Laying Down the Pavement

Coating And Paint Types For Commercial Asphalt Paving

22 July 2021 by Clifton Sullivan

Your commercial parking lot paving contractors can replace all the asphalt in your parking lot or keep it maintained and touched up to improve lifespan. Some maintenance services include recoating your pavement and re-painting the lines. The types of coatings and paints you use, and how often you apply them, can affect your parking lot's usability and longevity.

Here are some of the coating and paint types you could use for commercial asphalt paving.

Asphalt coating types

Some of the types of asphalt coatings you could use for the surface of your parking lot include:

• Coal tar emulsion sealcoat
• Asphalt-based emulsion sealcoat
• Biobased sealcoat

The first two are typically more common, but if you're interested in biobased sealcoat, ask your contractor about availability. Biobased sealcoat is designed to be more eco-friendly and to cure extra quickly.

The two more common sealcoat products, coal tar, and asphalt sealcoats, each have their own pros and cons. Coal tar sealcoats tend to be affordable, for example, and can protect against gasoline and oil spills. However, they're not considered environmentally friendly. Asphalt sealcoats are also easily available and can help protect against water, but they don't keep out oil or UV rays.

Asphalt paint types

The types of paint you use for pavement markings and striping can have a great impact on the visibility and durability of the lines you create. Some of the available formulations used include:

• Water-based paints
• Oil-based paints
• Chlorinated rubber-based paints
• Thermal plastic paints

Oil-based paints tend to be high-performance, but not ecologically friendly. You may not have the option to use them, since some states have banned them. You can still choose between water-based, thermal plastic, and chlorinated rubber paints, though.

Water-based paints tend to be less durable than other options and can't be applied in cold weather, but they're quite affordable. Chlorinated rubber paints and thermal plastic paints are a bit more pricey but also tend to last longer (thermal plastic paints tend to be the more expensive of the two). In addition, these paints offer high durability and great abrasion resistance.

If you need a reflective type of paint in your parking lot, you can choose water-based or chlorinated rubber paint and have glass beads added to reflect light. This greatly improves visibility in poor weather conditions and dim lighting.

Your parking lot paving contractors can give you more information about which coating and striping materials are the best for your type of parking lot and your situation and climate. Get in touch with your local paving contractors today to learn more.  

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