Academy · SealMaster how-tos · Sealcoating

Outlined from SealMaster

Sealcoat 101: How to Sealcoat Asphalt Pavement

The field order: clean, patch, fill cracks, prime oil, then apply sealer by spray, squeegee, or both.

Outline

1. Repair and Protect Driveways, Roads and Parking Lots

   The guide's promise is a full sequence, not a single product: clean, repair, fill, prime, and apply so the coat lasts.

2. What You'll Learn

   Why sealcoating matters, how sealer families differ, then five numbered steps from prep through application.

3. Why is Sealcoating Essential?

   Sun, water, chemicals, and traffic oxidize the binder until the surface grays, dries, and cracks. A maintained film is how the article says you slow that.

4. Understanding Sealer Types

   Region used to pick the formula. The guide still separates three families and says SealMaster makes all three so the choice can follow rules and performance.

5. Asphalt-Based Sealer

   Described as the common choice now: flexible, fast, dark, and easier to handle on driveways, roads, and lots.

6. Coal-Tar Sealer

   Historically more common in the Midwest and East. Strong against fuel, with a heavier odor and harsher handling. The article notes the smell bothers some people.

7. Liquid Petroleum Pitch Based Sealer

   Presented as coal-tar-like performance with less odor. It is a third formula, not a nickname for asphalt emulsion.

8. Step 1: Clean and Prepare the Surface

   The pavement has to be clean and dry. A rushed wash is why sealer peels. This step is the foundation for every later one.

9. Remove Vegetation and Debris

   Grass, weeds, dirt, and loose stone come off first. An edger along the edges is one of the tools the article names.

10. Step 2: Fill Potholes

    Sealcoat will not bridge a hole. Water that built the pothole will keep working if the hole stays open.

11. Why Pothole Repair Matters

    An open hole is a safety problem and a water path. Patch it so the sealer has a continuous surface.

12. Simple Application

    The article's cold-patch sketch is pour, slightly overfill, and compact. It names PatchMaster as the example material. Follow that product's own sheet on site.

13. Step 3: Fill Cracks and Repair Alligatored Areas

    Unfilled cracks feed the next pothole. Alligator cracking is a different repair from a single crack.

14. Clean Cracks Thoroughly

    Dirt and vegetation in the crack mean the filler bonds to debris. Clean before you fill.

15. Hot-Pour Crack Fillers

    Blocks melted in dedicated equipment. The article calls these the longer-life professional option, especially on roads.

16. Cold-Pour Crack Fillers

    Unheated fillers for lots and smaller repairs, applied with simpler tools. Convenience is the reason, not a claim that they replace hot-pour everywhere.

17. Repairing Alligatored or Severely Damaged Areas

    A cluster of cracks cannot be sealed over or treated as one crack. The article points at a polymer-modified surface repair such as GatorPave before sealer.

18. Step 4: Prime Oil Spots

    Oil left in the pavement bleeds through a new coat. Clean it, then prime it, then let the primer dry.

19. Cleaning Methods

    How hard you clean depends on how deep the spot is. The source lists methods. Do not skip to primer on a wet, oily stain.

20. Priming

    After the spot is clean, brush or spray an oil-spot primer and let it dry. The article names PetroSeal and PrepSeal as examples.

21. Step 5: Apply Sealer

    Read the TDS and SDS for the actual mix, coverage, and method before you load the tank. This outline does not replace those sheets.

22. Choosing an Application Method

    Spray, squeegee, or both. The pavement condition decides, which is why the next lesson compares the methods.

23. Spray Application

    Spray coats the rock and covers ground quickly. Overlap each pass about halfway into the last one so you do not leave streaks.

24. Squeegee Application

    Squeegee works sealer down into older, more open pavement. Overlap the previous pass by roughly a hand span so the film stays even.

25. Combination Method

    First coat squeegeed into the pores, second coat sprayed for an even finish. That is the article's preferred two-coat pattern.

26. Application Tips

    The closing tips send you back to mix design, weather, and coverage on the product sheet. A pretty coat that ignored the sheet is still a failed coat.