• One gallon of paint covers 100 square feet at 16 mils wet.

• Effective pump output divided by number of guns supplied = paint available per line.

How much paint do you need to put down?

To calculate the paint application rate, identify the line width and the mil thickness needed.

Then apply the first guideline above as the basis from which to calculate application rate, or call us at 800-373-4016 for a free slide-rule type paint coverage calculator.

For example, suppose a job calls for a four-inch line at 16 mils wet, a common state specification. Since four inches times three feet equals one square foot, the first guideline indicates that one gallon will be required for each 300 feet of stripe. That means that one mile of solid line (5,280 feet) will require 17.6 gallons.

How much paint will the striper put down?

To calculate the amount of paint a given striper can supply, identify the pump output and the number of guns supplied by that pump. Then apply the second guideline.

For example, a striper with a 2 GPM pump for each gun puts out a maximum of two gallons of paint per minute to each gun. A standard conventional airless pickup striper with an 8.6 GPM pump can provide 8.6 GPM to one gun or 4.3 GPM each to two guns. A truck mounted striper with two 12 GPM pumps feeding three yellow centerline guns could theoretically apply eight gallons per minute through each gun.

Keep in mind that actual paint supply may vary from the pump rating due to inefficiencies in equipment and the actual long-term operating rate of the pump.

So how fast can you stripe?

To calculate theoretical striping speeds, simply divide the amount of paint the striper can put down in an hour for one gun by the gallons needed for a mile of line. The pickup striper providing two GPM per gun can provide 120 gallons to each gun per hour. Dividing that by our example of 17.6 gallons of paint for one mile of 4” line, we can see that the striper gives a maximum theoretical striping speed of less than seven miles an hour for either double yellow or single edgeline.

A standard conventional airless pickup striper with a pump rated for continuous operation at 8.6 GPM provides 258 gallons per hour to each gun for double-yellow marking and 516 gallons per hour for single edgeline marking, offering striping speeds of almost 15 miles per hour on double yellow line and 28 miles per hour on single-line application. Compare between 7 MPH to 15 MPH for double yellow centerline painting. Compare between 7 MPH to 28 MPH for single white edgeline painting.

Answer: No! Two 2 GPM pumps are not better, faster, nor as good as, one 8.6 GPM pump.