What is the best type and brand of driveway seal coating?

Lyle W EXPERT August 07, 2009

I don't have a specific recommendation for the best brand of seal coating to use on your driveway. I recommend that check for suppliers in your local area to see what they have available for individual consumer purchase. Some suppliers will only sell in large volume to contractors.

Asphalt driveway seal coatings are usually either coal tar based or asphalt based. The coal tar based coatings will normally last longer and provide better UV and spill protection. The asphalt based sealers are more environmentally friendly. They will emit less volatile organic compounds so they will smell better than the coal tar based sealers.

The quality of the sealers is usually indicated by the length of their warranty. The longer the warranty, the higher the quality of the product due to more solids of coal tar, asphalt or polymers.

I recommend that you select a high grade seal coating with a 3 year or more warranty for the initial application on your driveway. You should only need one one thin coat unless your driveway is several years old and has never been seal coated. If you use a high grade sealer for the first application, you will likely be able to wait a couple of years before sealing it again unless you live in an extremely harsh environment like the desert or the deep Southern states. If you begin sealing the driveway every year, you will normally need to use a less expensive sealer with the 1 year warranty to prevent build-up and peeling of the seal coating. You will probably not want to apply more than 1 thin coat yearly.

Be sure to properly clean the driveway and repair any cracks before seal coating it. The driveway should normally be dry when the seal coat is applied.