Thermoplastics have been used as a pavement marking material in the United States since the late 1950s and have been the most common pavement marking material used on roadways in Texas for years. Thermoplastic is so named because the mixture of plasticizer and resins that serves to hold all of the other ingredients together exists as a solid at room temperature, but becomes liquid when heated. The popularity of thermoplastic markings can be attributed to several factors including:

When properly formulated for a given roadway surface and correctly applied, thermoplastic pavement markings have been known to last from 5 to 8 years depending on traffic volumes, but research has shown that usual service lives range from 2 to 3 years depending on traffic volumes.

Thermoplastic materials are very sensitive to the variables governing application, warranting strict quality control during application. The following are the key variables that influence the durability and retroreflectivity performance of thermoplastic markings:

If applied properly, thermoplastic materials provide durability and retroreflective performance that far surpass that of standard traffic paints. However, because thermoplastic materials are very sensitive to the variables involved with application, they may not be the most suitable material for certain situations. The following segments describe the types, application, performance, and suggested uses of thermoplastic materials.