ShufeboardCourt Painting and Lining

Reduce 1st coat of H&C 20%, with Xylene, which is the vehicle in the stain to soak into the concrete. Then put two coats of stain on top. Lines should be painted with H&C white stain as it is the same base and also does not leave a bump due to stain thickness. If done this way it will withstand the weather but only if protected with Nella-Seal.

When painted, at least two coats of Nella-Seal (not too heavy) are applied, with a day in-between for curing. On-going maintenance involves putting two coats on in Spring, one coat during Summer and 2 coats in Fall.

The sealer is the most important part. You should always be playing on the sealer never on the paint. Each time you put the sealer on you should wash and rinse the courts, rst with water and then with a small amount of Spic and Span to remove the grime.

At we have attempted to assemble the current information on how to paint and line outdoor Floor Shufeboard Courts. We are not experts at this and consequently have culled this information from various sources, mostly from the US. Before reading on please keep this in mind: build, paint and line your courts according to local climate conditions AND take into the account the quality and amount of on-going maintenance that will be performed on your courts.

We carry the liquid court wax sealer, disc wax and glass beads, and a stencil to help mark the lines but we do not carry any paints, stains or tools to perform these tasks. If this is not a do-it-yourself project you can nd businesses who can help under the following Yellow Pages headings: Parking Area Maintenance and Marking; Pavement Marking; Floor; and General Contractors.

What works in Florida may not withstand a Canadian climate with the associated temperature extremes. The concrete itself, as well as the marked surface, will suffer greater wear and tear. It is with this in mind that we often recommend that Canadian courts don’t necessarily have to be greened. If this is preferred then only greening the scoring area could be an option.

The most recommended stains are form Sherwin Williams. Known as “H&C Concrete Stain” they are available in Canada and the US. For US information call #1-800 TO-STAIN (867-8246) and for the local Canadian distributor contact (#) 905-507-0166. Advise the local store if it is a new or pre-painted court and then follow the directions on the containers for application. Never use an enamel paint to mark your courts. The discs simply will not slide. Another option is to use a good grade Latex paint to line the court. Latex will wear but won’t chip and peel. (We’ve been told that the white paint is use to line our roads and highways also works well). Always mark a test area rst to ensure different paints and stains mix properly and that your discs will work on the court.

Below are instructions provided directly from the Ontario Shufeboard Association (OSA). The overriding concern, according to the OSA, is to protect the surface of your court! They also stress that keeping water away form the court is the number one concern for the court’s longevity. This is best accomplished by using Nella-Seal liquid wax to protect and seal the court. Mr. Sandy Myers suggests the following:

Page 1

Page 2

Orientation

Courts should be laid out on North South axia whenever possible to minimize sun in the players eyes.

Site Preparation

Well drained, dead level, well compacted base should be provided, over which a waterproof mem-brane is placed. In areas where ground freezing is a problem, place crushed rock or cinders to a depth below frost line.

Forms

Western Cedar, Redwood or a similar wood should be used. The forms should be selected for straight-ness, they should be well oiled, and well staked to establish a well stabilized, perfectly level sur-face form which to work. The maximum tolerance should be 1/16 inch in 6 feet.

Reinforcing

Should be consistant with local practice for at slabs.

Placing of Concrete

Pour courts rst, then next day pull forms, form and pour gutters and bench slabs. The courts should be 6 inches thick of either 2500 PSI or 3000 PSI Concrete, depending on local conditions. Court surface should be dead level with no variations, gutters to have proper slope and adequate drains at centers. Bench slabs and curbs should be 1 1⁄2 inches above court surface, a 1⁄2 inch expansion joint should be placed between courts and bench slabs, ush with court surface. Court surface should have an open nish for optimum bonding of stains and sealers, a light sponge nish is pre-ferred. The gutters should have a smooth trowel nish and the bench slabs should have a light broom nish.

Surface Preparation

After at least 14 days, lightly stone the court sur-face with hand rubbing stones to remove any sharp points or loose grit. If the court is to be stained it should be treated with a mild muriatic acid solu-tion.

Finishing of Court Surface

After an adequate curing time, a concrete stain can be applied if desired, with dark green being the ideal color. White concrete strain is recom-mended for the marking of the lines on green or other colored courts. It should be applied by spraying. Care should be taken to apply as thin a coat as possible. And yet have a highly visible line. For light gray courts black concrete stain should be used. Lines can range 3⁄4 inch to 1 inch in width and must have a sharp edge. After line markings are dry. Shufeboard sealer-wax can be applied. Glass beads or a powdered wax must be sprinkled on the court in order to provide a fast surface for disc travel.

Bumpers

Rope 1 inch in diameter or larger, or rubber hose of similar size with a piece of reinforcing steel inside, to kill the rebound of the discs can be attached to the face of the bench slab with galvanized spikes or screws in the expansion joint. A wooden 2” x 2” can also be used.

Recommended Procedure for Construction of Shufeboard Courts

Page 3

Page 4

Surface Preparation:

There are numerous methods of preparing problem concrete surfaces, each depending on the specic problem that needs xing.Whatever the problem, there are two critical fac-tors that determine a good surface.

First, the surface must be clean of dirt, chemicals and all other contaminants.

Second, the surface must be rough enough, and have a high enough surface prole (miniature ridges and valleys), to form a successful bond.

A simple and effective way to check your concrete is to do a test area. If the test is successful, your project has a good chance for success also. If your concrete test fails, you will need further surface preparation.

Cleaning and proling The Surface:

Here are some of today’s methods to clean and pro-le a concrete surface:

Step 1: Cleaning

This can be achieved by a combination of meth-ods, including sweeping vacuuming, wire brushing, air-blast cleaning, high-pressure water jetting, tri-sodium phosphate (4 ozs./gallon of hot water), steam cleaning and other industrial strength deter-gent cleaners. The latter two methods are the most commonly used for removing surface oil, grease, fat and waxes-prior to proling. (Some industrial strength grade cleaners contain fragrances and pine oil, which can interfere with the adhesion of a coating.)

Step 2: Proling

Acid Etching should only be attempted after all dirt, oil and grease has been removed. Muriatic acid is the most commonly used acid for concrete etch-ing. Pre-wet with water prior to applying etching solutions. Free-standing water should be removed, and the acid solution applied to the surface by the way of a polyethylene sprinkler can.

Maintenance

Eforescence: Water form the interior of the con-crete migrates to the surface and evaporates, depositing salts on the surface which appear as a white stain.

Oils, grease, wax, etc: Contaminants such as curl-ing sprays, waterproong sealers and form-release coating have a tendency to penetrate deep into the surface of the concrete. This may require deep surface proling, such as mechanically sanding or scarifying.

Cross-section of concrete showing contamination form laitance, eforescence or atmospheric pollutants.

Cross-section of concrete showing contamination from substances such as oils, grease, wax, etc.

Concrete Hardeners: (Metallic silicate solutions), will usually appear glossy and cannot be scratched with a coin. Hardened concrete cannot be success-fully coated unless special methods are used to prepare the surface.

Cross-section of concrete after scarifying or mechani-cally scratching this surface.

Cross-section of concrete after acid etching or rotary drum sander proling.

Atmospheric pollution: Includes salts from seawa-ter, road salt, acid rain, grime and other air-laden industrial contaminants.

Page 5

Page 6