A pavement’s saving face is the seal coat. This emulsified layer protects asphalt surfaces from water intrusion, insures against raveling or UV deterioration, and keeps the oils in the bitumen from drying out and cracking. Yes, you are right to sense a ‘but’; seal coating is effective when applied in a series of standard procedures considering ambient humidity, asphalt surface adhesiveness, and local weather.

Here are those silly ways in which some people and inexperienced contractors make amateur mistakes to either make a buck or save one. Safe to say, at Garden State Paving & Seal Coating, we don’t suffer from such half-measures in our excellent services!

1. The Seal Coat Bonanza

You may not be aware that when you coat your asphalt driveway or pavement with a thick layer of ready-mix seal coat, you are not defending the asphalt from anything. To evaporate, the water content in the sealer emulsion requires a particular thickness and layering. Too much sealer will cure unevenly, causing the seal coat to shrink and crack.

2. Bad Tools & Worse Coating

The squeegee is the all-purpose tool for applying store-mix seal coats, but what if you need a hot emulsion coat and lack the equipment? Experienced contractors use specialized charge-inducing emulsion sprays to regulate the mixture’s temperatures and churn the mix to maintain the emulsion’s integrity. You are not DIY-coating using a saucepan and a whisk to layer a tarry bechamel sauce over your pavement. Hire a contractor with the proper credentials and equipment for that.

3. Sealing Over Grimy Pavement

Please clean your pavement of any sand, dirt, and oils appropriately to maximize adhesive capacity. Smearing dollops of seal coat over and oil-stained or sandy pavement will cause the layer to slip and erode faster.

4. Not Letting the Seal Coat Cure:

For the love of everything sacred to asphalt seal coating, understand the difference between drying and curing. Protective seal coat emulsions do dry out in optimal humidity and moderate heat. Still, the oils in the coat need time to further cure onto the pavement to form a solid layer that is safe to exert vehicle loads on without tracking. The mistake is not allowing a seal coat to cure for at least 24 hours before clearing the area for traffic use.

5. Believing a Crack Filler Is the Same as a Seal Coat

No, and no! A crack filler is an elastomeric fast-setting material to fill cracks; a crack sealer is used to seal only a filled crack. A seal coat is used to coat pavement in a protective anti-weathering layer. There, that wasn’t too hard, was it?

If you ask us at Garden State Paving & Seal Coating for an expert’s opinion, we suggest using a seal coat as a crack filler in cracks under 1-inch to a quarter of an inch wide. Any wider than that, use a proper crack filler and seal it over with crack sealer, then seal coat after the sealer has cured.

You can check out free quotes on our seal coating and paving service as well. We are your trusted pavers in Marlton, NJ, and we deliver on promises and quality. On the plus side, you won’t have to spend money on unappealing repairs due to a horrendous seal coat project!