What is the best traffic paint for an asphalt parking lot?

For most Pacific Northwest commercial asphalt parking lots, Sherwin-Williams Setfast Acrylic is the best overall traffic paint -- waterborne 100-percent acrylic, 8-to-15-minute no-pickup cure at 75 F, 18-to-24-month parking-lot lifespan, Oregon DOT QPL approved. For tight closure windows, Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry replaces it. For 5-plus-year horizons, switch to two-component epoxy or thermoplastic.

Is Sherwin-Williams Setfast better than Ennis-Flint Hotline?

Setfast Acrylic is the better choice for standard parking-lot work where a 30-minute closure window is acceptable -- it is cheaper per pail and has slightly longer parking-lot lifespan. Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry is the better choice for tight closure windows under 60 minutes total, where the 5-to-10-minute cure makes the schedule possible. Both are Oregon DOT QPL approved.

What does DOT QPL mean for traffic paint?

DOT QPL (Qualified Products List) is a state Department of Transportation approval that confirms a specific traffic paint SKU has passed performance, durability, and reflectivity testing for use on state-funded projects. Oregon DOT publishes its QPL annually. For private parking-lot work, QPL approval is not legally required but is a strong proxy for quality. Specifications for federally-funded work generally require QPL-listed products.

How much does a 5-gallon pail of traffic paint cost?

A 5-gallon pail of waterborne acrylic traffic paint runs $115 to $215 in 2026, depending on chemistry and brand. Standard waterborne acrylic (Sherwin-Williams Setfast, PPG ParkingLot Plus) sits at the lower end. Fast-dry waterborne (Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry) and heavy-build SKUs (PPG ParkingLot Plus Premium) sit toward the upper end. Two-component epoxy and MMA pail prices run $260 to $420.

Which traffic paint has the longest parking-lot lifespan?

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) cold-plastic traffic paint has the longest parking-lot lifespan at 4 to 7 years, followed by two-component epoxy at 3 to 5 years. Standard waterborne acrylic and solvent alkyd both run 12 to 24 months. The lifespan-per-dollar winner depends on traffic count -- for under 5,000 ADT, waterborne acrylic wins on total cost over 5 years.

7 Best Traffic Paint for Asphalt: 2026 Buyer's Guide

The "best" traffic paint for asphalt is whichever one fits your traffic count, climate, closure window, and state DOT Qualified Products List. There's no single answer, but there's a short list of SKUs that consistently make the cut on Pacific Northwest commercial parking lots in 2026. Below we rank seven traffic paints for asphalt with side-by-side spec data, and call out the situations where each one wins.

How were these ranked?

Five factors:

Spec sheet performance. Mil thickness, dry time, hiding, glass-bead retention.
State DOT QPL status. Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho QPLs were checked for 2026 approvals.
Field durability on asphalt. Cojo crew install records over 24 months of repaint cycles.
VOC and EPA Architectural Coatings rule compliance. Per 40 CFR Part 59 Subpart D.
Distributor availability in the Pacific Northwest. SKUs that require special-order are deprioritized.

What is the best overall traffic paint for asphalt parking lots?

1. Sherwin-Williams Setfast Acrylic Waterborne

Setfast is the workhorse of Pacific Northwest commercial striping. Waterborne 100-percent acrylic, no-pickup in 8 to 15 minutes at 75 degrees F, parking-lot lifespan 18 to 24 months, federal-yellow and white available. Oregon DOT QPL approved. Pail price $135 to $170. Distributor coverage statewide.

When it wins: any standard parking-lot re-stripe in March through October Oregon weather.

2. Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry

Hotline FastDry is the fast-cure SKU for tight-window work. Waterborne acrylic with proprietary fast-coalescence chemistry, no-pickup in 5 to 10 minutes at 75 F. Parking-lot lifespan 12 to 20 months. Oregon DOT QPL approved. Pail price $155 to $195.

When it wins: drive-thru lanes, hospital ambulance bays, airport employee lots, fueling stations needing 30-minute reopen.

What is the best heavy-duty traffic paint for high-traffic asphalt?

3. PPG ParkingLot Plus Premium

ParkingLot Plus Premium is a heavier waterborne acrylic at 18 to 20 wet mil capability versus the 15 mil standard. Parking-lot lifespan stretches to 24 to 30 months on moderate-traffic asphalt. No-pickup in 12 to 20 minutes at 75 F. Oregon DOT QPL approved. Pail price $165 to $215.

When it wins: 5,000-plus ADT parking lots that are not yet at the thermoplastic crossover, or anchor-tenant retail with truck traffic.

4. Crown Polyclear 7000 Two-Component Epoxy

Polyclear 7000 is a two-component epoxy traffic paint for asphalt. 14 to 16 dry mil, lifespan 36 to 60 months on high-traffic asphalt, full cure to traffic in 4 to 8 hours. Pail price $260 to $340.

When it wins: industrial yards moving heavy trucks daily, or projects where the owner wants a 5-year-plus repaint cycle.

What is the best cold-weather traffic paint for asphalt?

5. Pervo Solvent-Based Alkyd

Pervo SBA is a solvent-based alkyd that cures down to 35 to 40 F substrate temperature. VOC runs in the 250 to 350 g/L range -- still inside EPA Architectural Coatings rule (40 CFR Part 59) traffic-marking-paint category but not legal in Ozone Transport Commission states. Oregon allows it. Pail price $185 to $245.

When it wins: November-through-February Oregon striping when the substrate cannot be brought above 50 F. Our traffic paint chemistry comparison covers the broader cold-weather alternatives.

What is the best aerosol traffic paint for asphalt touch-ups?

6. Krylon Quik-Mark Inverted Marking Paint

Quik-Mark is the leading aerosol stripe paint for parking-lot touch-ups. 17 oz inverted-tip can covers 80 to 120 LF of 4-inch line. White, federal yellow, fluorescent orange, and survey colors. Per-can price $7.50 to $12.

When it wins: faded ADA hatching, fire-lane touch-ups under 150 LF, single accessibility symbols.

What is the best long-life traffic paint for concrete-influenced asphalt?

7. Ennis-Flint MMA Cold-Plastic

When asphalt is over a concrete base or a thin lift over old concrete, MMA's chemical bond outperforms waterborne. 4 to 7 year lifespan, 15 to 30 minute cure regardless of temperature. Pail price $310 to $420.

When it wins: bus loops, hospital ambulance bays, transit center asphalt that will see specialized vehicle wear. For more on MMA's role versus thermoplastic, see traffic paint chemistry comparison.

How do these seven compare on the spec sheet?

Rank	SKU	Chemistry	Cure (75 F)	Lifespan	VOC	Pail Cost
1	SW Setfast Acrylic	Waterborne acrylic	8 to 15 min	18 to 24 mo	<100 g/L	$135 to $170
2	Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry	Fast-dry acrylic	5 to 10 min	12 to 20 mo	<100 g/L	$155 to $195
3	PPG ParkingLot Plus Premium	Heavy-build acrylic	12 to 20 min	24 to 30 mo	<100 g/L	$165 to $215
4	Crown Polyclear 7000	Two-component epoxy	30 to 60 min	36 to 60 mo	<150 g/L	$260 to $340
5	Pervo Solvent Alkyd	Alkyd	30 to 60 min	12 to 18 mo	250 to 350 g/L	$185 to $245
6	Krylon Quik-Mark	Aerosol	5 to 8 min	6 to 12 mo	<100 g/L	$7.50 to $12 / can
7	Ennis-Flint MMA	Methyl methacrylate	15 to 30 min	48 to 84 mo	<100 g/L	$310 to $420

These figures reflect published industry averages. Current market pricing varies significantly and actual quotes may fall well outside these ranges based on site-specific conditions, material costs, and project complexity.

Current Market Reality

Pail pricing in 2026 is up 15 to 22 percent from 2022 baselines on every SKU above. Titanium dioxide and freight on heavy 5-gallon pails are the biggest drivers. Two-component epoxy and MMA pricing has moved more than waterborne, reflecting global resin supply tightness. For project pricing context including labor, see the existing Cojo guide on line striping basics.

How do you pick from this list?

Three questions narrow the choice fast:

What is the closure window? Under 60 minutes total, pick a fast-dry SKU (Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry). Over 4 hours, any standard waterborne works.
What is the substrate temperature on the day of work? Above 50 F, waterborne wins. Below 50 F, switch to alkyd or MMA.
What is the project horizon? Annual repaint, waterborne acrylic is fine. 3 to 5 year horizon, look at PPG ParkingLot Plus Premium or epoxy. 5-plus years, the answer is generally thermoplastic, not paint.

Cojo install reference -- the three-product mix

In April 2026 we re-striped a 41,000-square-foot Beaverton retail center off Walker Road that included a Starbucks drive-thru, ADA stalls and aisles, and 138 standard stalls. The work used three of the SKUs above:

Drive-thru approach lane (220 LF): Ennis-Flint Hotline FastDry waterborne. 30-minute reopen window.
ADA hatching, ISA stencils, "VAN ACCESSIBLE" text: Krylon Quik-Mark aerosol with stencil templates.
Standard stalls and stop bars (1,656 LF): Sherwin-Williams Setfast Acrylic waterborne. 6-pound bead drop. Standard 30-minute cure window.

Three products, one job, each used where it wins. Total paint volume: 11 gallons Setfast plus half a gallon Hotline plus 4 cans of Quik-Mark. For Beaverton context, see our traffic paint supply Beaverton Oregon page.

Get a SKU-level striping quote.