Weather permitting, Thursdays are painting days at the Plex! Before our crew can start with the painting they will perform another mow on the field to help the paint last throughout the weekend. The crew is normally split so there are 2 or 3 mowing and 2 or 4 painting. The mowers will begin and once they are done a field the paint crew follows in behind them to paint! For the paint, our crew will mix
1/2 paint with 1/2 water. This is done for multiple reasons. One being that it helps our crew conserve the paint for longer periods of time. The other being that with the paint being diluted with water it makes it wear off slightly faster if the field needs shifting. Typically the crew will use around 40 gallons of paint per week, using up an entire 225 gallon tote of paint in around a month and a half. Our paint is also extremely environmentally friendly! We use a water-based paint that is 100% VOC free and Recognized by the US EPA's Safer Choice program for its environmentally preferable chemistry.
Once the field is freshly cut and the paint is mixed the painting crew will begin to prepare to paint the field. If there is a 2-person string crew, then 2 people would be pulling the string to help the painter with the accuracy of the line. This process takes slightly longer due to the fact there are less people. With a 4-person string crew, the preferred way,
4 people will be holding and moving two strings, eliminating any waiting for the painter. We also always have one person who sets the strings in front of and picks them up behind the paint crew, helping the process be as efficient as possible. That staff member is also responsible for painting all the penalty spots as well, an average of 60 per weekend!
