Other Articles on the Trueline

– How the Trueline Striper Creates a Perfect Line

There are many paint stripers on the market. Some are very expensive and some are relatively inexpensive.  They all put some type of stripe on the ground using one of several methods.  Some are air atomized, some are airless, some use a spray can and some use a roller.

The Trueline striper by Trusco Manufacturing uses a very simple system to spray a sharp, perfect line.  The machines are low pressure airless machines meaning that only paint comes out of the tip.  This means you get a clean and crisp line instead of a fuzzy edged one.

When I first started using my Trueline paint striping machine I was amazed at how simple and rugged the machine was. I had seen the more expensive machines with the expensive high pressure pumps and large noisy engines and I thought that in order to put down a nice stripe you needed a machine that was loud, expensive to work on and very heavy.  When I put down my first line using the Trueline I realized that this simply was not true.  It is quiet, lightweight and almost maintenance free.  Also, my machine never had to go to the shop.  Even after using years of constant use.  If it needs anything I just do it myself.  It is very simple.  What amazes me most about the machine is that the line it puts out is thicker and crisper than machines costing thousands of dollars more.

Here is how the Trueline does this:

  1. First, thinned paint is poured into the main pressure tank through a funnel with a strainer in it to prevent unwanted particles from getting into the tank.  The paint is thinned so that the machines can more easily turn it into a spray.
  2. Second, the paint tank is pressurized with air or nitrogen or in some cases CO2. (different models have different methods of pressurization)  The pressure pushes down on the paint and forces it out of the tank via a hose and into a spray tip.
  3. Third, the spray tip puts out a flat, fan shaped spray.  This takes place inside of a spray box that slides along the ground.  The fan pattern spray hits the edge of the box about a quarter of an inch up the edge and is diverted downward.  This creates the clean edge that you see.  Because the stripe is created inside a spray box, wind has no effect on it.  Also, the spray box method creates a much thicker line than other striping machines.  This makes for a better quality job and a happier customer.

Note – the only adverse effect that thinning the paint has is a slightly longer dry time.  I have found that thinning adds an extra minute or two to a lines dry time which has never been an issue.