Slap MessageBoards

Skateboarding => Skate Questions => Topic started by: Tufty on December 06, 2014, 11:31:00 AM

Title: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: Tufty on December 06, 2014, 11:31:00 AM
 Does anyone know what kind of paint can be used on a cement skatepark so that the friction is good? I am involved into the construction of the local park of my hometown. Currently the skatepark is almost ready and not painted and the flat is smooth and the friction is good. I told the civil engineer not to bother with painting the park because its perfect as it is, but he insisted that he has a contract that says that it should be painted. I am very concerned about this as I have heard rumors about parks being painted and then become slippery. The engineer is totally clueless about how to build the skatepark, the designs and insight has been given by local skaters. I am currently doing a survey about it in order to ensure that the paint is not going to spoil the park. I would appreciate any help.
Title: Re: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: Willie on December 07, 2014, 08:58:15 AM
If you are starting off with a fresh, polished concrete finish - DO NOT PAINT.

The concrete will still be curing for several months and paint screws with the concrete's ability to shed moisture through evaporation.

Going forward I still wouldn't paint unless the finish was rough and paint was necessary to make it more smooth. Polished concrete is the optimal riding surface and although in theory paint will repel some water, in reality water will still get in and again, not exit as easily and ultimately damage the concrete more than would happen unpainted. Same reason why builders will not recommend painting a properly made exterior brick wall - the brick will degrade (spall) and fall apart.


If you did have a rough finish or a blacktop flatbottom or similar, the best choice would be to get the stuff sold as basketball court/skatepark paint, which is pretty expensive. Just be careful that nobody add the grit for "textured" finish which makes the stuff waaayyy too grippy and will chew up flesh when you slam.

The cheaper route (which we use at FDR) is getting mis-tinted latex paints and rolling it on. This turns as slick as ice with even the smallest bit of rain or condensation and can be slippery when dusty but is generally acceptable for skating on.




Again, if you are starting out with a good concrete finish, I wouldn't touch it.
Title: Re: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: Rusty_Berrings on December 07, 2014, 09:42:55 AM
I'd go with whatever exterior paint says works on cement on the can.
Title: Re: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: Tufty on December 07, 2014, 03:33:54 PM
The painting will be done somewhere around the spring....

The concrete is smooth and we dont want it painted either but beraucracy doesnt give a fuck.... I will try to convince the contructor but I should have an alternative. There is a basketball court next to the skatepark with that kind of paint and is ok, we sometimes skate it..
Title: Re: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: Willie on December 08, 2014, 06:35:47 AM
Here is a link to one of the manufacturers of court paint:
http://www.sportmaster.net/skating/ (http://www.sportmaster.net/skating/)

I'm not sure if this kind paint can even be applied to non-level surfaces. It is also expensive. I can't find a price list on the site now but when I checked a while back, one 55 gallon drum (enough for one tennis court size) was between $500-1000.

Again the end user is responsible for the amount of 'grit' added to the mix and you can easily fuck is up by making the surface too gritty. They resurfaced a prefab park around here and ruined it with a sandier mix.

You are also supposed to roughen or etch the finish of smooth concrete before application so maybe it would be best to not use this stuff?


If you do end up using some kind of latex it will probably be worn off within a year anyway. Maybe that's not so bad?


Hope you can talk them out of painting. Maybe email Site Design or Team Paine to get their .02 cents on painting. Might be persuasive to your stubborn Parks and Rec dept.
Title: Re: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: ttching! on December 10, 2014, 06:40:06 PM
Does anyone know what kind of paint can be used on a cement skatepark so that the friction is good? I am involved into the construction of the local park of my hometown. Currently the skatepark is almost ready and not painted and the flat is smooth and the friction is good. I told the civil engineer not to bother with painting the park because its perfect as it is, but he insisted that he has a contract that says that it should be painted. I am very concerned about this as I have heard rumors about parks being painted and then become slippery. The engineer is totally clueless about how to build the skatepark, the designs and insight has been given by local skaters. I am currently doing a survey about it in order to ensure that the paint is not going to spoil the park. I would appreciate any help.

It sounds like they have a budget within the contract that has a line item with money for painting the park. You have a little time. Make a bunch of noise at your city council meetings or whatever about painting the park actually not being a) better for the park itself & b) less safe for skating & then see if they will reallocate the money to some more concrete, which will be a much more worthwhile use of it.
Title: Re: What kind of paint is good for cement skatepark?
Post by: Willie on December 12, 2014, 06:38:30 AM
Quote
Does anyone know what kind of paint can be used on a cement skatepark so that the friction is good?


Just to reiterate: the friction from "plain ole latex" paint is fine for skating except when wet or dirty, then it is super slippery. (And it might suck for the first few days no matter what). Any attempt to make the paint grittier is just going to ride slow and eat skin.



Seriously though, call or email one of the reputable skatepark build outfits and let them tell you why not to paint or what paint to use.