A majority of the pavement markings placed on TxDOT roadways over the past five years fall into one of three categories: thermoplastic, water-based paint, and preformed tape. However, other materials exist that have shown positive performance either in Texas or elsewhere, which warrants their discussion in this handbook.

Each material contains three primary components: binder (glue), surface glass beads (reflectors), and pigment (color). For thermoplastic markings, glass beads are also intermixed into the material and often become exposed as the binder material is worn down by traffic. The various pavement marking materials are often categorized by the type of binder material used.

Table 2-4 shows materials and their uses described in this section.

This section includes in-depth descriptions of commercially available materials and typical uses. Information on pavement marking material selection based on characteristics of a given roadway can be found in of this chapter. Although every attempt was made to include descriptions of all commercially available materials, new materials and formulations frequently become available. Therefore, materials that are not described herein may be used with approval from TRF or CST-MAT on an experimental basis until substantial performance data is obtained. Use of experimental materials may be considered for problem areas where other typical materials may not have provided the desired performance.