Walking a Fine Line: Paint Crew Strives for Perfection

The 40-foot truck trudges along at about 5 mph in an unerringly straight line.

Brian West sits in the driver’s seat, occasionally using a laser sight to keep the rig pointed in exactly the same direction. He chats by radio with Phil Jandrokovic, who sits in a booth at the rear of the truck with his head hanging out the window, staring intently at the ground, where a sprayer is laying down a stripe of white paint only a few inches wide.

Mile after mile, the big yellow truck moves at a walking pace while West and Jandrokovic never take their eyes off the task. They do this for hours in the summer heat, day in and day out.

Welcome to the Pittsburgh International Airport paint crew.

West and Jandrokovic are among a team of seven men whose primary job from about April to November is to paint every marking on airport property. Roads, parking lots, curbs – any paint that goes on any pavement is laid down by the paint crew.

“We could easily do multiple miles in a day,” West said.

Down to the inch

By far, their most important responsibility is the airfield. All markings on the runways, taxiways and ramps are very closely monitored by the Federal Aviation Administration, which measures two-mile-long lines down to the inch. Any deviation from strict federal policies means the entire job must be done over again.

Even the paint itself must be created to exact specifications. Tiny glass beads are mixed with the pigment during spraying to give markings a reflective quality for night operations. And the FAA will measure that quality with a refractometer to make sure it’s within standards.

If it’s not, start over again.

So what’s it like having to be nearly perfect with more than 20,000 gallons of paint and 70 tons of glass beads every year?

“Definitely come hour six or seven (in a shift), it gets tiring,” said Jandrokovic, who says caffeine is a must for the job.

Branching out

While the truck hand