Special
Who has products for sports floor lines?
LINES FOR SPORTS FLOORS – THAT’S HIGH TRAFFIC! SPORTS FLOORS HAVE TO UNDERGO JUST ABOUT EVERY IMAGINABLE SORT OF AGGRESSION
Photo – Pallmann
At first sight, in the eyes of a layperson, a sports floor looks just like a parquet or wooden floor on a bigger surface and scale. Nevertheless, behind just about all sports floors lies an ingenious system which ensures that the sports floor is ‘suitable’ to comply with a number of sporting and technical requirements. We’re talking about shock absorption capacity properties which are essential to both the sporting performance and health of the athlete. And so, a sports floor is a system and you can say the same about the finish. In other words, don’t just call a sports floor finish a sports lacquer.
Sophisticated finish system A sports floor finish comprises various operations, various products, and, especially, a sequence or procedure determined in advance by the maker of those products. At the end of the cycle, we end up with nothing more than, yes, a lacquered floor. Obviously, this floor has several specific properties. The official European standard EN 14904:2006 sets demands for the structure of the floor, but also the finish. These floors are subjected to more than just high traffic; athletes jump on them, slide on them with rubber soles, and such like. Even the required slip resistance is obtained through the floor finish. As we’ve said, various producers have developed a finish system specifically for sports floors. Most systems are a compound of a primer, a special lacquer, line paint, and a maintenance product specially
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developed for that purpose. Differences in procedure can occur between existing systems. For instance, with one producer the line paint is applied at the end, whilst with another producer this is done between two coats of lacquer.
The primer Sports floors always have large surfaces. And so, most systems start with a primer to give the floor the same regular colour everywhere and guarantee good adhesion for the lines and the final finish.
The finish Lacquer on sports floors has to undergo severe stress. A good sports floor finish has a strong adhesion and correct slip resistance. Together with the primer, a film is formed which is only lightly porous. This has a soothing effect on the floor because it makes the floor less sensitive to changes in the air humidity in the sports hall. A sports lacquer has to be strong not only because of the huge stress to which the floor is subjected, but also because of the natural movements of the wood mass.
The lines Sports floor lines are applied using fast-drying paint. This is usually a dual-component lacquer which is available in a good number of RAL colours so that it is perfectly possible to adapt to requirements laid down by the sports federations of the respective sports. The lines
