Line painting and pavement markings provide an important guidance function for drivers, especially at night. They provide drivers with information about their lane position and which lanes are available for use. Lines and pavement markings provide drivers with a preview of upcoming changes in the roadway, including curves, turning lanes, lane narrowing, intersections, crosswalks and passing zone limits.  Good line and pavement marking delineation generally results in better driver performance and greater driver comfort. The safety of all drivers on our roads is important, which is why the lines and pavement markings on Oxford County roads are repainted each year.

Line painting is a moving operation that involves a line striping truck with a follow vehicle behind. Flashing amber lights and LINE PAINTING – WET PAINT signs are mounted on the back of the follow vehicle to warn drivers that line painting is being done.

Paint can take more than five minutes to dry depending on weather and surface conditions. When conditions are poor, line painting is put on hold until conditions improve.

Line painting tips for drivers

  • Slow down– paint truck vehicles travel slow, usually about 13-15 km per hour so please be patient and slow down when warned of line painting ahead.
  • Keep back– stay at least 8-10 car lengths behind line painting vehicles/equipment and avoid driving over wet paint; paint spray guns are two inches off the roadway surface and cannot spray a vehicle.
  • Don’t pass– never pass a paint truck unless instructed to do so by a police officer or an Oxford County staff member; the paint truck may pull over periodically to allow cars to pass when conditions are safe to do so.

Procedures for removing paint from vehicles

If you do get paint on your vehicle it should be removed as soon as possible. The paint used for line painting is water-based and may be removed with hot water and household products. Wash the affected area of the vehicle with pressurized hot water immediately. Doing this should loosen and remove most of the paint unless it has already dried for more than a day.

If the pressurized hot water wash does not remove the paint, allow the water to dry and then spray the affected areas with WD-40. Allow the WD-40 to stay on the area for 1-2 hours and then rewash the vehicle with pressurized hot water. If there is a heavy concentration of paint this procedure can be repeated several times.

For paint that has dried for several days or for heavy accumulations, apply a generous coating of petroleum jelly (vaseline) to the affected area. Allow it to stay on for 8-12 hours to soften the traffic paint and then wash with pressurized hot water. This should remove most remaining traffic paint. If necessary, repeat the procedure several times.

Paint from wheel wells can be very difficult to remove because they are normally a flat finish. Apply a liberal coating of petroleum jelly to the area and leave it on for several days and then wash with pressurized hot water.

Disclaimer: Oxford County provides these instructions as a courtesy only, based on known best practices and assumes no liability in the use of them.