Long Spans

So I need to paint a 500' straight line. Actually five of them. Do you guys snap a chalk line that long? I was hoping to just tie a string to say a cinder block at both ends and then just follow the line, making sure it is tight of course. I dont have good luck snapping long lines and actually being able to see them for more then like 40-50 feet. Im sure that is a better way or tool that i dont have. I'd rather ask a question, before screwing it up.

We use weed eater line or sometimes bailing twine. If it's asphalt drive a 2" cement nail and tie to it. You may have to anchor the middle of the line. If it's concreate you will have to anchor in several places. I hate chalk lines for more than 36 feet. Much more than that and you need a third person to pull it up and snap them from center. We have a couple roll up devices that have around 700 foot of weed eater line on them and they work great. Afterwards we attach a battery operated drill and roll them up.

Do that every day, every thing is bigger in Texas. The weed eater line will work, I just can't see something that small, use a full paint can on each end to hold the line down. Pick a starting place, maybe near the building and work out from there, paint on one side of the line only so that when you move the line you don't drag it across the paint.

Hey, Drive a nail into the ground sounds like a great idea!!!! They will be putting a 1 inch layer of assfault (sp) over the top of whats there. It will be a big job for me, if I get it, I wish you guys lived by me, you could help. Great Advice once again, I was really unsure of what the best way to get this done was--I knew I could get it done,, but this is a great plan!!

full buckets at ends of string line will work just fine...no hammering, no nails...git r done

full buckets at ends of string line will work just fine...no hammering, no nails...git r done

Be careful with driving a nail into fresh asphalt. It's too fresh for the nail to hold.

Be careful with driving a nail into fresh asphalt. It's too fresh for the nail to hold.

We use the weeder line. We take a bucket and an eye bolt screw the I bolt into a small piece of 2x4 at the bottom of the bucket and fill half way with sacrete. 700 foot of line on a spool and carry it in one piece where we need it.

We use the weeder line. We take a bucket and an eye bolt screw the I bolt into a small piece of 2x4 at the bottom of the bucket and fill half way with sacrete. 700 foot of line on a spool and carry it in one piece where we need it.

Pounding a long cement nail into the asphalt is a lot easier that toting a 50lb can of paint around a parking lot. If you have a pusher with a wagon hitch or tool carrier, moving the paint or weight is no big deal. You might want to put a cone by the nail or weight to help insure no one runs over the nail or hits the weight in the parking lot.

All you need is a one gallon can filled with concrete, it will site right on top of the bucket on the striper.

You may want to consider anchoring a string line with a weighted object, Spray some "tick" marks with upside down paint or a small (narrow) tip on your machine (less bending over), use the void area in the "ticks" as your guide. Put your desired tip on and spray right down the middle. You'll cover up all your layout marks and have 5 nice and straight 500' lines. Do all of the layout first and then paint....you'll probably have it all done within an hour.....less with a helper.

lesson learned from yesterday about using nails. We use them on long lines, did a line about 400' long. Actually, there were 6 lines that long. Used 2" nails with mason line tied between them. After we painted the lines, I went around and picked up the string and nails, but somehow missed one. About 20 minutes later, a woman walking across the parking lot stubbed her foot on the nail, causing her to fall. She bruised her knee and scratched her had pretty bad. I felt terrible! I've spent the better part of my life in the fire service before I started this business, and this was purely an accident...but my fault. She was very kind, and not upset in the least. I got VERY lucky! From now on, I'll be painting my nails with high vis orange before use. In fact, I don't know if I'll ever use nails again. I like the idea of a one gallon paint can with concrete. Much easier, faster and less likely to have problems.

If you put a bit of pipe in the can with the concrete you'll have a nice long handle too.

I use the 1 gal. plastic paint cans (don't mar newly sealcoated lots) with string attached to eyebolts as well. I use heavy approx. 1" dia. approx. 2-2.5 long pvc set in each can. What I like most about them is when your ready to pick up...I have a short piece of PVC slightly larger diameter than the one set in the paint can. I simply slide the short pc. over the 1" pvc, tip the can and start rolling...suggestion tho pull tension every so often...otherwise while sitting the string can/will simply fall off the can

When pushing a standard striping machine setup -- If their is some curvature to the long line... you might layout with skip marks painted over top a string line (silver marking paint over something big enough to call a "cord" is best for me), then stripe down the middle of the ghost line. For long straight lines without any curvature... You can separate yourself from the rest of the pack if you stripe to the side of the line to obtain an almost perfect straight line (not easily done by striping down the middle of a layout line).

Lay out first with a string line and inverted marking paint, and stripe it, what's so hard?

chitown wrote on Dec 10, 2011:Go to #18

Lay out first with a string line and inverted marking paint, and stripe it, what's so hard?

Thats something similar to what we do, I have about 400' of jack chain on a hose reel. After we laydown the chain we use inverted paint with a wand and make our marks. We pull the chain and use a zip tie attached to an aiming bar and the zip tie drags on the ground, we just follow the area that was not painted under the jack chain....Works like a charm...

use a nail at the anchor end and from there on out use a heavy duty staple gun to anchor the line down the line. This will allow you to hold the string in place, make turns, and basically keep the air from the spray from moving it. Works really good on large turns