Additives and heat

[Jim Farrell, Blastcrete Equipment Company]

Hello Pavemanpro’s! Well its mid summer and i have been all over the place seeing as many of my distributors as possible. I have been asked to explain why some contractors have an issue putting in an additive in hot weather? Well the thrust of that question always gets my blood pressure rising because for the last two seasons on the road speaking and meeting, giving demo’s and actually laying juice with many of my distributors contractor base. We put in additive and let them see for themselves the marked deference in the sealer than without additive. Sealer like any chemical composition reacts to what you put in it. It is a myth that additives should be used only when a contractor wants fass dri, or for night sealing or in marginal weather! We at Maintenance Inc. have always promoted the use of the right additive for what the contractor wants his sealer to do. If the contractor wants a thickener, then Targel-Plus or FSA Plus. If the contractor wants faster drying time, then use FASS DRI PSA, or FSA. We have an additive for what ever the contractor wants. I get tired of hearing that “I only use additives in the spring and the fall?????” Say what? Any contractor that is giving his customer the very best mix design for their sealing application has an additive in the mix. WHY? Additives do so much more than thicken the mix or dry the sealer film. Certain costly problems occur when the ambient temperature in parts of the country exceed 90 -100 degrees. The pavement can reach 140 degrees and is at a particular softening point that can cause wheel depressions from heavy vehicles as well as terrible cutting and scuffing and tracking of the down pavement sealer. Additives thru their chemical make up retard the sealer re-softening issues from heat. Firming up the sealer film and reduce or even eliminate the common tearing of the sealer film.. there are additives that we make that incorporate polymer and synthetic rubbers to firm up the sealer film so you end up with a perfect seal and not a tore up mess. That is huge in hot weather. Additives help the striping paint retard bleeding thru the paint film and additives cause the sealer to dry and cure fast. There are so many advantages to the addition of an additive in your sealer mix design in super hot weather. Pavement sealer cannot handle the extreme heat and adding the right additive will make all the deference in the world. Ask your sealer supplier for Maintenance Inc. additives for everyday use in your sealer mix design. I think you to will be surprised of the great results especially in HOT weather. Well Pavemanpro’s i will be chatting again with you soon. Remember, additives are the right choice and when used properly, will set you apart from the competition in quality and the beauty of your sealing projects.

[Anonymous]

So, which additive is the right one to use in a situation as you describe above? How would someone eliminate or minimize the problems that hot weather can cause?

Many thanks in advance.

[Jim Farrell, Blastcrete Equipment Company]

Thanks for your question. The proper preparation for super hot pavement in this type of heat is to cool the pavement down with a fog mist as you are sealing. But if that is not possible, i suggest you add an additional 5 or 10% water to your CoalTar mix design and 1.5% Targel Plus additive. The TGplus has Acryilic base components fortifyed with surfactants and hardners. Coal tar will be better applied in extream heat with TGplus and the addional water. So if you are currently adding 30 % water, you can add the extra water with the additve to insure a proper seal and a harder sealer film. If you are applying an Asphalt based sealer, i suggest adding no more than 5% water and 2% FSA additive. FSA also has an acrylic base fortifyed with drying and hardening features that will assist in reducing the scuffing and tracking in extream heat.You can find a Maintenance Inc. distributor by logging onto http://www.maintinc.com click on distributors. If you should not have a distributor or your sealer manufacturer does not stock our additives, please give me a call and i will direct you to the closest Stocking distributor. Thanks for your question and “Happy Sealing!!”

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