Atlantic Southern Paving

What is Sealcoating

March 3, 2022

What is sealcoating?

Asphalt sealing is similar to painting a house. Asphalt pavement can become worn or damaged from sun exposure, heavy traffic, oil spills, and high temperatures. Sealcoating involves spraying an asphalt or coal-tar oil emulsion on asphalt pavement to protect it from the elements. Customers and visitors will be more attracted to properties that have been sealed.

Sealcoating is cosmetic and is not a structural or crack filler. Before sealcoating can be applied, you must first do any asphalt repairs, crack sealing, or patching.

How often should I sealcoat personal property?

We don’t believe in sealing a surface too often, unless it is exposed to the elements or gets a lot more traffic. A property should be sealed every 3-4 years, or whenever it begins to look “dry”.

I have many driveway cracks on my property. Will you crack and fill them?

We will use cold pour crack-fill as part of the production process to fill large cracks using our special sealcoating equipment. Significant cracks are defined as cracks that are approximately 1/2 inch or larger. You will be able see random cracks in asphalt if it has had extensive ‘alligatoring.

How will the final product look?

Sealcoating will give your property a uniformly dark color which will enhance its appearance. The texture of the asphalt will make it easier to spot cracks or patches in the surface. The appearance of deteriorated asphalt, which has been previously sealedcoated, is much more smooth than that of the newly sealed asphalt.

Are there any tips that would make the production process more efficient?

Yes. Yes. Please turn off your lawn sprinkler system. We will sealcoat areas that are not yet sealed, but we recommend that you advise your lawn service or trash pickup to keep the surface off the ground for at least two to three days to prevent any scuffing.

What time can I drive on the newly sealed surface?

Each situation is different, however, it’s a good rule of thumb to not drive on sealcoated surfaces for more than 2 to 3 days. This allows the sealcoating process time to fully cure and prevents any contamination or scuffing. Rainy days may make it take longer for the product to cure.

Is there any danger in applying sealcoating too frequently?

You can use the painting analogy to illustrate the point. If you hire a driveway sealcoating company every year (or every two years), the sealcoating will not build up unless your property is heavily used. We find that the surface becomes extremely slippery when it rains. This can be a problem if you live on a property that is steeply inclined or has a hill.

Seal-coating Weather and Drying Time

The most popular question is: How long will it take for your driveway to dry after sealing it?

As stated above, it is best to avoid the surface for at most 2 or 3 days.

Weather Conditions

At least 50Fdeg (10Cdeg), and 50Fdeg (10Cdeg), should be the pavement temperature. The sealer should be avoided if this happens.

Apply the sealer only on wet or rainy days.

You should not apply the sealer to hot surfaces in the summer sun (over 90Fdeg ambient). Water should be used to dampen the surface, but not to leave puddles.

An emulsion can be damaged by freezing so it should be kept protected from temperatures below 40Fdeg (4Cdeg).

Drying time:

Before opening to traffic, the final coat must dry for at least eight hours in good sunlight drying conditions. Once it has dried sufficiently, you can drive over it without causing any damage.

Additional time may be needed if there are extreme weather conditions during the eight-hour drying period. This could extend to 24 hours in some cases.

It is a good idea to inspect the surface before you drive on it. If you want to know what is sealcoating, call Atlantic Southern Paving today. 800-990-2077