Line Marking Bibra Lake WA

A Bibra Lake business with a decorative polished concrete outdoor carpark area asked us to mark their visitor bays. The concrete looked like standard external concrete — slightly grey, slightly smooth. We applied thermoplastic. Within three weeks sections were peeling cleanly. The concrete had a topical polyurethane sealer applied over the polish — a finishing coat that protected the decorative surface but created a non-porous barrier that thermoplastic couldn't bond to.

The client had to have the sealer reapplied after we'd removed our failed markings, which damaged the sealer surface. It cost them for sealer reapplication and cost us the remarking. Around $2,200 in total rework costs between us. The assessment should have identified the sealer — a simple water drop test on polished concrete will show whether a topical sealer is present. Water beads on sealed polished concrete and absorbs quickly on unsealed. We hadn't done that test.

Bibra Lake has a mix of standard industrial concrete and the occasional decorative or architectural concrete surface in commercial and mixed-use buildings on the Cockburn Road corridor. The water drop test is now part of every Bibra Lake external assessment where the surface looks unusually smooth or has a sheen. For sealed polished concrete, cold-applied flexible marking systems or epoxy-based alternatives to thermoplastic are the appropriate solution.

Main Roads WA approved. We've been marking Bibra Lake logistics and industrial facilities since 2009. Surface sealer identification is now a standard assessment step on every Bibra Lake external concrete quote.