Sealcoating helps to improve the overall quality, appearance, maintenance, and longevity of your asphalt parking lot. But without proper sealer additives, like different types of latex, sealocating would be an ineffective practice. Sealer additives add an important layer of flexibility to the sealcoat while also suspending sand particles in the sealer to prevent them from permeating the top layer of the asphalt and causing internal damages. To ensure that you’re using the right sealcoat for your asphalt, consider consulting a local asphalt pavement professional.
You should also take the time to educate yourself on different types of asphalt sealers and their compositions, so that you can make the right choice for your parking lot.
The Different Sealer Additives
First, it’s important to note that not all sealer additives are made equal. Some of them are more appropriate for your parking lot than others for a variety of reasons stemming from aggregate compatibility to weather resistance and so on. Certain sealer additives work better than others in specific climate conditions, so you should do some research before choosing one.
Sand and latex are the two main types of sealer additives and they both have a unique set of benefits that could suit your purposes depending on what you’re looking for.
Benefits of Sealer Additives and What to Look for
Before you start purchasing different types of sealcoats, you should understand what the different sealer additives can actually do for your asphalt parking lot. Consulting with an experienced asphalt maintenance and sealcoating company like Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance Inc. is a great place to start. We can make excellent recommendations and explain the differences between latex and sand additives.
Sand
As a sealer additive, sand offers the following benefits:
- Minimizes the look of defects
- Excellent skid resistance
- Minimizes sun glare, which can damage asphalt over time
- Greater durability and increased capacity to withstand large, heavy vehicles
- Helps solidify asphalt and fills in porous gaps for greater durability
Latex
Latex comes in a wide range of formulations, each of which have uniquely beneficial properties for your asphalt:
- Facilitates a speedier drying and curing time post application
- Noticeable results that last a long time
- Latex gives your asphalt that desirable, clean black hue to keep it looking fresh and brand new
- Latex also acts as a strong adhesive that enables the sealer to bond with the pavement
Why Your Asphalt Needs Sealers
As mentioned, there are a lot of structural and money-saving benefits of choosing a sealcoat with the right sealer additives for your asphalt. But, there’s also an unquestionable added level of safety in applying a high-quality product to your parking lot. Sealer additives protect your asphalt, your customers, and your pocketbook by minimizing the amount of damages your parking lot incurs.
To learn more about how sealer additives work, please feel free to contact the expert asphalt contractors at Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance Inc. We’d be more than happy to consult with you about your asphalt sealcoating project at a time that’s convenient for you.