Do-it-yourself asphalt driveway seal coating... Part II

Hi everyone, Brian here again…  Thanks for following our blog..

In our last posting we shared some information for the Do-It-Yourself home owner with some basic information and a short story of what many typical homeowners experience…

While we did try to sprinkle in some helpful hints in our story, there are many specific things that a Do-it-Yourself homeowner should know...  

So today, we will start at the beginning. I’m talking about the sealer it’s self.

Across the county there are many brands available.  In most states all you will find are water based sealers, these are commonly called Asphalt Emulsion sealers. Most of these have a high percentage of solids, i.e. sand and clay.

The other type of sealer that is available in some states is a Coal Tar based sealer. When purchased for your local store this sealer will also typically have a high percentage of solids, i.e. sand and clay as well.

The asphalt emulsion products are more forgiving for the Do-It-Yourself homeowner. They are easier to clean up (if you catch it while it's still wet) and they have lower VOC's.

They range in price across the county anywhere from $17 - $35 per bucket (about 4.75 gal per bucket). The price varies of course on the brand and grade of product you purchase.  

We have used and tested all of the major brands available here in South Florida, and what we have discovered is that product consistency in all brands leaves something to be desired. (Read online product reviews and you will see that this is a common observation) However overall in testing the one thing that we can say is that the old phrase "You get what you pay for" generally rings true for these products... 

I would like to put this sealer information into perspective, especially for the people living here in Florida, or anywhere within 50 miles of an ocean. Or wherever salt is used on the roads during the winter.  Salt water, salt content in the air or salt particulates from roadways all will cause asphalt emulsion based products to wear and erode prematurely.

Professional sealcoaters (especially here in Florida) predominately use Coal Tar based sealers.  These products (and there are several brands and manufacturers) are far more durable than the asphalt emulation based products.  There are the rare occasions where  water based asphalt emulation sealers may be required due to project spec’s, but this situation is a very rare occurrence.

The reasons professionals use coal tar based sealers is three fold.  They are the only widely used sealers that are DOT / FAA / USAF certified and approved. (ASTM D-5727-00 (previously Federal Spec. RP-355e)  Here is a link to actual product testing  results from on of the Coal Tar based sealer manufacturers http://www.starsealfl.com/Star%20Seal%20Bulletin.pdf


One reason for having a professional seal your driveway is that most use the more durable coal tar based sealer on your driveway which will provide longer more durable  protection than your typical store purchased sealer.


But lets talk some more about the sealer you as a homer owner would probably be purchasing. 
As we stated earlier, in our testing we found consistency issues across the board.  For this reason we strongly recommend that you purchase a bucket or two MORE than you have calculated that you require.  Should you find an inconsistent mix in one of the buckets you won’t be dead in the water, and you can return (at any of the big name D-I-Y stores) extra unopened buckets or opened buckets with quality issues.


Also as we discussed during our testing you basically get what you pay for with regards to the product you choose to buy.  That being said…  Let’s talk about product warranties.
We have selected two major brands sold at two different brand name D-I-Y centers.  Both offer a multi year warrantee on their product.  Please see the links we have provided to view the manufacturers fine print. Product A   Product B.


Some things to note:  Keep ALL Receipts (for the duration of the warrantee), For warrantee  to be valid TWO Coats MUST be applied, with Product B if repairs are required you MUST use their other products to make the repairs…


So if you are hoping to come even close to the length of time that the bucket says the product will protect your pavement, plan on applying two coats.


Well that’s the basics on asphalt sealer.


In our next posting we will talk about what we recommend for tools to make the job the as painless as possible, and we  will discuss surface and driveway preparation.


Thanks again for following our blog, and we’ll see you next time.


Brian
South Florida SealCoat
954.237.9864
SealCoat911.com