How To Choose The Best Sports Surface Coating
Updated on: March 12, 2024
There’s nothing quite like the freedom children feel when playing or participating in sports. Whether re-surfacing a playground or sports courts, choosing the right sports surface coating is a big responsibility.
Not only must the playground paint last long into the future, but it’s also got to fit into the budget and meet a range of needs. It can be a big ask.
Most outdoor surfaces for sports and play, serve a variety of uses. Whether you need to re-surface a school playground, children’s play space or sports courts, we’ve done the groundwork for you.
Top Playground Paints For Schools And Play Spaces
As a leading supplier of playground paint for schools and play spaces across the UK, we’ve updated a lot of outdoor areas over the years.
We’ve narrowed the options to three top-performing playground paints, not forgetting our high-quality preformed thermoplastic of course. From budget to durability, we’ve weighed up every factor to ensure there’s a solution for every customer.
Preformed thermoplastic sits at the top of the scale and a superior playground paint is at the other. Whichever covering you choose, we guarantee your choice will deliver all you need.
Let’s take a closer look at the four options and consider how to choose the best sports surface coating for outdoor play spaces.
How To Choose The Best Sports Surface Coating
1. Performance
Be it running, jumping, or dribbling, heavy daily use by energetic children means any playground surface covering has to deliver top performance.
What should you be considering when comparing the performance of outdoor surfaces for sports and play?
Let’s take a look:
Safety
We all know how much everyone dreads wet play. The last thing you want to install is a playground surface coating that’s unsafe. Weather, durability, and quality of finish can all affect the safety of playground paint.
Whether it’s wet or sunny or children are digging their feet into the newly laid surface, you need to know the covering you choose can withstand any type of weather or abrasion.
Finish
Playgrounds and sports courts are some of the most visible parts of the school. These are recreation spaces where children and other members of the community relax and unwind.
You want the finished play space to look attractive and welcoming long into the future so the covering you choose has to deliver a high-quality finish that lasts.
Colour Options
The finished outdoor space will need to be bright and appealing so it’s a good idea to think about colours and designs. Some surface coverings, such as thermoplastic, come in a much wider range of colours than other coatings.
If you want custom designs or brighter tones, you may find yourself choosing one type of surface covering over another because it gives you all the options you need.
Thermoplastic is ideal if you want a custom playground design. Some schools, for example, have decorative sports courts with abstract designs or bespoke school logos.
Each of our four options offer the high-performance you need for outdoor spaces in constant use.
Our 4 playground and sports surface coatings are:
- Thermoplastic
- Methacrylate Cold Plastic (MMA)
- Anti-Slip Playground Paint
- Sports Coating
2. Practical Considerations
Weather-resistance
One of the biggest factors in the success of a new outdoor surface covering is weather-resistance.
As a leading UK playground marking company, we understand children need to be able to use outdoor areas safely in any weather.
Anti-Slip
Here in the UK, sports surfaces must remain safe whether it’s raining, snowing or very hot.
The biggest thing you want to avoid are non-porous surfaces that will leave behind a dangerous, slippery layer of water. Alternatively, you must make sure there are ways for water to drain away.
All our outdoor surface coatings have anti-slip properties however, ensuring children can play safely in any weather.
Suitability
Most sports courts and playground surfaces in the UK are made with tarmac.
You’ll need to check whether each playground covering is suitable for use with tarmac. If it is, verify the condition the tarmac needs to be in because some playground paints won’t be suitable for badly worn tarmac.
Application
Many playground and sports surface coverings are sprayed on whilst others use heat application or are rolled on.
It’s worth checking these finer details, including any information about surface preparation, beforehand because application will affect your scheduling arrangements for the task.
3. Durability
Most important of all is endurance. Your playground and sports surface coating has got to last. With the school’s budget dictating how much you can spend, return on investment is a good angle to work from.
Whilst cost per square metre is important, you’ve also got to think about long-term performance and the finish you want.
It’s often worth going back to the budget holder and re-assessing what you want to spend. If, for example, the school wants a custom design, you may want to allocate extra funds to the project.
4. How Do Surface Coatings Compare?
Thermoplastic: For superior performance, preformed thermoplastic is unmatched. It lasts 10 times longer than traditional playground paint, is anti-slip and provides an unrivalled finish.
Available in 26 different colours, thermoplastic is perfect for custom designs. Heat application is quick and suitable for tarmac in any condition (within reason). It also comes with a 4 year warranty.
Approximate cost per m2 for block colour: £85 – £135
Anti-Slip Playground Paint: Good performance and a pleasing finish makes our mid-range anti-slip paint a suitable option for many.
Available in 7 different colours, our anti-slip playground paint comes with a 1-year warranty and can be applied to tarmac in any condition.
Approximate cost per m2 for block colour: £23 – £26
Sports Coating: For surfaces in good condition that need a quick and economical update, the sports coating may be ideal.
Delivering a top-quality finish that’s safe, if you want a quick refresh at a low cost, the sports coating may be a good option. The coating is available in 12 colours.
Compatibility with thermoplastic means you could upgrade the finish with colourful thermoplastic markings over the top.
Approximate cost per m2 for block colour: £8 – £17.50
Methacrylate Cold Plastic (MMA): If you have small areas of weathered playground or sports courts, MMA may be a good option.
Methacrylate Cold Plastic delivers a high level of endurance and is available in 18 different colours. It’s a great, cost-effective option for covering over small designs or patchy areas that need a quick and effective re-touch.
A long 4-year warranty will give you peace of mind whilst roll-on application is quick and simple.
Approximate cost per m2 for block colour: £32 – £37
Compare the options for yourself or get in touch with our friendly team for more advice.
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Jess Sparks
Jess is deeply committed to supporting our mission of positively impacting UK outdoor play environments to promote healthy lifestyles in children.
With a CIM Level 6 Diploma in Sustainable Marketing, Jess channels her passion for sustainability into her marketing role, using her skills to promote eco-conscious practices and raise awareness for our initiatives.
Jess’ experience within the industry is instrumental in driving engagement and supporting connections with those who require ultra-durable, high-grade playground markings both locally and internationally.