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Premix and Intermix Glass spheres, in addition to giving immediate retroreflectivity by being dropped on the surface of uncured striping material, can also be formulated into several striping materials. As the striping material wears, the glass spheres that are blended in the material are exposed to give continuous retroreflectivity, increasing the life of the material. In thickly-applied materials, such as thermoplastic or PMMA, the blended spheres are referred to as "intermix" beads. The size of the intermix beads in these materials is usually similar to the size of the drop-on highway safety marking spheres. In thin film paint materials, the blended spheres are referred to as "premix" beads. Premix beads are typically smaller than drop-on paint highway safety marking spheres. Both intermix and premix give continuous retroreflectivity on pavement markings that wear and lose the reflective top dressing of highway safety marking spheres. |
