Seal coating the lot

[Axxlrod]

We only do concrete at our washes. Water and asphalt don't like each other much.

Yes, it's more expensive, but buy once, cry once.

The concrete lot at the full-serve wash my dad built back in '85 still looks great.

 

[copperglobe]

Slowly converting sections at our wash from asphalt to concrete. Wish 30 years ago we'd of gone with concrete during construction. No matter what kind of sealant or how often applied asphalt didn't last in our location. Water, soaps and tires riding over asphalt just grind it away. Suggestion too: add fiber to the concrete. Cheap and great results.

 

[sparkey]

The real estate tax collector also likes the concrete parking lot a lot better.

 

[pgrzes]

Guys I dont recommend sealing car wash lots. I own 2 washes and I also have a sealing and striping business. One of the biggest issues with our parking lots is tire shine! Also wax's, and protectants that we use are all over our lots. Most sealers are water based products. They cant stick to the asphalt. Coal tar(water based) is the best product to use, outlawed in many areas of the US. This is the longest lasting product, it smells, it has a bluish finished look. Best application would be first coat brushed, second coat sprayed. But any areas that have a lot of tire shine or any other wax, silicone it really doesnt matter how you put it down its going to lift. A good asphalt job used to last 20+ years, now they use so much millings in asphalt it does not bind together like it used to. If you get 15 years from a new lot thats good. I will only spray my lot if at the end of the season I have to empty my tank. Ball park prices should run from .10-.15 per sq. ft. to have a decent size lot done. Whatever you do dont let them spray an oil based product on your lot. It will turn wet areas into skating rinks. They will have different names, gilsonite, rejuvinator etc. In the business we call it gypsy juice. beware!! Good luck and I am only sharing some of my knowledge of doing sealing for over 15 years.

 

[Greg Pack]

Guys I dont recommend sealing car wash lots. I own 2 washes and I also have a sealing and striping business. One of the In the business we call it gypsy juice. beware!!

Good info, My friend who was in the striping business referred to "asphalt gypsies" So that's just not a regional thing?

By the way, what happened to Mac? Did the asphalt gypsies also steal his kidneys and leave him in a hotel bathroom tub full of ice?

 

[mjwalsh]

beware!! Good luck and I am only sharing some of my knowledge of doing sealing for over 15 years.

I can't help but think that if we had blacktop asphalt ... there would be fewer vac customers on a hot summer day since our concrete is cooler. We have some concrete that goes back to 1959 that was redone in house by my in house manpower & our skid steer. I used AutoCAD to calculate the volume of the small patches that we broke out. Then we had the cement truck come with enough cement & finished just some small patches. That was way back about 2006 if I remember right ... it turned out great IMHO. Not all concrete expert-contractors agreed ... but they they were hoping for us to sign a contract with them to redo all of the 1959 concrete ... so they were a bit biased!