Curing and Drying Nuances For Sealcoating Asphalt During the Hot Summer Months
Sealcoating your asphalt driveway is a great way to protect it from weather and vehicle damage. However, if you decide to sealcoat your driveway during the hot summer months, then it is important to keep these curing and drying nuances in mind to ensure maximum protection:
Never Sealcoat on Rainy or Extremely Humid Days
Asphalt sealers need to evaporate off of water in order to properly cure and dry. If it is raining outside or the humidity level is excessively high, then the sealcoating material won't cure correctly. For this reason, you should never sealcoat on a wet day because the sealant will likely fail and won't protect your driveway as it should.
Asphalt Sealants Can't Be Installed Over Hot Asphalt
While it may seem strange, asphalt sealants should never be installed on top of asphalt that is excessively hot. For example, if your driveway has been baking in the summer sun all morning, then an afternoon sealant installation is not a good idea.
When a sealant is put down on hot asphalt, it essentially cooks from below and prevents the sealant from seeping down into the pavement as it is designed to do. This will lead to the sealcoating layer peeling off and leaving spots where your driveway will be vulnerable to premature wear.
Thin Application Layers of Sealants Are Mandatory in Hot Weather
Even if you are installing asphalt sealant in the morning before your driveway has a chance to really heat up in the sunshine, it is vital you install it in thin layers on days expected to heat up. If you try to save time and apply one thick layer with the thought that the day's heat would dry it, this often isn't the case. Instead, a cured skin will form on the surface of the sealant with moisture trapped below. Since the trapped moisture can't escape and thoroughly dry the sealant, it can't cure and sits there wet.
Sealants that haven't dried on the bottom surface will cause track marks when someone drives on it for the first time.
Speak With Your Asphalt Contractor About Hot-Weather Sealant Additives and Aggregates
Finally, if you are concerned about sealcoating your driveway in hot weather or just simply don't have a choice about the timing, then speak with your asphalt contractor about special aggregate and other additives that can be added to help the sealant cure and dry better in the heat. AAA Asphalt Paving is happy to answer your concerns.
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