Philippine Standards and Technical Requirements for thermoplastic paint

I. Regulatory Authority and Source of Standards

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is the competent authority for road marking materials in the Philippines. For all government-invested highway, bridge, and airport projects, hot-melt road marking coatings are required to comply with DPWH DO No. 103-2013, "Reflective Hot-Melt Road Marking Materials." Furthermore, the technical requirements for hot-melt road markings are fully specified in Chapter 612 of the "Highway, Bridge and Airport Standards and Specifications." DPWH Department Order No. 103, Series of 2013 revised Item 612 to align the Philippine requirements with AASHTO M 249-12 for thermoplastic striping materials and AASHTO M 247-09 for glass beads.

Figure 1. A photo taken by the MATESTAR team showing the actual use of hot-melt road markings (West Lake, Hangzhou)

Because the Philippines has a tropical maritime climate with high temperatures and strong ultraviolet radiation year-round, road surface temperatures can reach over 60°C in summer. The rainy season brings abundant rainfall, with an annual precipitation of 1500-4000 mm. This places stringent requirements on the heat deformation resistance, aging resistance, and water peeling resistance of road marking paints. Products formulated for temperate regions are prone to softening, running, fading, peeling, and flaking. While DPWH certification is not mandatory for municipal roads and private industrial park projects, the market generally uses DPWH standards as a procurement benchmark.

However, investigations and feedback indicate that most reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings currently used in the Philippines are imported from China. Many products are not manufactured and supplied according to DPWH standards. The majority of supplies are still ordinary hot-melt paints and hot-melt reflective paints (Chinese standard JT/T280-2004), but the softening point is slightly increased in the formulation to cope with the local tropical climate.If Philippine customers require higher whiteness and reflectivity, the pigment and resin system can be adjusted according to the project requirements. Increasing titanium dioxide within a suitable formulation range can improve whiteness and hiding power. However, material selection is only one factor affecting color stability. Excessive heating, repeated melting and resin degradation can also cause white thermoplastic road markings to turn yellow. However, higher TiO₂ content does not automatically improve wear resistance, which depends on the balance of resin, fillers, aggregate, softening point and film structure. Based on MATESTAR's comparative formulation tests, when TiO₂ content exceeds about 6%, the difference in whiteness becomes difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.

Figure 2. Comparison of MATESTAR's best-selling hot-melt road marking paint (without internal glass beads)

in the Philippines and locally produced hot-melt road marking paint with internal glass beads.

Figure 3 Comparative experimental chart of the whiteness of hot-melt marking paints

corresponding to different titanium dioxide contents of MATESTAR

II. Basic Physicochemical Indicators of Coatings

The DPWH standard sets strict thresholds for the resin binder, filler, pigments, specific gravity, softening point, and drying time of hot-melt coatings, adapting to the high-temperature tropical conditions of PhilGEPS:

Binder (resin) content: Minimum 18% by mass. The resin system determines the coating's adhesion to asphalt and concrete pavements, as well as its resistance to deformation at high temperatures. However, achieving 18% resin content in practice is difficult due to intense price competition in the Philippines. Actual prices cannot guarantee such high standards inthermoplastic pavement markings. This standard is very close to China's JT/T 280-2022, where the corresponding organic content is above 19%.Resin plays a crucial role in hot-melt paints, encompassing not only its content but also its type. Currently, the main synthetic resins used in hot-melt road marking paints include C5 petroleum resin and hydrogenated C5 petroleum resin. Hydrogenated C5 petroleum resin is transparent and has a relatively higher softening point than C5 petroleum resin, making it suitable for high-temperature areas or hot-melt road marking paints requiring high compressive strength.

Softening point: Controlled at 102.5℃±9.5℃. A softening point that is too low will cause softening and deformation under high summer road temperatures; a softening point that is too high will result in poor application fluidity and increased cracking risk for PhilGEPS.

Specific gravity: ≤2.15. Excessive filler addition should be avoided to prevent the coating from becoming brittle and easily broken. Non-stick drying time: Maximum 10 minutes. Tropical, rainy environments require rapid cooling and molding to shorten road closure time.

Pigment system: White markings use high-purity titanium dioxide as the core, ensuring weather resistance and color retention under strong ultraviolet light; yellow markings use weather-resistant yellow pigments to inhibit fading and chalking under sunlight. There are many types of titanium dioxide, mainly based on the titanium dioxide content. Many titanium dioxide manufacturers set the titanium dioxide content at a critical value; the national standard requires it to be greater than or equal to 90%. However, some manufacturers, such as Longbai, supply titanium dioxide far exceeding the national standard.

Road hot-melt marking paint uses pigment titanium dioxide, complying with GB/T 1706-2006 "Titanium Dioxide Pigments" (currently valid, recommended national standard, equivalent to ISO 591-1).

It is divided into five categories: anatase (Type A), rutile (Type R), and the minimum TiO₂ mass fraction requirements are as follows:

The mainstream procurement material in the thermoplastic paint industry is R2 type rutile titanium dioxide, with a national standard minimum TiO₂content of≥90%. Actual engineering formulations generally procure commercially available grades with TiO₂≥93-95%, leaving a margin for coating components.

There are many pigments to choose from in hot-melt road marking paint, but commonly used pigments include rutile titanium dioxide, anatase, and chrome yellow. Due to different usage habits, some people also add lithopone, zinc oxide, etc., to the formula.

When it comes to paint, people naturally say that rutile titanium dioxide is better than anatase for pigment selection. However, it's not necessary to always choose rutile titanium dioxide as the white pigment in every product. In thin-film paints, factors such as weather resistance and hiding power are considered, and choosing rutile titanium dioxide as the pigment is reasonable. Anatase has high whiteness, but its weather resistance and hiding power are not as good as rutile titanium dioxide. However, because of the film thickness required for hot-melt road marking paint application, using anatase as the pigment can give the paint a certain degree of chalking properties. This chalking property ensures that the paint surface can be easily cleaned by rainwater, thus maintaining the visibility of the markings.

For thermoplastic paint, chrome yellow is commonly chosen as the pigment. However, chrome yellow has strong oxidizing properties, and during paint production, considering the chemical stability of the paint system, materials with reducing properties, such as soybean oil with unsaturated olefin bonds, must be prohibited. Furthermore, chrome yellow has poor high-temperature resistance. In contrast, cadmium yellow, which is relatively neutral and has excellent high-temperature resistance, is more popular in paint systems. Currently, many countries, including China, have banned the use of pigments containing heavy metals.

Premixed glass beads: Premixed glass beads account for 30-40% of the paint, ensuring continued reflectivity (PhilGEPS) even after the marking wears down. Generally, the Philippine standard for premixed glass beads is AASHTO M247, but some customers require BS beads, mainly because the overall particle size of BS beads is slightly larger than the AASHTO standard, aiming for higher post-contamination reflectivity.

Figure 4. Magnified view of the glass beads.

Figure 5. A real photo of the glass beads sprinkled on the surface, which are currently popular in both China and the Philippines.

The application melting temperature is controlled at 180-210℃. The dry film thickness for extruded/scraped road markings is 1.5-3.0mm; solid lines on highways and main roads typically require a thickness ≥3.2mm; spray-applied markings have a thickness of 0.8-1.2mm.

III. Technical Requirements for Reflective Glass Beads

Reflective performance is the most important performance indicator for Philippine road markings.The optical principle is explained in our guide on how glass beads make road markings reflective at night It is divided into two categories: premixed glass beads (added to the raw materials) and surface-spread glass beads (spread simultaneously during construction), both are indispensable.

The refractive index of the glass beads must be ≥1.50, and the sphericity ≥90%. Poor sphericity will directly reduce the retroreflective effect.

The application rate of surface-spread glass beads is 350-850 g/m², embedded to a depth of 50-60% of the coating during construction to prevent rapid erosion by rainwater.

The initial retroreflective brightness coefficient of newly painted road markings should not be less than 250 mcd/m²/lux for high-grade roads; basic visible reflective performance must be maintained throughout the service life.

Figure 6 shows the application effect of MATESTAR's reflective hot-melt road marking paint in white and yellow.

In tropical high-humidity environments, glass beads with a silane coupling agent surface treatment are preferred to improve adhesion to the coating and reduce moisture-induced failure.

IV. Construction, Environmental, and Service Life Requirements

The construction surface must be completely dry. During the rainy season, thermoplastic should be applied only when the pavement is completely dry and no immediate rainfall is expected. Construction is strictly prohibited on damp surfaces, as a damp substrate will cause the markings to peel off in patches and fail. Construction work is not recommended when the road surface temperature exceeds 60℃.

Expected service life: 3-5 years for municipal roads with moderate traffic; 2-3 years for major highways with high traffic volume; lifespan will be further shortened in coastal areas with high salt spray and heavy rainfall.

Color should primarily be white and yellow, strictly adhering to DPWH color specifications, which is a key focus of on-site visual inspection.

V. Practical Points for Exporting to the Philippines

For government bidding projects, suppliers should provide test reports and technical documents that match the exact DPWH tender specification. Where Item 612 applies, the material system should be evaluated against the relevant AASHTO-based requirements referenced by DPWH.Material documentation is a key document in the bid.Buyers can also review our guide to importing thermoplastic road marking paint from China for packaging, samples, quantity and shipment considerations.

MATESTAR's technical team believes that the Philippine formula cannot directly copy the conventional hot melt materials of the old domestic standards. It is necessary to appropriately increase the softening point range, strengthen the UV anti-aging system, and adapt to the tropical high-temperature and sun-exposed environment of the Philippines; otherwise, premature failure is likely to occur.

Figure 7 shows the marking field of MATESTAR, including samples of hot-melt marking paints from different countries such as AASHTO and BS.

Glass beads selection should not be downgraded. Premixed and surface-spread beads should be used in combination, with coated beads being the preferred choice for surface-spreading. Of course, clients with specific budgets can match surface-spread glass beads at prices ranging from 300-600 usd/ton.

Thickness control is a common problem in engineering projects. Many projects fail to reach their design lifespan due to insufficient coating thickness. DPWH supervisors will conduct spot checks on dry film thickness.

Market Status: There are several road marking paint suppliers in the Philippines, but their production capacity is limited. A large amount of hot-melt paint and glass beads are imported. Chinese products have a cost advantage, but they must strictly adhere to DPWH technical parameters and cannot be directly exported using the domestic JT/T280 standard.

VI. Brief Differences Between Domestic Standards and Philippine DPWH Standards

Domestic standard JT/T280 focuses on the temperate-subtropical climate of China, while Philippine DPWH significantly raises the softening point index and has higher requirements for glass bead sphericity, initial reflectivity, high-temperature anti-flow, and rain-peel resistance. Our technical team customizes thermoplastic road marking paints to suit the specific conditions of different countries, which is also a direction we are constantly researching,Domestic standards commonly use a thickness of 1.8-2.0 mm, while Philippine main roads generally require thicker coatings. Furthermore, DPWH references the Anglo-American system, and its testing items and methods differ somewhat from domestic standards; therefore, appropriate adaptation tests should be conducted before export.