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Tips on Sealing New and Old Blacktop Driveways

Summary: Blacktop and asphalt sealing is incredibly important for maintaining a good driving surface. With three basic types of sealers to choose from, which should you use? Follow these tips for an excellent sealing job.

Different Sealers

There are three basic types of blacktop or asphalt sealers: simple emulsified asphalt; refined coal tar sealers; and 100 percent man-made acrylic polymer sealers.

The simple asphalt emulsion sealers offer the lowest levels of protection. In essence, they simply contain the same asphalt that was used to bind the sand and gravel together in the first place. This asphalt coating will oxidize and get brittle just like the asphalt you are trying to protect!

The next best sealer to use is manufactured using refined coal tar. Refined coal tar offers two distinct advantages: it is not dissolved easily by gasoline; and oil and UV rays do not readily make it brittle.

Asphalt is easily dissolved by gasoline and oil drippings from your car. Because of this, you should consider using refined coal tar products.

There is a wide variety of refined coal tar products. Some of them have additional additives such as rubber and rubber-like polymers which make them more elastic. These sealers often contain fine sand and clays. The sand makes the sealers more durable. The clays make the sealers easier to apply.

The best and most expensive sealers you can buy are those that contain almost 100 percent man-made ingredients. These are the acrylic sealers. If you have ever played tennis on a blacktop court that has the distinctive green and red sealers, you have walked on these acrylic sealers.

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