Whether you drive a car, bus, motorcycle or bicycle, driving at night can be dangerous. Obstacles and signs that are so clear during the day are harder to see and harder to avoid. Light reflective coatings (also known as light reflective coatings) are special coatings that use retroreflection (or retroreflection) to bounce light back to its source. This means that if a car's headlights shine on a substrate coated with reflective paint, the light will reflect directly back at the car and its driver, instantly illuminating the painted object.
Anything painted over—fences, bikes, clothing, signs—will be fully illuminated for drivers, making it easier to avoid. Not only does this improve driver safety, but it also improves your visibility and safety if you're walking or riding at night.
5 benefits
Improves safety for pedestrians and drivers at night
Glowing is neither blinding nor distracting, only those with a light source can see it
can't see during the day
Working in Rain, Fog, and Snow—Increasing Safety in Inclement Weather
Waterproof, won't crack or peel
Instructions
Light reflective coatings come in different forms depending on the intended use. Certain uses require heavier application methods, or additional additives during the coating process. The two main applications are reflective coatings for concrete and reflective road coatings, and reflective coatings available in spray form.
Reflective coatings for concrete and roads
Reflective coatings are an important part of road safety at night and are applied to road markings, pavement, vehicles, fences, gates, parking spaces. These heavy-duty paints reflect light because they contain thousands of glass beads per square foot, bonded to the pavement with adhesives like epoxy paint. Beads can be:
Premix with paint before application
Drip or spray into wet paint after application
or a combination of both
Retroreflective road paint is very popular in parts of the US and Canada because it's impervious to snowplows (unlike raised reflectors, which tear off the road). With changes in road behavior rules for inclement weather, more states are requiring headlights to be turned on in adverse conditions, and the use of retroreflective coatings is increasing.
Reflective paint for bicycles
In recent years, the number of deaths from bicycle accidents at night has increased significantly, and reflective coatings can help solve the problem of limited visibility. Visibility-enhancing measures such as reflective strips are already on the market, but there has been an increase in the number of spray paints and reflective bicycle coating products recently.
As you can see from the video above, these sprays use retroreflection to bounce light back to its source. Tiny microspheres are embedded in the coating, and it is these particles that give the coating its retroreflective properties. There are clear versions for clothing and textiles, which are also non-irreversible and washable.
The bikes have irreversible reflective paint that cannot be washed off. Another benefit of these paints is that they are waterproof and protect the bike itself.
Also, retroreflection and... the moon?
That's right, the moon. Apollo missions 11, 14 and 15 all installed mirrors on the moon so that NASA could accurately measure the distance between the moon and Earth. NASA fires a laser at the retroreflective array, which then bounces the beam directly back, allowing distance to be measured.
Of all the Apollo experiments, it is the last one still in use.
