A proper seal coating mix design doesn’t leave behind power steering marks.
SealMaster® Carolinas takes pride in being a trusted authority when it comes to the maintenance procedures for the parking lots and roads in communities throughout our territories. With years of pavement maintenance experience circling the administrative offices and manufacturing facility at our Madison, N.C. headquarters and dedicated storefront managers serving our contractors 6 days a week, we are able to provide end users a satisfying experience from the initial phone call to a local storefront manager to the last stripe that goes down on their parking lot. However, there are those occasions when seal coating goes wrong…terribly wrong! On those occasions when something goes wrong with a seal coating application, we get the call at the end of the job not at the beginning. We don’t particularly enjoy those calls because we often have to be the bearer of bad news.
The photographs that you see in this posting are from the parking lot of a well-known hotel brand. The exterior of the building itself is very attractive with meticulous landscaping throughout the grounds of the property. Unfortunately, the parking lot is not as aesthetically pleasing as the rest of the hotel. The hotel’s owner and manager were very vocal in their dissatisfaction with the parking lot. Then a question rang out that we didn’t really want to answer – “Why does it look like this and the hotels across the street look perfect?”
Armed with SealMaster® Coal Tar Specification Sheets, we highlighted the mix design and application processes that we
When not cleaned and sealed, oil spots bleed up through the newly applied sealer application. SealMaster® Petro Seal oil spot primer prevents oil spots from returning. Click on the picture to find out more about PetroSeal.
recommended contractors follow to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of problems. After the upset duo read the specificied mix design and application procedures on what is required to go into a sealer mix design and how it should be applied, one of them made a statement that made all the sense in the world – “I should have called you first!”
SealMaster® Carolinas knows that we aren’t always going to get the first call. However, when we do get the first call we can usually prevent instances of sealer application failure(s) that are depicted here. Property managers and owners who secure a seal coating contractor on their own to protect and beautify their properties should thoroughly understand the entire process and ensure that the contractor understands their expectations. If in doubt, contact your local SealMaster® storefront manager first for expert advice on seal coating initiatives.
When not adhering to SealMaster® specifications, issues such as these tire markings appear throughout the parking lot. Be sure to see the link above to our specifications on sealer mix design and application processes.
As an added benefit to property owners and managers, SealMaster® Carolinas conducts Pavement Maintenance Seminars throughout the Carolinas. We discuss different types of systems that are available in the marketplace for your pavement and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Find out why and when to perform pavement maintenance and determine what factors signal that your pavement is too far gone. These issues, along with many others, will be answered during the seminar. Would you like to schedule a seminar to be held at your facility? Use the contact us page for our Business Development Director, Robert Rooks Jr., who will assist you in scheduling your seminar.
SealMaster Carolinas does not supply a full range of landscaping equipment and tools. We are a pavement products and equipment manufacturer and supplier. As our business does cater to the pavement maintenance industry, we do carry a few products in our line-up that landscapers will find useful in their day-to-day business.
Blower. Available in 9 and 13 H.P. engines, landscapers and seal coating contractors appreciate the light-weight design of these blowers. With the special insert attachment at the air spout, the Billy Goat Force blowers give the operator more control of the air movement when the unit is in use.
d piece of equipment that landscapers have thanked us for stocking is the Billy Goat Grazor. Cracked surfaces on pavement, cement or tennis courts grow full of hard to kill grass and weeds. Equally loved by seal coating contractors, the Billy Goat Grazor thoroughly cleans these cracks of grass and other debris. Your local SealMaster Carolinas dealer also stocks the replacement brushes for the Billy Goat Grazor.
Sealer Concentrate – The sealer concentrate from an authorized SealMaster® dealer goes into the mixing tank first. For best results, do not mix sealers. If there is Coal Tar Sealer in the mixing tank, filling the tank with a Polymer Modified MasterSeal is not recommended. Mixing the two together to for a superior result on a paved surface will not be better than if either one of the sealers was used alone. This action could cause failure in the product and a less than desired outcome for the contractor and propery owner. It is also not recommended to add water to the tank before the sealer concentrate. Adding water before the sealer concentrate does not allow for a proper mix of all materials to be blended.
ditive – Sealer additives are great for suspending sand, toughening, and speeding up drying times of the sealer mix. SealMaster carries a variety of sealer additives to ensure that the sealer application performs at its best. Sealer additives should be applied at 1 – 2 percent to the sealer mix per product specifications. Additionally, select sealer additives call for a 1:1 ratio dilution of water before adding to sealer mix.
most importantly, reduces the probability of skidding for drivers and slips for pedestrians. Applying sealer without sand can result in accidents which are avoidable. Contractors should insure this step is not omitted and property owners should ask their contractor if sand is contained in the mix. Per SealMaster® product specifications, 3 – 5 pounds of sand with a 40-70 mesh AFS rating is recommended for every gallon of Coal Tar concentrate sealer. For sealers such as Polymer Modified MasterSeal, 4 pounds of sand is recommended for every gallon of sealer.
Spray or Squeegee – After all water, additives, and sand are added to the mixing tank and agitated, it is now time to spray or squeegee the mix onto the surface to be treated. Click on the video links in the bottom right corner to see how our spray and squeegee machines apply sealer to pavement. Remember, for high traffic areas such as drive lanes, 3 coatings of properly mixed sealer material may be needed to ensure even wear.
SealMaster® Carolinas 