Interlocking & flagstone

• Acrylic (water-based) sealer

    Oil resistant for interlock driveways. Good for staying flaying of old flagstone.

    Finish: Available in mat & lustre.

    Drying time: 24 hrs driving time & no RAIN for 24 hrs Better in wind & sun.

 Concrete

     A wide variety of coatings. Acrylic, polymer, solvent & water-based emulsions.
Available in colours & clear coatings.

• Garage floors
• Sidewalks
• Factories
• Restaurants

Asphalt

• Slurry seal / driveway resurfacer
  

    A thick mud like substance that has the consistency of drywall compound. Looks great. Almost invisible once sealed over. Good for spot repairs of spiderweb cracking.

         Sealer

• Liquid-asphalt based driveway sealing

    Best for rejuvenating old oxidized asphalt in driveways & parking-lots.
Also maintains pliability of new asphalt by replenishing the oils that are being oxidized by the sun.
Not a superficial sealer that sits on top like the water based sealers. The liquid asphalt penetrates & becomes part of the bituminous mix ( sand, gravel, liquid asphalt). Which is commonly referred to as asphalt. But in reality the LIQUID is  the ASPHALT. The bituminous mix is probably better referred to in the old terminology TARMAC. "Put the asphalt back in the tar mac or we'll have ta tar n fetha ya". Thou technically asphalt & tar
differ. Originally the organic liquid asphalt was imported to N. America from Lake Ooegooe  in the Caribbean where it had naturally formed over millions of years. Also Venezuela. I should be a pitchman for pitch man.
   
    Drying time: As little as a 1-2  hours on a windy sunny day, for foot traffic. General rule of thumb, 6-12-24: 6 hrs. to walk on, 12 hrs. to drive over ( into or out of garage ), & 24 hrs to park on. A light rain after 1 hr. usually has no affect if the tarmac is previously unsealed.

    Application: Sprayed on very quickly, average 800-1000 sq. ft. drive takes 15 Min's in ideal conditions.

    How often: Every Yr. for 2-3 Yrs then once every 2nd. Yr. & eventually every 3rd. year depending.

     Finish: At first it has a lustre, but this wears off in a few weeks & then is a flat black. Which then matches any new hot patches if any. Fades slowly, doesn't peel.

    Downside: Not resistant to gas & oil. Spot sealing small areas where oil might be a problem with an acrylic sealer usually takes care of this. Rarely sold in stores anymore, used to be marketed as SAKRETE before Flintkote sold the brand to KING back in the early seventies if my recollection is correct. Back when I was in my early teens working with my father in the summer holidays. Sorry I was drifting there.

    Important: Do not do at same time as having lawn WEED sprayed. Will cause tracking. Took me forever to figure that one out. I could dedicate a whole chapter to that one. They have probably banned that in most places now anyway.

    Clean up: Lustersheen, DL waterless hand  cleaner,  Vaseline:  for  interior  surfaces.  Mineral  spirits  or  any  other solvent  for  exterior.  Comes  off  very  easy.

• Acrylic (water-based) driveway sealer

    User friendly for do it yourselfers. Available in stores. Nice mat finish. Gas & oil resistant. I like using it as a spot primer for oil stains, a lot cheaper than buying the little 1 litre bottles. Also  available in colours, special order.

    Downside:The cost of the premium brand usually costs as much as having the asphalt-based sealer professionally applied labour & materials combined. The cheaper brands just have water added so what's the point.

    Finish: Nice mat finish but tends to peel off.

    Drying time: 24 hrs driving time & no RAIN for 24 hrs Better in wind & sun. Slow in spring & fall.

• Coal tar (water-based) driveway sealer

    Cheapest of the sealers, thick & very resistant to gas. Good for around gas pumps and oil tanks.
Cheap, strong & ugly, just call me "coal tar".

    Downside: A known carcinogenic. Causes a cracking of the tarmac known as alligatoring, looks like an imitation alligator driveway. If put on a thinly recapped driveway it will actually crack the tarmac to the point of breaking up.                           That's right it was your fault, lol.
Basically the water based sealers are superficial sealers in the sense that they sit on the surface of the  tarmac.
They don't penetrate the asphalt & join to become one  with our fossilized carbon cousins. Taoist tarmac. They don't allow the tarmac to breathe.


    Finish: Imitation alligator, in time.