Applied properly, these protective materials seal out ultraviolet rays, oil and water and extend pavement life.

Pavement maintenance contractors are not the only people who understand the importance of an aesthetically pleasing parking lot. Property managers, business people and visiting customers, homeowners and the general public know it as well.

However, it is usually only the contractor who understands that the best way to maintain a parking lot is with a pavement maintenance plan. Pavement maintenance plans can vary in scope, but they never vary in purpose: to increase pavement life.

A pavement maintenance plan usually includes crack filling, pothole repair, line-striping and seal coating. Seal coating is one of the most important elements of a pavement maintenance plan because it slows pavement deterioration.

When seal coating is applied in thin coats, this surface treatment protects off-highway asphalt pavement surfaces, such as parking lots, driveways, runways, service stations, and heliports.

However, seal coat, like all pavement maintenance repairs, is a temporary means of inhibiting pavement deterioration and needs to be applied on a regular basis -- about every 3 years.

• Beautification
  
  Fresh seal coat brings a dark color to the pavement, making it look and wear like new. A black parking lot has a clean, rich look that presents the image of a company, facility, or residential complex. Striping also enhances the beauty of a newly seal coated parking lot.
  
  
• Slows Oxidation and Water Penetration
  
  Exposure to oxygen hardens asphalt binders and results in brittle pavement surface that soon cracks. These cracks permit water to penetrate into the sub base, weakening it and reducing overall pavement strength. This in turn leads to more cracking which can eventually expand and become a pothole. Seal coats fill surface voids, reducing exposure to oxygen and water and prolonging pavement life.
  
  
• Resists Gas and Oil Spills
  
  Gasoline dripping from a topped-off fuel tank during hot weather leaking from the engine can soften asphalt pavements. Because coal tar sealers are not soluble in gas or oil, coal tar sealers prevent damage caused by spills. By filling the surface voids, sealing also reduces the depth to which oil or gas can penetrate the pavement.
  
  
• Resists Ultraviolet Rays
  
  Ultraviolet rays from the sun break the links between carbon bonds within the asphalt, however, these rays do not damage to the aggregate within asphalt concrete. Although the seal coat does not repair damage that has already occurred to the asphalt, it does prevent any future damage to the asphalt pavement from ultraviolet rays.
  
  
• Increased Pavement Flexibility
  
  A seal coat keeps a parking lot black. The more black a parking lot, the more heat it draws from the sun. With more heat, the asphalt becomes more pliable and is able to withstand greater traffic volume changes without cracking.
  
  
• Protects Asphalt from Pressure Washing
  
  Restaurant parking lots often extend to areas near dumpsters, where food-processing machines are pressure washed. Food waste near the dumpsters also may need to be washed away if it can't be swept away. Seal coat protects asphalt from the high-volume of water and detergents used in pressure washing.

By: Jim Camillo

Seal coating is cost effective in the long run. The price of asphalt will always be affected by crude oil prices, which fluctuate when supplies vary. According to manufacturers, during the Golf War, asphalt prices in the United States went up 15% to 40%. It's less expensive to seal coat a parking lot every few years using coal tar or asphalt emulsion than it is to overlay or place a new lot. Seal coating preserves asphalt for pennies per square foot.

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