Seal And Coat - Products We Do and Don't Use

The Products And Materials We Use

Seal And Coat utilizes a refined coal-tar blend sealer modified with latex-epoxy additives for all its seal coating applications. Coal tar based sealer is the best type available on the market and provides a superior resistance to oil, fuel and other chemical assailants, as well as providing the most durable and longest lasting finish.

During early spring and late fall, as well as in areas requiring fast re-opening after application, we may utilize a Fast Dry, Fast Set or Quick Set Additive to help speed up the drying process of the sealer. This allows the sealer to dry faster, thus, enabling you to walk or drive on the seal coated area sooner. By utilizing fast-dry or quick-dry additives, you speed up the drying time of the asphalt sealer, and your driveways, or commercial locations such as gas stations and fast food drive-thurs can reopen faster and be put in use sooner.

The products we apply are developed to be non-skid by utilizing fine grade silica sand aggregate in the mix of the sealer. This not only helps fill the tiny voids and nooks in the asphalt surface, but also provides a better non-skid surface when the surface is wet. On extremely raveled, rough and aged pavements, as well as those requiring additional skid resistance, we can utilize an extra-heavy sand load into the mix design of the sealer to provide even greater traction.

The other major type of sealer on the market is referred to asphalt emulsion. Occasionally due to logistical reasons and current supplies, we may utilize asphalt emulsion sealers. These types of sealers are more popular on the west coast of the U.S. where as coal-tar has predominantly been popular in the north east, east coast and southern regions of the U.S. These types of pavement sealers get their color from a coloring agent added to the mix, where as coal-tar sealers are black by nature.

Products We DON'T Use

The third type of asphalt coating product is commonly referred to Gilsonite. This is commonly also called a "rejuvenator" and does not act like a traditional asphalt emulsion or coal tar sealer. It sinks into the pavement rather than sitting on top of it like a coating. This naphtha-based sealer has been banned in some areas because of its VOC content and chemical make-up. This type of product is most commonly available in Utah and surrounding areas. Because of its solvent based properties, Gilsonite-type sealers are much more difficult to apply and must be done using specialized equipment by competent professionals. This is the only type of sealer that can actually cause harm to your asphalt if not done properly because the solvents of the sealer can actually dissolve the dried liquid asphalt binders in your asphalt pavement. Seal And Coat does not use this type of sealer.

In years past, Gilsonite-type sealers have been a favorite among "travelers", scam artists and less reputable contractors. They are cheap, and a little goes a long way. Also, because of their chemical make-up, they can easily be cut and diluted using kerosene, diesel fuel, used motor oil and other petroleum derived chemicals

Additional Information

Water is an essential part in the mix design when applying concentrated refined coal tar sealers. Water is also an easy way for less reputable and fly-by-night contractors to increase their profit and leave their customers with an inferior job. Seal And Coat utilizes a minimum amount of water in its sealer mix design to get as much "good stuff" on the pavement and provide a quality, beautiful, long lasting job. Most sealer concentrate can safely be diluted with approximately 25-35% water. Less reputable contractors may use up to 50% water, or more. We usually add approximately 10-25% water. The reason for the range between this number is sometimes certain epoxy fortifying additives thicken up the sealer so much that water has to be added to make the product easy and friendly to use and apply.

Email: info@sealandcoat.com / Phone: 860.874.8444