FEATURE
Seal the Surface, Win the Customer:
Avoiding Bonding Issues and Miscommunication
By Lori Helms
S o, you’ ve finally nailed down that large sealcoating project you’ ve been chasing – but now that you’ ve sealed the deal with your customer, what will you do to make sure you properly sealcoat the surface as promised? There are so many variables that can cause problems during sealcoating, so to get a better understanding of how to recognize possible issues before they occur, I reached out to some industry professionals to get their advice on what are the necessary steps a contractor should take to keep sealcoat bonding problems from happening, and in turn, keep your new customer a happy one. Mark McLeod, President and CEO of Maintenance Inc./ Able Industries, says that about a year or so following a new asphalt project, the pavement surface will become gray or faded.“ The asphalt surface starts to oxidize the oils on the pavement surface immediately after paving— this occurs from sun and water bleaching and washes away the light oils,” he says.“ When this occurs, a pavement sealer must be applied to replenish the oils lost through the natural oxidation process.” But preparation for the sealcoat is one of the most important steps to avoid any issues during application or once the job is finished.
Brad Anderson is the owner of B & E Sealcoat Products, Inc., in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He says the company had been in the asphalt maintenance industry for more than 25 years as contractors before stepping into manufacturing. So, they understand sealcoating from both perspectives.“ We’ re not a franchise rep or just a manufacturer pushing product,” Anderson says.“ We’ ve dealt with the same problems contractors face daily, and we’ ve learned how to solve them.” He says there are a few common causes for bonding failures, but primarily it can occur due to poor surface preparation, such as sealing over dirt, oils, moisture or incompatible coatings.“ Another frequent problem is sealing over loose or flaking remnants of past coatings, especially if the previous product was coal tar, acrylic-based or is otherwise incompatible with the new material,” he says.“ These unstable layers break away over time, causing the new sealer to fail with them.” McLeod adds that another major cause of bond failure comes from perhaps an unsuspected source – tree sap.“ Overhanging trees such as pine and oak are constantly micro-dripping sap on top of the pavement surface,” he says,“ actually waxing the sur-
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