From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 30, 1975:

A recurring mystery had Kansas University buildings and grounds crews scratching their heads in puzzlement. Three times a year, crews would repaint center lines and crosswalks on KU’s streets, only to have the lines nearly disappear by the next day, turned black by the passing tires. “We’re trying to determine why this happens,” said Harry Buchholz, director of physical plants for the Department of Buildings and Grounds. “We’re working through the State Division of Purchases and we’ve been fighting this for a couple of years. But we haven’t come up with the answer.” KU was buying its paint through the division of purchases which produced it at the state penitentiary at Lansing. “We bought better paint one year when their paintworks closed down for a while,” Buchholz said. “But we can’t buy that paint anymore. We’re restricted to buying from the division of purchases.” Gerald Payne, buyer for the state division of purchases, said the agency bought “top quality raw materials” for paint manufacture. “It’s a problem, but it’s not common to the other agencies,” Payne said. “The State Highway Commission doesn’t seem to have problems with it.” Payne added that the highway commission used “traffic” paint and KU received “institutional” paint, but that they were “basically the same formula.” He maintained that there were “differences in the drying characteristics, but that’s about all.”