Andrew Arrowsmith | 1

How to Seal an Asphalt Surface by Hand

Asphalt is a commonly used material for parking lots, roads, and driveways. It is very cheap, but
it does require substantial upkeep. Every few years, depending on the type of sealant used and
weather conditions, it needs to be sealed to prevent deterioration. Without proper sealing, asphalt
surfaces can crack, and, eventually, potholes will form, which can be detrimental to the vehicles
that pass over them. Sealant can be applied with a large sprayer, generally performed by asphalt
companies, or it can be applied by hand. Applying sealant by hand is much more time
consuming, and usually more expensive. However, it allows the owner of the surface to wait
longer time intervals between sealant applications. Instead of sealing every two years, a handsealed surface may only need to be sealed every five years! The process of sealing an asphalt
surface is relatively simple. First one must clean the surface, then any repair work must be
completed, and, finally, the sealant must be applied. Depending on the size of the surface, the
process can be completed in 1-3 days. Here is what you will need.

Figure 1: Sealed Asphalt Surface

List of Materials
Weed Wacker
Safety Glasses
Power Washer
Trowel
Stir Rod
Asphalt Sealant
Skin Safe Paint Thinner
Hose with Nozzle

Leaf Blower
Screwdriver
Push Broom
4 Paint Brush
24 Squeegee
Crack Filler
Clothes that can be Disposed of
Shop Towels

Gloves
Wire Brush
Wire Cutters
10x10 Tamper
Shovel
Cold Patch Asphalt
Bleach

Figure 2:
Trowel

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Safety Warnings
-Wear safety glasses when operating leaf blower and weed wacker to
prevent debris from entering the eyes.
- Wear long sleeves, pants, and gloves at all times, especially when handling
Figure 3: Safety
chemicals, as chemical contact can lead to burning of the skin.
Glasses
-If any sealant, crack filler, paint thinner, bleach, or asphalt enters the
eyes, seek immediate medical attention.
-Follow all safety precautions for the weed wacker and leaf blower that
pertain to your particular model.
Figure 4: Work
Gloves

Before Starting the Process

-Measure the area of the surface to be sealed. Most
sealants cover about 250 square feet using a 4.75
gallon bucket of sealant. This is entirely dependent on
the porosity of the surface and how frequently the
surface has been sealed. There is no way of knowing
exactly how much sealant your surface will need. If
the surface is very smooth, and it has no cracking,
then a 4.75 gallon bucket of sealant may cover over
350 square feet, but, if the surface is very coarse, and
contains significant cracking, a bucket of sealant may

Figure 5: Measuring
Surface
only cover 100 square feet of the surface. Purchase as many buckets
of sealant as necessary to

seal your entire surface, and then buy a few extra buckets just in case your surface is more
porous than you thought.
-Measure the size and length of any cracking on your surface. Generally, one gallon of crack
filler will fill about 75 feet of cracks that are wide and deep. If there is too much
cracking to measure in a timely manner, purchase as many gallons of crack filler as you can
reasonably assume.
-Measure the size and depth of any potholes on the surface. Usually, a 50 lb. bag of cold patch
asphalt will fill a 4x4 hole that is 2 deep. Purchase as many bags of cold patch as you think
you will need.

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-Check weather reports to make sure that it will remain above 55 degrees Fahrenheit and not rain
for 24 hours after the sealant has been applied. Rain and cold weather can ruin the integrity of
the seal, and it may require the surface to be re-sealed.
-Ensure that the surface is completely dry before starting the process. If the surface is wet when
sealant is applied, it will not properly adhere to the surface, and it can increase the time
necessary for the sealant to dry.

Cleaning the Surface

1. Remove all overgrown grass from the edges of the surface using
the weed wacker.
2. Remove any loose pieces of asphalt that may be around your
potholes. If you are able to remove pieces of asphalt with ease, then
the asphalt should be removed and thrown away.
3. Brush all dirt and moss free from cracks, potholes, and
being embedded in the surface using the wire brush.
4. Pick weeds and other debris from cracks that the wire
brush could not remove using the screw driver.
5. Broom away any large collections of dirt using the push
broom.
Figure 6:
6. Blow all debris off of the surface using the leaf blower.
Weedwacking
7. Apply bleach to any areas that were covered with moss to
kill any
remaining spores.
8. Spray the bleached areas down with the hose to dilute the
bleach.
If large pieces of moss remain on the surface, free the
moss from the surface using the push broom.
9. Power wash the entire surface to remove all debris
particles still left on the surface. No debris should be
remaining on the surface at this point.
10. Wait until the entire surface has dried, which can take
anywhere from 2 to 24 hours.

Repairing the Surface

Figure 7:
Powerwashing

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1. Shake the gallons of crack filler until the filler is

uniform. If the filler does not have a uniform
thickness, the less viscous portion of the filler will
not seal cracks.
2. Cut the nozzle of the crack filler to about half the
width of the cracks on your surface using the wire
cutters.
3. Fill all cracks until the meniscus of the filler is above
the height of the crack, without spilling out onto the
Figure 8: Dry Sealed
surface.
Crack
4. Slide the trowel over the now filled crack to make the filler level with the surface. This
forces the crack filler into the small pores inside of the crack where water usually enters
in the winter and freezes, expanding the crack.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until all cracks are filled.
6. Wait until the crack filler has dried before applying sealant. You will know that the filler
has dried when it has turned from brown to completely black. This process can take
anywhere from 1-12 hours. While you wait, you can repair any potholes on your surface.
7. Remove the cap of one of the buckets of sealant
using the wire cutters to break the seal.
8. Apply a coat of sealant about thick to the
inside of the pothole and in a 4 circle around the
pothole using the paint brush. The sealant will
help the pieces of limestone that make up the
cold patch adhere to the pothole.
9. Cut open the thick bag of cold patch using the
wire cutters.
10. Fill the pothole with cold patch so that it is about
1 above the level of the surface, and it is about
2 wider in diameter than the original pothole.
11. The patch needs to be wider than the pothole because the outside
of 9:
theCoated
patch will
Figure
eventually degrade and break off, but this method allows thePothole
pothole to remain filled.
12. Compact the cold-patch by repeatedly striking the cold-patch with
the tamper so that it is completely flat, but still about to
higher than the level of the surface. This allows the
cold patch to sink to the same level of the surface after
the long period of time it takes the cold patch to
completely settle.
13. Repeat steps 8-11 until all potholes have been filled.

Sealing the Surface

Figure 10: Tamped

Pothole

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1. Remove the caps of the buckets of asphalt by first breaking

the seal with the wire cutters.
2. Place the caps wet-side up in the grass so that sealant does not kill
your grass.
3. Stir the buckets of sealant until they are uniform. The sealant has
been completely sealed when there is no longer sheen on the top of
the sealant, but it instead looks like a thick brown soup.
4. Seal where the asphalt surface meets concrete with the paintbrush. This allows
Figure 11: Mixed Asphalt
you to seal with the squeegee without worrying about
Sealer
staining any concrete surfaces near your asphalt.
5. Pour the first bucket of sealant in a thick line the width of
your surface.
6. Leave the bucket of sealant face-up at the end of your
surface to prevent drivers from driving on your surface. Do
not stack multiple buckets of sealant. This allows the sealant
inside the bucket to dry.
Figure 12: Pouring
7. Do not walk on any area of your surface where wet sealant has
Sealant
been applied, as your footprint will be embedded in the seal.
8. Spread the sealant across the surface with the squeegee using
mild pressure applied to the squeegee. Make sure that you are
sealing the entire width of the surface with each stroke of the
squeegee. Also, make sure that when you run out of sealant to
work with, you leave a wet edge, so that the sealant does not
dry before you apply the next bucket of sealant. If this is not
done correctly, the area that you applied the second line of
sealant will have two coats of sealant applied, which will
appear darker on the surface.
Figure 13: Wet
9. Repeat steps 5-9 until the entire asphalt surface has been sealed.
Edge
10. Wait 24 hours before walking or driving on the surface.

After the Seal

-Remove all clothing that has sealant on it and throw it in the trash.
-Clean any areas of your skin that has sealant, crack filler, or cold-patch on it with a shop towel
that is coated with paint thinner. Rub vigorously until the chemical has been removed.

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-Take a shower immediately after rubbing your skin with paint-thinner. Despite the paint thinner
being skin-safe, it can still be damaging to your skin after long periods of exposure.

Glossary
embedded in the surface- stuck to the asphalt surface, or lying in a very small pore in the surface
that cannot be removed
wet edge- a thick line of sealant that has not been spread evenly across the surface, but instead
remains in a pile at the end of the sealant that has been completely spread
meniscus- the curvature of crack filler that remains above the surface without spilling over the
surface