricant helps the fiber strands slide through the tubing so they do not break and interrupt the manufacturing process. The lubricant degrades naturally upon exposure to sunlight, weather and foot traffic and generally disappears within 60 days from installation. Until then, paint will try to adhere to the lubricant instead of the fiber greatly reducing performance.

Second, contractors that install your turf will often use a fabric softener or other anti-static agent to help settle the new infill material. Static electricity can prevent the infill material from properly settling between the fibers of the turf. An anti-static coating can greatly reduce the time and effort needed to install the infill. However, it will also greatly diminish the performance of any paint.

The lubricant and anti-static coatings will prevent the paint from adhering to the blade. Regardless of which paint manufacturer’s products are used, you will experience flaking and the disappearance of paint. It’s important that you keep this in mind and develop a plan before your installers begin their work.

So, if your contract calls for the field to be painted by the contractor, this usually occurs immediately after installation. In these cases, the paint often shows very poor durability. If you are responsible for painting soon after installation, we suggest that you use removable synthetic turf paint, such as Pioneer’s GameLine, and plan for regularly touching up the field during the first two months. Once the lubricants and/or anti-static coatings have had adequate time to dissipate, you may remove the remaining paint, reapply the original markings and add any additional logos.

In cool-season turf grass zones, October and November provide an ideal time for turf establishment, renovation, overseeding, coring, and liming. In warm-season turf grass zones, this time of year is ideal for overseeding and liming.

Additionally, now is a good time for both turf grass zones to use preventative applications for the pre-emergence of winter annual weeds.

In 2009, the field crew at the Louisiana Superdome will have to convert the markings on their synthetic turf field on eighteen different occasions in order to host the New Orleans Saints, Tulane Wave, Allstate Sugar Bowl, R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, State Farm Bayou Classic, and the Louisiana high school state football championships. Six of these conversions have to be completed in less than twelve hours. With the use of Pioneer Athletics’ GameLine® removable synthetic turf paint and Blitz™ removal system, this tight timeline is not a challenge for the crew.

To date in 2009, the Superdome has already twice hosted a Saturday Tulane University home football game, followed by a Sunday New Orleans Saints game. Pioneer’s paint and removal system allows the field crew to completely remove all paint without any visible markings in only two hours. This includes removal of paint in both endzones, the logo on the 50 yard line, the 25 yard line league or conference logos, as well as the appropriate college or NFL hash marks.

“Before we started to use Pioneer’s GameLine® paint and removal system, it took a large crew multiple hours of scrubbing on their hands and knees to remove all of the paint”, said Randy Philipson, Director of Engineering & Operations at the Louisiana Superdome. “Now, our streamlined crew is able to remove all of the paint after a game in only two hours, with absolutely no ghosting. The simple three-step removal process saves us time and a lot of energy.”

Removal begins when Blitz GameLine® solution is applied with a backpack sprayer. Almost immediately, the paint’s bond with the synthetic grass blades will begin to separate. A second field worker then agitates the treated paint with a Blitz Remover machine, but something as simple as a deck brush can get the job done. Finally, any last remnants of paint are removed by spraying the turf with water from a basic garden hose. This process is so effortless that a smaller crew, such as a high school field crew of two, can finish the entire job in four to six hours. The Superdome is scheduled to encounter these quick field turnarounds four more times this season, including college football’s bowl season.

Watch a video of the GameLine removal process >

After any latex paint is applied, the drying process begins. This is simply the evaporation of water from the paint. The curing process starts once all of the water has evaporated. Curing involves the individual latex particles sticking together (coalescing) to form a continuous film. During curing is when important properties such as water resistance and adhesion develop. Sufficient curing occurs in a couple of hours under warm and dry conditions. However, complete curing can take up to 14 days. In general, paints will be easier to remove and less durable the less the paint has cured.

We have seen situations during high humidity when paint is applied late in the day and may be dry to the touch before night fall. Dew forms on the turf and the paint. Therefore, the uncured paint re-saturates as it is essentially underwater for up to 16 hours. The paint will take much longer to cure and perform properly under these conditions. The paint is less durable until it is sufficiently cured. Fans, heat and blowers can help speed up both the drying and the curing processes.

Companies selling grass paints as removable synthetic turf paints are hoping that the customers remove the paint before it cures too much. Once grass paints cure on most synthetic turf fields, it is incredibly difficult to remove. What is unique about a product like Pioneer’s GameLine is that this paint will dissolve with Blitz Remover Solution even after full curing.

Share your experiences, questions and comments.

Now, we are able to evaluate the results of our tests on a wide variety of exciting projects…

• Various synthetic turf paint formulations were applied earlier in the year, baked on the turf under the hot sun all summer, and are now ready to be removed.
• Certain equipment has been tested under a wide variety of weather conditions, and improvements can now be designed.
• Various new Ultra-Friendly grass paint formulations are being tested for performance and shelf-life stability.

These are just a few examples of tests and product developments currently underway here at Pioneer. Of course it may be back to the drawing board for some of these modifications and formulations as they may fail our tests, however, some will succeed and be introduced as new products. And because of our testing practices, we are able to undertake projects that we would not have possibly considered only 5 years ago.

Being in Cleveland, Ohio, we benefit from being able to conduct tests during all 4 seasons – but we don’t experience the same extreme heat and humidity found in some regions. Luckily we have great partners around the country that are eager to help us improve our products and services.

If you have questions about any of the tests we run, or have suggestions on how we can improve our paints and products, please Comment below or Contact Us. Your feedback is greatly valued and appreciated.

Of course, there are many different types of fields from a variety of companies and each has its own recommendations as to how to maintain a field. But there are a variety of techniques that will help give you better results for the same amount of effort.

Grooming and Sweeping Synthetic Turf Sports Fields
For instance, we find that sweeping or grooming your field should be done when the field is at its driest. When the field is wet, the infill may clump together and the fibers lay flat. Therefore, a sweeper can pick up lots of excess infill and a groomer will not be able to redistribute rubber effectively. Furthermore, if you are using a magnet on a wet field, metal objects will tend to remain stuck in the infill. Sweeping and grooming in the rain can leave your field and your equipment a mess. Try grooming and sweeping from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm or when the field is warm and dry.

Disinfecting Synthetic Turf Fields
If you are disinfecting your field, ideally you’ll want to put down the disinfecting solution during the time of day when the least amount of evaporation is occurring. The longer the wet disinfecting solution is in contact with the plastic fibers, the more effective the treatment. Cool, overcast days with high humidity and no wind are perfect for disinfectant treatments.

Painting and Removing Paint from Synthetic Turf Fields
Warm and dry conditions are the best for painting synthetic turf fields. Cool and humid conditions are best for removing paint from synthetic turf fields. We try to remove paint when the field temperature is below 90 degrees (use an infrared thermometer to determine field temperature). As a rule, we recommend removing paint in the early morning and try be off of the field by 10 a.m. Further south, our customers may need to be off the field by 8:30 or 9:00 due to higher temperatures in the summer.

Following this recommended schedule, some customers may run into difficulties due to local noise or light restrictions (working before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m.) In which case, you’ll need to notify the administration or proper authorities to get the clearance to work during these times. Working on removal between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. has proven to be a great option for those that can get approval, and should only be 1 night of inconvenience.

Resources for maintaining synthetic turf fields:

Grooming:

• GreensGroomer (watch GreensGroomer video >)
• LitterKat (watch LitterKat video >)

Disinfecting:

• Titan Turf Gard (watch Titan Turf Gard video >)
• 40-Gallon Boom Sprayer

Painting and Removing Paint:
(watch video of GameLine removal process >)

• GameLine – Removable Paint for Synthetic Turf Fields
• Blitz GameLine Remover Solution
• Blitz Remover Machine
• Backpack Sprayer – Battery Powered | Premium Sprayer
• WaterClaw (for fields with little or no drainage)

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with a bunch of coaches in North Carolina at the North Carolina Coaches Clinic. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of coaches that raved about the Star Liner.

The Star Liner was created because our customers asked us for a field paint that provided the convenience of Quik Stripe or Max Aerosol, but would give the look of Brite Stripe. We were also looking for ways to make our products more environmentally friendly. Therefore, we created a small, electric striper that pulled paint from a bag-in-the-box. This project took a couple of years development and testing, as we had to create both the paint and the striper from scratch.

Because of the feedback we’ve received from customers, we’ve changed and updated the Star Liner to be the machine it is today. Here’s a few of the more significant things we’ve done since we introduced the Star Liner in 2008:

• Completely changed the handle design to provide additional strength and user comfort
• Changed On/Off Switch and location to provide convenience and durability
• Added a computer processor to even the flow of electricity as well as provide a hi/low switch
• Extended spray tip forward for better visibility
• Moved the center plate and box position for better visibility

The coaches told me the Star Liner gave them a better line and was even easier to use than an aerosol striper – and they even camped out next to the machine telling everyone who passed.

Tell us about your experiences with the Star Liner, or any Pioneer products. We truly appreciate the feedback and use your experiences to make our products better. Leave us a Comment below or fill out our Contact Form to let us know your thoughts.

Watch a video of the Star Liner >

The challenge during this part of the year is making time to conduct testing at the University of Pioneer. Currently, we are testing a wide variety of synthetic turf aerosol products for durability and removability during the heat of the summer. Our research team has tested hundreds of varieties of aerosol chalk formulations to find one that rinses off all types of synthetic turf with no staining and no residue. (We have found that almost all aerosol chalks can stain light colored synthetic turf).

In addition, we are testing a variety of potential improvements in our grass paints. I am excited about what we are learning. More importantly, I am excited about the opportunity to develop products that will help our customers save time and money.

- Doug Schattinger, President

Do you have any ideas for improvements or additions to our line of paints for natural grass or synthetic turf fields? Leave us your feedback below.

Please stay tuned for new developments over the next few months!

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I also was able to visit the outdoor test plots close to campus. What a nice looking facility! They are able to grow seemingly every kind of grass. They had a bunch of plots that were in various stages of tests.

I am excited about a lot of the work they are doing. We hope to learn a great deal about making our products more effective, less impactful on different types of grass and more environmentally friendly. I learned more about sports turf in 3 hours with Dr. Miller than 3 years painting fields.

The research they are doing is truly fascinating. Dr. Miller and his colleagues are doing some great work.