5 Mistakes to Avoid When Sealcoating Asphalt Pavement

An asphalt parking lot or driveway is often the first part of your property that a visitor interacts with. Routinely maintaining the pavement should be a priority of property owners to boost curb appeal, make a positive first impression on visitors, and prevent costly repairs in the future.

Sealcoating is an excellent way to protect and extend the lifespan of your asphalt pavement investment. This is a process where liquid sealant product is applied to the asphalt surface, acting as a shielding barrier to the elements, oil spills, and other damages. Also, it keeps any parking lot, driveway, or roadway looking fresh with its smooth black appearance.

While sealcoating is great for safeguarding your pavement, there are a few mistakes to avoid to maintain its effectiveness and longevity.

Outside temperatures play a key role in determining the success and longevity of your asphalt sealcoating job. The ideal temperature conditions for applying asphalt sealcoat are between 60° and 90° Fahrenheit. The sealer becomes difficult to work with when it’s below 60° and might not adhere properly. Alternatively, the sealer dries too fast when it’s above 90° and won’t adhere properly either.

Every parking lot, roadway, and driveway has tiny cracks for water and debris to accumulate. If these areas haven’t been cleared out before applying the sealcoat, all of the junk will be trapped beneath a layer of sealant. This not only looks awful, but it will cause your pavement surface to deteriorate at a much quicker rate.

It’s best to use a power washer to blast away all the debris beforehand, to ensure that the sealcoat can properly adhere to the pavement surface.

Freshly installed asphalt takes time to cure, enabling the oils within the asphalt mix to desiccate and the surface to fully harden. Depending on the climate, the thickness of the pavement, and the mix used; this process typically takes one year after installation.

If you sealcoat new asphalt too soon, the pavement bitumen material won’t have had enough time to bond with the aggregate, preventing proper hardening. This can cause the sealer to flake and peel off, which leaves your pavement surface vulnerable to damage from traffic and the weather.

After the asphalt pavement surface has been sealcoated, it is imperative to leave it untouched in order to cure properly. Depending on the outside temperature and humidity levels, the sealcoat curing process takes between 24-48 hours.

If you try to walk or drive on the surface too soon after the sealant application, you may damage the sealer and undo all of your hard work. Not to mention, you’re then likely to track the black sealer into your vehicle, home, or business, which is not an easy clean-up.

Sealcoating is a complicated task and requires specific tools/equipment to get it done right. Going with an amateur approach raises the risks of damaging your asphalt pavement surface and/or wasting loads of expensive sealant products.

Your best bet for your residential driveway, commercial parking lot, or roadway is to hire an experienced professional contractor. They will have access to industry-specific tools and equipment, like a pressurized sprayer or a sealing machine.

At Pavement Solutions, our pavement professionals have decades of experience in sealcoating and overall asphalt maintenance. Reach out today for a free sealcoating quote for your property. Rest assured, we will make none of the aforementioned mistakes on your property.