Pavement is relied on every day to get the masses where they’re going. But how can your pavement investment be protected and maintained? Similar to how paint protects wood siding on a house, sealcoating protects, preserves and makes routine maintenance easier for pavement while adding value.
Cost Savings
- Applying sealcoating as part of a maintenance program lowers expenses over time.
- When unsealed asphalt begins to ravel or deteriorate, the aggregate within the asphalt dislodges, which can cause problems such as dinged vehicle panels. Once the pavement gets to this point, the only fixes are overlaying with fresh asphalt or completely repaving, which can be costly.
Weather Protection
- Sealers slow the effects of natural wear from oxidation, harmful UV rays, sunlight, freeze-thaw, water and debris.
- In the winter, sealcoating tends to accelerate the melting process of snow and ice on asphalt. This helps to protect against water penetration, rain, frost and snow damage. It also protects the pavement against road salts.
Chemical Protection
- Sealcoating, particularly refined coal tar-based sealers (RTS), protects the underlying asphalt pavement from leaking oil, gas spills and other petroleum products, which are chemically and physically similar to the petroleum from which the asphalt itself is derived.
Improved Appearance
- Visually, sealcoat makes asphalt look cleaner since the smooth, non-porous surface is easier to clean.
- It preserves the resilience of the asphalt surfaces and helps hide small cracks, rough patches and makes painted lines more visible. It also prevents color fading with its superior sun-blocking properties.
- An added benefit is that sealcoating adds to the “curb appeal” of a paved surface, giving it a clean, uniform look.
