Asphalt sealcoating and striping are two vital services that help keep your parking lot safe, reliable, and code-compliant. While experts make these asphalt paving services look easy, there's significantly more work and skill involved than most realize. This blog aims to provide more insight into these maintenance processes so that you know what to expect during your next service appointment.
What Is Asphalt Sealcoating and Striping?
Sealcoating is a form of preventative maintenance that involves covering your entire asphalt pavement in sealer. The goal of asphalt sealcoating is to form a protective barrier over the asphalt, protecting it from weathering and wear.
Routine service from sealcoating companies can significantly reduce the risk of damage. It can also slow down oxidation and deterioration, extending your pavement's lifespan while also giving it an aesthetic refresh.
Striping in St George is the process of applying specialty traffic paints to freshly sealed pavement. It's what turns open paving into a functional parking lot complete with marked stalls, predictable traffic lanes, code-compliant accessibility features, and more.
Both asphalt sealcoating and striping are services you can't afford to ignore. They're critical to larger pavement maintenance plans and can help make your property safer, more accessible, and more beautiful.
Does Asphalt Sealcoating and Striping Require Any Surface Prep?
Most asphalt paving services require some form of surface prep. However, they're vital for asphalt sealcoating and pavement marking.
The sealers that sealcoating companies use will not bond to dirty, wet, or oil-slicked pavement. The best asphalt sealcoating companies will inspect your asphalt beforehand to understand its condition. Then, they'll tackle the prep work, which may involve trimming edges, pretreating oil stains, sweeping away debris, and even washing the asphalt to remove grime.
If they spot any issues that need addressing, it's important to schedule repair work before contractors apply any sealer. The best asphalt sealcoating companies can also handle repairs, filling wide cracks and patching potholes to create a smooth surface that's ready for protection.
Striping companies should also prepare your pavement. Prep work is typically easier, but like sealers, even top-quality paint formulas will struggle to cure and bond if your asphalt isn't clean and dry.
How Do Sealcoating Companies Protect Your Pavement?
After surface prep, sealcoating companies will prepare the sealer. Exact guidelines vary, but most manufacturers advise adding a specific amount of water and fine aggregates. The aggregates, such as silica sand, help to improve durability while ensuring the sealer can easily cover up any imperfections.
During the application process, teams will apply several thin coats to build up coverage. Each layer needs to dry before contractors move on to the next. This approach ensures even curing and a beautiful, opaque finish.
How Long Does Asphalt Sealcoating Need to Cure?
The best asphalt sealcoating companies will block off your pavement during the service appointment. Then they'll leave those blockades in place throughout the entire curing process. Asphalt sealers typically take 24 to 48 hours to cure fully. While the product is dry to the touch after several hours, it still takes significantly longer to bond to the pavement.
Keep pedestrian and vehicle traffic off your parking lot during that time. If you resume activity too early, you risk ruining the sealer's finish and compromising its ability to protect the asphalt.
When Can Contractors Start Striping in St George?
Asphalt sealers should be fully cured before proceeding with other maintenance or asphalt paving services. That includes striping in St George. Only hire striping companies once you get clearance from your sealcoating contractors.
How Do Striping Companies Refresh Lines and Markings?
Striping companies start by assessing your current markings. They'll note signs of fading and speak with you about any modifications or improvements. New striping projects and changes require precise measuring as teams perfect the layout. However, restriping is as easy as marking over the existing faded lines.
Teams can use rollers, sprayers, or extruder devices, depending on the type of paint used. Standard paint formulas cure within the hour. At that point, parking lots are ready for light traffic. Striping companies will likely advise you to wait a full day before opening the parking lot up to full, heavy-duty traffic volume.
How Do Asphalt Sealcoating and Striping Fit Into a Larger Care Routine?
Both sealcoating and striping in St George help keep your pavement safe and functional. They're usually among the last steps in a larger maintenance program. It's important to hire sealcoating companies only after you complete any necessary repairs and maintenance work. That includes patching potholes, sealing cracks, and more.
After sealcoating comes striping. Think of these asphalt paving services as the finishing touches that give your pavement a final polish and years of protection.
Prime Pave is proud to be one of Southern Utah's most trusted providers of asphalt sealcoating and striping. We guarantee exceptional quality and top-notch customer care, no matter how extensive your needs. Our services include sealcoating, crack filling, pothole repair, striping, stenciling, asphalt paving, cleaning, pavement removal, replacement, and more.
We also offer free quotes. You can get yours today by calling Prime Pave at (435) 900-2884, emailing Service@PrimePaveLLC.Com, or submitting our online form.
