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This may be a redundant topic and might’ve been more aptly just added to a previous topic. But we’ve been a SW user for the past 30+ years under previous management. For the most part we have been extremely happy with the product and the services that SW up here in the greater Milwaukee area has provided. A few years back at the NPE in Nashville…or Memphis, we chatted with a guy from RAE products. He was based out of the Chicago area. Long story short, we have been reluctant to switch because there was a price difference of roughly $1.50/gal on the acetone acrylic paints. Althought the latex is actually about a $1.00/gal cheaper. I’ve recently been coming across a lot more bid packages that spec latex on new asphalt. In the past I’ve had to decline them because when we striped new asphalt with SW latex it seemed as though we had to double if not triple coat everything because it wouldn’t flash fast enough to remain on the surface of the asphalt and would tend to seep in. Then last year we started noticing, not to mention a spattering of complaints, that the SW latex was fading extremely quickly, almost to a chalky yellow. So, to keep our customers happy we would have to repaint it…thus pretty much nullifing any profit margins we had. The local RAE rep up here continued to show his face and push his product. He eventually brought in the ‘closer’ from Chicago to sit down an sell us on the product. We were given a 5gal of latex and a 5gal of acetone acrylic to try. BOOM. Sold. I can not express how much of a difference there is. Only issue was that I was currently sitting on 5 pallets of SW that I ordered. Like was said in another thread, I feel horrible for my past customers that I continued to use the SW paints. We’ve actually done a couple jobs in the neighborhood that are close to the shop using both paints in select locations to get a real environmental wear test. As I told our local RAE rep, if RAE is like a heavy cream, SW is like semi melted ice cream. The solid content in the RAE is evident as soon as you lift a 5gal bucket. It’s those solids that have allowed us to now bid on those new construction latex spec’d jobs. I also noticed that I am able to get more LF out of a 5gal of RAE. I was getting roughly 1800′ with SW (single shot centerline). With RAE I got roughly 2000′ (multiple shot stall lines, which should use more). That further nullifies some of the cost differential with the fact that arrows and other stencils need only one easy pass for a fully opaque 15mil). So I’ve been able to roughly fully justify the cost to application ratio difference to that of SW, so now the nominal difference is that I’m now offering a product that I don’t have to worry about fading and allowing me to bid on more jobs…plus I can explain that we are using what I consider a vastly superior product. Has anyone tried RAE? What has been your experiences? If you haven’t, I strongly suggest finding a local rep and request a sample of each…unless of course you’re in the greater Milwaukee area…then by all means, keep using SW…please.
Hello DB…how are you?
First…this was well written.
And…to the point…If I can get together with RAE, I’d be a distributor.
I’d at least try it.
What you said about the solids sounds good.
Pass my name on.
Columbus, OH.
And…thanks.
P.S. Did you insinuate they had Acetone?
DanGood Morning Dan~
Doing well, thanks. Mother Nature can lay off though. 7 days without measurable rain in June…ridiculous. Luckily for us that we’ve been able to sustain work with indoor factory/warehouse work. You’re in the Columbus area? Don’t know if you have been getting similar extended April showers. Doubt you remember, but we had breifly chatted after a seminar at NPE a couple years back, when I took an intro to striping…didn’t exactly know that it was SO introductory. Kinda had 15yrs under the belt at that time. I digress.
Yes, they have acetone acrylic, as well as just about any other type of pavement marking paints, thermoplastic, clorinated rubber, solvent based, water based…
I usually don’t get on a soapbox, but in a short time I’ve been wowed by the result of their paints.
It’s been questioned, and I want to make clear, I am in no way affiliated or associated (outside of a product user) with RAE.
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