Cleaning, Sweeping and Oil Spot Removal by Seal And Coat
Proper cleaning and preparation of your asphalt pavement is crucial to ensure a high quality, problem free, long lasting job. Often times, seal coat flakes and wears away prematurely because of improper surface preparation. After properly filling any and all cracks, the basic steps are as follows. First, it is important to sweep and remove any caked on dirt. The second step is to blow any debris, grass, etc using high velocity 180-212MPH leaf blowing equipment. After removing all major dirt and debris, we scrub any remaining dirt imbedded in the pavement using steel bristled brooms. If required, we may hose down the surface or power wash, depending on the characteristics of the pavement and requirements of the project.
After all cleaning steps have been completed, we take steps to ensure a quality, neat, professional job. Seal And Coat masks off all areas surrounding the pavement to ensure we do not stain any areas you do not want sealer on. This includes using a combination of butcher paper, newspaper, masking tape, as well as shields, to ensure we don't get sealer on anything other than your asphalt. After all the above steps have been completed, we apply the seal coating material as required.
Oil Spot Removal
Oil, fuel, and other chemical assailants are one of the most detrimental enemies to your pavement surfaces. These harsh chemicals seep into the tiny pours of your asphalt surfaces and literally dissolve the hardened liquid asphalt binders that is used to "glue" and bond the aggregate stone and sand partials together. These chemicals can also create soft spots in your pavement, further contributing to pavement deterioration. Our process includes, if necessary, putting an absorbent "kitty-litter" type material on the oil or chemical stain to absorb as much of the excess as possible. The second step is to attempt to clean and wash as much of it away as possible thru a multi-step cleaning process. The third and final step is to apply a primer to these stains prior to seal coating to prevent the stain from seeping up thru the asphalt sealer and give the asphalt seal coat material a good surface to bond to. These oil, fuel and chemical stains not only appear unattractive and deteriorate your pavement, but may also present a slipping and falling hazard, especially during and after the pavement has been rained on. This is not only dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists, but can also greatly reduce vehicle braking distance and can result in loss of vehicle control. Just think of the "oil slick" button in cartoons and movies.
Extensively damaged oil spots may be beyond repair and might require cutting out and patching the area for a permanent fix. Because of the detrimental effects of oil on asphalt pavement, it is vital to sealcoat early on to provide a protective barrier against oil and other chemicals.
Sweeping
Another solution Seal And Coat provides is to sweep your paved surfaces, effectively removing dirt and sand, debris such as leaves, grass clippings and other organic matter, and removing litter and garbage. We offer both one-time services prior to seal coating, as well as contracted routine and scheduled sweeping to help you maintain your parking-lot and roadways.
Cleaning Cracks & Potholes Prior To Repairing
The proper preparation and cleaning of cracks is vital to ensure a quality, long lasting repair. It is important to remove dirt and debris, weeds and vegetation, moisture, and lose asphalt and aggregate material on the sidewalls of the crack for a good bond. For small projects with just a few feet of cracks, a screw driver, crack hoe, or similar scraping tool can be adequate to remove a majority of of the dirt and debris.
For average to larger sized jobs, when lots of weeds, vegetation and other organic growth is present in the crack of the pavement, a high speed wire wheel is used to rip out the vegetation, and remove roots, dirt and debris. Essentially this machine is an edger with a wire wheel attached to it. These types of crack cleaners also help remove lose material on the sides of the sidewall to allow a better bonding of the material. This method works best when the weeds are dead and dry, not fresh and green.
On jobs containing lots of weeds, it may be helpful to spray the unwanted vegetation with a weed killing spray 1 to 2 weeks prior to the crack filling to help kill the weeds. After cleaning the dirt and debris out, a propane torch is utilized to burn any remaining vegetation, roots, and other organic growth to help kill the vegetation and burn its roots. This is a common weed control method used by farmers. On extremely tall or dense vegetation, we may burn it before cleaning the cracks out with the wire wheel.
On jobs without very much vegetation, a hot air lance is utilized. A hot air lance uses high CFM, high pressure air and propane to create a super-heated blast of air which blows cracks clean of dirt and debris. A heat lance, or hot air lance also aids in drying the crack and removing moisture to help ensure a better bond of the crack sealant to the sidewalls of the cracks. The hot air lance is an extremely effective and cost effective way to prepare cracks prior to sealing them. Because of the labor and equipment requirements for a hot air lance, this method is usually only used on very large commercial parking lots, roadways and similar large areas.
Routing is only required on small cracks less than 1/2". Routing, otherwise known as chasing, essentially utilizes either carbide tipped teeth or circular diamond blades to cut the pavement to 1/2"-5/8" wide to allow a good reservoir for the sealant to flow into. This is like the way a dentist prepares a tooth before filling a cavity. However, extremely old, brittle pavement may not be suitable for routing, as well as pavement with a large number of cracks in one particular area. This method is typically not used unless it is specifically required, as in large municipal roadway projects. Because of the machinery required, it is not utilized on smaller commercial or residential jobs.
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