The use of additives is beneficial both to the contractor and the customer. When using additives properly the actual cost of the sealer will go up but the advantages will make it worth while.
There are many additives for coal tar and asphalt based sealers. Each additive may have a different benefit. Picking the proper additive and mix design for your needs is very important. There is an extensive line of sealcoating additives that help you get the most out of your sealer by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your sealer. Some of the benefits of using a polymer additive are:
- Some allow the sealer to dry and cure faster. Saving time and money.
- This allows the job to be completed faster. The sealer drying faster means less time needed between each coat of sealer being applied.
- Once the project is sealed the line striping crews will be able to get on the lot and start line striping sooner.
- If the additive speeds up the curing time then the area will be able to be opened to foot and vehicular traffic sooner. This makes it less time consuming and less disruptive to businesses, schools and residential areas.
- Most Additives tend to make the finished job blacker and more uniform in appearance. This making the property more attractive. Which is a great benefit to both the owner and contractor.
- Additives will help keep the sand in the sealer suspended and uniformly mixed. The result is a uniform coating of sealer being applied. It also helps hold the sand in the sealer once applied to the asphalt there is less sand rolled out.
- The proper additive will improve the performance of the sealer itself by:
- Increasing the resistance to chemicals, such as deicing products, oil and gas spills.
- Increasing the resistance to water and the damaging elements.
- Increasing the flexibility of the coating, which is important with temperature changes.
- Sealer with additives typically have less power steering marks and less potential for tacking.
- By using additives it can extend the number of days that the sealer can be applied. Some allow sealers to be applied in cooler weather. The faster curing time can also allow you to apply sealer on days when the incoming weather conditions may not be ideal.
The use of additives is beneficial to both the customer (owner) and the contractor. The actual mix design may cost a small amount more, but the long term benefits for both parties of using quality additives and sealer will out weigh the additional material costs.
