Asphalt sealers

        There are 3 asphalt sealers on the market today. The one we apply most is sprayed or rolled on & is a liquid asphalt based emulsion. The 2 commonly available in the store are water based, acrylic & coal-tar. They are the most resistant to gas & oil. We apply these as a primer over oil spots or where there is a high spill probability such as gas stations or oil tanks. One of the main advantages of the asphalt emulsion is that it can be sprayed on, saving manpower. The other is that it "is" asphalt. Asphalt is technically a liquid, It is what your driveway is made of in the 1st. place. Liquid asphalt, sand & gravel. Therefore it penetrates, rejuvenating old oxidized asphalt that has been bleached by the sun. Putting the oils back in, thereby renewing it & deterring cracking & maintaining it's flexibility like when it was new & rich with oil ( asphalt ) & allowing the asphalt to breathe.

      Asphalt is a natural formed substance from ameba, formed from decayed vegetation & marine life being trapped below ancient lakes & glaciers during the ice age ( see Limestone in the glossary pg. ). Alberta tar sands, Lake Venezuela, Pitch Lake in Trinidad as well as some smaller ones in California to name a few.  Brea, California had an asphalt economy boom at the turn of the previous century;  Brea is a Spanish word for asphalt.

       The water based sealers are superficial sealers that sit on the surface     & don't penetrate.

       Acrylic is the most aesthetic of the water based sealers but peels off. The cost to do it yourself is approximately  the same as what we would charge to "supply & apply" an asphalt sealer.

       Coal-tar is bar far the most resistant to gas & oil, is cheap & thick. It will fill small cracks but because of the suffocating nature of it, in the long run creates more cracks than it cures. These are the driveways that look like an alligator skin, billions & billions* of hairline cracks. If applied to a thin asphalt driveway recap**, it will make the recap brittle; break & peel off. Also the glossiest, therefore the most slippery. Asphalt is porous & needs to breath. But if you have an oil tank or own a gas station***, it may be the right one for you. A word of CAUTION, it is a known carcinogenic.

* I know, Carl Sagan didn't say that. lol.

** Recap - A 2nd. course of asphalt, a top layer.

*** If you own a gas station........stick with the petroleum. lol.    

Stone sealers

       There are many different types of sealers & coatings for concrete warehouse floors, brick masonry, block walls, interlocking paving stones. We will help choose the right one for you.
 

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