Asphalt Sealant

The respray doesn't have to be on the entire driveway. It can be on the areas where the tire marks are after the excess has been removed. The ASAP idea is so that it gets done under warranty.

 

Not sure if I want remove the sealant of the 2 tire marks, good chance I would make it worse.

My 2 choices now is to re-spray or leave it alone.

 

You forgot the 3rd choice--get out the heat gun, and get rid of the tire marks using it and a putty knife.

 

There are only so many times that I can say it. Make an attempt to remove the tire tracks & respray that area. Try any of the suggested methods. You aren't going to make it worse. You can always sell the house if you do.

 

Pulpo and I are diametrically opposed!

How about sending us a picture of what this looks like?

I just think anything you do to fix it will look worse than what you have now. It needs to ware off with a season of snow and rain and general traffic.

 

Took this picture with my camera phone. Can see the tire mark clearly when I zoom in.
I can feel the tire thread if I run my finger on it.

After I post this thread then I noticed that the upload of the picture failed. Maybe filesize was too big (2.25MB).

 

Use a picture hosting web site like IMGUR.

 

I have reduced the resolution. Here you go.
2 patches like this on my driveway caused by the F150 (with a ATV on the trunk bed). Since I can feel the thread with my fingers, probably too much sealant here.

 

If you push on the tire tracks with a scraper, do they move at all? I posted a link to a product that may work. You could let the chemical soak for awhile & hit it with a pressure washer.

 

I am sure I can remove the tire marks by force using a sharp scrapper. The I will have bald spots on the driveway. Then we will deinitiely need a re-spray!

 

You might could smooth it out with a wide putty knife and then using the cleaner that Puplo referenced soften it up and then finish smoothing it out with a brush or small roller.

 

Since the respray is free at this point in time, the idea is to do it now, even if they only respray the sections, in question. It's the same as any other touch up.

 

There are 2 types of asphalt sealers , one being petroleum based & the 2nd & most common type being a latex based emulsion , the petroleum based sealer mixes with the petroleum inside the asphalt mix & rejuvinates the asphalts flexibility plus seals cracks , petroleum based sealers will not leave tire ridge marks or discolor unless gas or oil is spilled , if applied too thick petroleum based sealers will leave the asphalt gummy soft & susceptible to lifting .

Latex based emulsion sealers merely lay on top of the asphalt & do not permanently bond with the asphalt , latex is water based & we all know oil & water dont mix, these sealers should allways be applied using a squeege to assure proper thickness , if a squeege isnt used lifespan of the product greatly diminishes from improper bonding & over application is at risk , latex emulsions applied too thick will leave indents in the coating like your friends truck , it will also release from the driveway when the wheels are turned while over a thick spot , proper cure time varies depending on thickness but can take as long as 30 days with thick applications , latex sealers are nothing more than a type of paint .

The tire marks you cleaned were from the latex not being fully cured , dry time & cure time are not the same , having the contractor respray the driveway will only increase tire marks , also using heat from a torch or heat gun isnt a good idea , latex emulsions seperate when heated & will most likely bubble up & flake off , think latex paint .

Your best bet is to leave things be , latex sealers are not color fast & the sheen you now see will darken with age & wear , there isnt anything you can do to keep the sealer looking new or all one shade , allow the drive to go without resealing for 2 yrs to allow the latex to wear off & reseal , only next time specify only petroleum based sealer is to be used in conjunction with proper squeege application .

Even though your contractor said 24 hr dry time he is wrong due to improper application , here is why the thick sealer leaves ridges , application was done on hot day making sealer dry to driveway within minutes , now the top of the coating air drys at roughly 30 degrees less than the hot driveway , this forms a skin over the sealer which keeps the center of the coating from getting air & remaining gummy , the liquid within the coating needs to flash off before it's truly set & cured , only time will stop the coating from leaving ridges .

 

Is tar based sealant petroleum or latex based?

Just thinking out loud, how about using a rubber mallet to hammer the tire threads down? This may work in a hot, hot day.

 

Tar or coal oil based sealers would fall under the heading of petroleum based - cleans up with paint thinner, gas, kerosene, etc. Latex based sealers clean up with water.

 

I agree with Panheadxxx. He gave a very scientific explanation. I can only assume he is correct. The point being, is leave it alone. Let time do its thing. If the current looks bother you this much, then anything you do now will be twice as bad. It will look like a patch and rework job.

 

I may be repeating myself from another post. But I learned this from my father -in-law many years ago.

Never reseal a drive way in mid-day on a hot day with the sun.

The night before clean the driveway. Then using paint brush coat about a six to eight inch border of sealer around the perimeter. The next morning get up about 5:30 in the morning and apply the coating on the whole drive. Use a squeegee or a roller. Spray is not a good application. It will go on very easily. It will dry quickly. Your efforts will not be hampered by the heat. You get done very quickly. In most cases you can drive on it by mid-afternoon without tires leaving a mark. But let it dry for a full day.

 

It's ok to spray the sealer on BUT it must be worked into the asphalt with a squeegee!
To clarify what Norm said - spray only is not a good application.

 

I did not know better and I thought spraying was the way to go. I really do not want to work on the asphalt myself. My only options are to re-spray or live with it. I think a light coat should be fine but I no longer trust their work. They hire students and push them out to work with minimum training.

According to the company website, they spray the driveway with tar-based sealant.

 

You have to make a decision sooner or later. Pick one of the suggestions & go with it. How much longer do you want to discuss it? We seem to be going around in circles.

 

For the most part it doesn't take much training or skill to apply asphalt sealant BUT it sounds like they weren't trained correctly Experience will help you apply the sealer more efficiently and know how to deal with problems that might arise.

 

spraying is the only way to do the work UNLESS you're a diy'er-h/o who doesn't have the machine & works out of 5gal bkts,,, all the machines we ever used were spray - some used a squeegee behind the spraybar to ' work ' the sealer into the pores - some had a burlap drag attached,,, fergawdsake, you can't seal runways/taxiways competitively using squeegees & rollers, can you ?

the kids just applied too much sealer,,, its also possible the sealer wasn't diluted to the proper spray viscosity,,, 1 must add water AND aggregate when sealing driveways properly - or, at least, the guys who know their stuff do it that way,,, even dot & fed specs call for specific adds of water

 

Lets stay on trak, shall we. This is a driveway. Commercial applications will be different.
Every year we have several companies stuff our mailboxes with fliers to coat the drive. On those occasions that I have taken advantage of it, the crew always used squeegees. Usually I do my own and I use JETCOAT right out of the can. No water dilution. Works just fine. Manufacturer won't stand by product if used commercially or diluted with water. It's made for driveway use with little or no traffic.

I'll state my original comment as twice before, leave it alone, it's only a driveway. Next year will allow you to re-do it the right way.

 

I have decided to leave the driveway alone. If I try to remove the sealant for the 2 tire marks, I may make it worse.

As for the 2 small tape marks (no sealant), I just happened to find an old bottle of Black Asphalt Undercoating (for cars and trucks) in my garage. I am thinking to use it to hide these 2 tape marks. I will use a paint brush to apply a light coat, not the spray.

 

we sprayed d/w's + used the hand tools as nec,,, personally i hated the work but it was great $$$,,, IF you're using 5gal bkts, no, don't add wtr,,, but that's a different product,,, most guys i know use sprayers - most diy'ers squeegees

 

Just an update.

The company sent me a letter stating that they would apply sealant to my driveway next summer for free. I should be around to make sure the work is done correctly.

 

Good move. (____________________________________)

 

I'm in the same situation, covered a large area with Black Jack UltraMax 1000 from Lowes. Nite time temps went into the upper 40s to the low 60s, even though it was warm during the daytime it seems that it's a problem for proper curing. For the first 36hrs it's important for it not to go below 65 degrees. Not sure if anyone had the same conditions but it made the surface look like the sealer didn't fully adhere properly. In my case it did help to add a little water to the mix, the product was not flowing easily and the surface had many deep small holes from not having been rolled properly. The company recommended that I use a different lot number and that definitely helped, could have been last years batch and/or frozen. It's been 4 days and when I pulled a hand truck over it the tires left tracks in it. As advised I'm just going to leave it a let the winter decide if it likes to stick or not, at least it filled in a lot of small holes and cracks. I wish the manufactures would come out with a better more versatile product. It also would be nice if they had a better hot (or cold) crack filler......or a winning lottery ticket.

 

Dadman, I don't doubt that it might have been a bad lot. Did they offer to refund (they should've )? Year old balcktop sealer should not make a difference unless like you said it may have froze. I buy JETCOAT brand (mid range price not the Airport Grade) and keep it year after year with no ill affects. Grant it trying to mix year old stuff is a challenge but if mixed thoroughly it matches brand new stuff and I've never had a problem. I recommend to all my customers to buy extra and if they can't be bothered to return it then just store it in the basement till next year.

 

How thick was the sealer? was it lumpy?
If the sealer is exposed to below freezing temps it will get a lot thicker and will have adhesion issues.
If it's exposed to a lot of high temps it will have portions dry giving you a lot of lumps in the coating.

 

i seriously doubt it was a bad lot,,, i don't know, in 30yrs of the work, we EVER got a bad load,,, nor do i know of any sealcoater who produces their own material,,, some MAY have a bulk tank in their year but they still buy from a distributor,,, the majority of sealcoaters drive their rigs to the distributor's plant & fill up - that's why there are sealer distributors ALL across the usa,,, from what i read, this is strictly an application issue

 

That was the advice of the manufacturer, it probably was like I said either water evaporation or the product was leftover and frozen. Not sure but the new batches flowed a lot better. There was a little clumping but it was more grainy and hard to brush in. The more you brushed it the worse it got, the new batch flowed much better. Interestingly they did not just say to add a little water, so maybe the mixture cures or stiffens up in the container. I was looking at the acrylic sealers sold at Lowes and HD and also Rustoleum. These products seem to be more like paint and don't fill cracks very well. The HD one and the Rustoleum say that they have fillers in them but they are still not recommended for rough surfaces. The upside to them is that you can drive on them after only 4 hours, nice.