Thermoplastic Markings
Thermoplastic Pavement Marking: Complete Guide
Cojo
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Thermoplastic pavement marking is a hot-applied plastic resin product that bonds to asphalt and concrete pavement when heated to 400-440 degrees F and dropped onto the surface at 90-125 mil thickness. It is not paint. The cured marking lasts 6 to 8 years on a parking lot and 4 to 6 years on high-traffic intersections, compared to 1 to 2 years for traffic paint. AASHTO M249 is the federal specification that governs the material. Glass beads dropped onto the molten resin provide retroreflectivity for night visibility.
Property managers and municipal traffic engineers compare thermoplastic to traffic paint and find the per-linear-foot cost is 4 to 6 times higher up front. The right comparison is total cost of ownership over a 6-year window, where thermoplastic typically wins by 30-50 percent on lots above 5,000 average daily traffic (ADT).
This hub covers what the product actually is, the three main formats, the formal specifications, where it makes sense to buy, and where traffic paint is still the right call.
Thermoplastic is a four-component resin system, not a paint:
A separate drop-on glass bead layer (8-12 lb per 100 sq-ft per AASHTO M247) is applied immediately after the resin lands on the pavement. This drop-on layer provides initial retroreflectivity until tire wear exposes the intermixed beads underneath.
The cured marking is a solid plastic film 90-125 mil thick (0.09 to 0.125 inches), compared to traffic paint cured at 6-8 dry mil (0.006 to 0.008 inches). That 15-20x thickness multiplier is what drives the 4-8x lifespan multiplier.
AASHTO M249 is the standard specification for hot-applied thermoplastic pavement marking material, adopted by 48 of 50 state DOTs. It covers:
A reputable thermoplastic supplier will list AASHTO M249 compliance plus state-specific QPL listings on the data sheet. Oregon DOT QPL is published quarterly and lists the approved manufacturer SKUs for state-funded projects.
| Format | Build | Application Method | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot-applied extruded | 90-125 mil | Ribbon-extrusion shoe behind ride-on melter | Long linear runs (highway lane lines, parking lot stalls over 200 ft) |
| Hot-applied sprayed | 60-90 mil | Spray gun from melter | Faster mobilization, lower cost, intermittent runs |
| Preformed thermoplastic | 90-125 mil | Pre-cut sheet heated with propane torch and rolled into pavement | Symbols, arrows, ADA stencils, crosswalks, school zones |
Industry Baseline Range
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| Material only (extruded thermoplastic) | $0.85 to $1.40 per linear foot of 4-inch line |
| Material only (preformed sheet) | $9 to $24 per square foot |
| Installed extruded line, 4-inch | $1.50 to $3.50 per linear foot |
| Installed preformed crosswalk bar (24-inch x 10-foot) | $180 to $380 per bar |
| Glass-bead drop-on additional | $0.05 to $0.12 per linear foot |
2026 thermoplastic resin pricing is up 18-22 percent over 2024 baselines because hydrocarbon-resin feedstock tracks crude oil and the EPA glass-bead lead-content reformulation pushed mid-2025 bead pricing up 9 percent. Cojo's Q1 2026 thermoplastic supplier quotes show a $1.85-$2.95 per linear foot installed median for 4-inch extruded white on Oregon parking lots, with high-desert (Bend, Redmond) trending higher due to mobilization distance.
The break-even point against traffic paint depends on traffic count. At 1,500 ADT and a 2-year paint repaint cycle, traffic paint wins on TCO. At 7,500 ADT and an annual paint repaint cycle, thermoplastic wins by year 3. See our traffic paint vs thermoplastic cost comparison for the full break-even math.
Thermoplastic is the correct buy when one or more of these conditions apply:
Traffic paint remains the correct buy on:
Real Cojo project data from a 14,000-square-foot Salem retail center striped in March 2024 (4-inch white extruded thermoplastic, 125 mil, 8 lb drop-on beads): all stalls passed retroreflectivity inspection at month 24 and visual condition was rated "no maintenance needed" through month 26. Comparable lots striped in waterborne acrylic traffic paint required restripe at month 14.
Lifespan ranges by traffic count:
UV intensity in eastern Oregon (Bend, Redmond, La Grande) shortens these ranges by approximately 18-25 percent due to high-altitude UV bleaching of the yellow pigment.
A typical Cojo extruded thermoplastic install on a 35,000-square-foot retail lot runs 1.5 to 2 days for crew of three:
Our how-to-apply thermoplastic pavement markings walks through every step in detail with safety and equipment specs.
If your property has not been restriped in 4+ years and the existing markings are paint, the next restripe is the right opportunity to spec thermoplastic. The pavement is already on a clean-slate cycle, the layout is already being re-shot, and the additional crew time for thermoplastic is incremental rather than full-mobilization. For service-side context on a full restripe project, see our thermoplastic striping Oregon overview.
Cojo carries Ennis-Flint and Crown Technology AASHTO M249 thermoplastic on every truck and serves the I-5 corridor from Portland to Medford plus high-desert Bend, Redmond, and La Grande. Contact Cojo for a thermoplastic vs paint TCO comparison on your specific lot.
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