How do I seal an asphalt driveway?

Sealing an asphalt driveway is a one-weekend job for most homeowners: a morning of cleaning and crack filling, then two thin coats of sealer spread with a squeegee, and a day or two with the cars parked on the street. The work is simple. What decides whether the coating lasts is timing, preparation and keeping each coat thin.

Before you buy anything

Is the asphalt old enough? Fresh asphalt needs time to cure before it is sealed, and products disagree on how long. Gardner-Gibson's Drive-Maxx 300 label is the strictest: "Newly paved asphalt surfaces must be allowed to cure for a minimum of six months or a full summer’s season prior to application of any sealer."^[1] SealMaster's E-Z Stir label asks for a minimum of four weeks of cure under ideal weather.^[3] Follow the pail you actually buy.

Will the weather hold? Sealer cures by drying, so it needs warmth and no rain. E-Z Stir needs temperatures above 50°F both during application and for at least 24 hours afterwards, and no rain imminent or forecast.^[3] Drive-Maxx 300 asks for 60°F and rising, but below 90°F, during application, and no rain or overnight temperatures below 50°F expected within 36 hours.^[1] A cool night or a pop-up storm is the usual reason a home sealing job peels or streaks.

Is the driveway flat enough? Drive-Maxx 300 is not recommended or warranted for slopes greater than 20°.^[1] A steep drive is also hard to work safely while it is wet and slick.

Which sealer? Since July 1, 2025, Virginia law has barred anyone from applying or using a high-PAH pavement sealant, meaning one with more than one percent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by weight,^[4] with a civil penalty of $250 for a violation.^[4] That rules out coal-tar sealers. Coal-tar-based sealcoat typically contains 50,000 to 100,000 mg/kg of PAHs, while asphalt-based sealcoat typically contains about 50 mg/kg,^[5] so the asphalt-emulsion pails sold for homeowners are the ones to use. Asphalt driveway sealers are made for blacktop only, not for concrete or brick.^[2]

How much sealer you need

Measure the driveway's length and width and multiply to get square feet, then double it for two coats. Gardner-Gibson gives Drive-Maxx 300 about 350 square feet per 5-gallon pail on a smooth driveway and 300 square feet on a rough or worn one,^[1] and SealMaster lists one gallon of E-Z Stir covering roughly 70 to 82 square feet per coat.^[3] A 12-by-50-foot driveway is 600 square feet, or 1,200 square feet for two coats: about four pails at the rough-surface rate. Buy one extra if the surface is very porous; an unopened pail is easier to return than a half-sealed driveway is to finish.

You will also need a stiff push broom, a squeegee made for sealer, a garden hose, a degreaser or dish soap with a scrub brush, asphalt crack filler, plastic sheeting or a drop cloth and tape, and old clothes. Gardner-Gibson's label says: "Protective clothing and eyewear should be used during application of these products, as product may cause skin irritation."^[1] Its label also tells you not to carry it on a passenger seat or inside the passenger compartment^[1] of your vehicle, so bring the pails home in the trunk or a truck bed, standing upright on a drop cloth.

Preparation does most of the work

Sealer only sticks to clean, sound asphalt. Trim the grass back from the edges, sweep thoroughly, and pick or scrape dirt and weeds out of the cracks. Scrub oil stains with a degreaser; sealer tends to lift off oil spots that were skipped. Then wash the whole driveway and let the cracks drain.

Fill cracks before you seal, not with the sealer. Gardner-Gibson's guide uses crack filler for cracks up to half an inch wide and a trowel-on patch for holes up to an inch deep.^[2] Holes deeper than an inch take a pothole patch, which should cure for at least thirty days before it is sealed over.^[2] If your driveway needs that much patching, it may be better to fill and patch this season and seal next. For what the cracks are telling you, see why asphalt driveways crack.

Applying the two coats

Some sealers, Drive-Maxx 300 among them, go on applied to a slightly damp surface, not a wet one,^[1] so a light rinse just before you start helps on a hot day. Mix each pail fully; Gardner-Gibson suggests turning the pails upside down the night before^[1] so the solids loosen.

Work from the garage toward the street so you are never trapped. Pour a band of sealer across the driveway, pull it thin with the squeegee, and keep a wet edge by overlapping each pass. Thin is the rule. Two thin coats are mandatory for optimum sealer performance.^[1] Gardner-Gibson explains why: "Single thick coats cure less evenly, have a tendency to puddle, and are more prone to tracking."^[2]

Wait for the first coat to dry before the second. The Drive-Maxx 300 label gives about 3 to 6 hours between coats,^[1] and Gardner-Gibson's longer guide recommends waiting 4 to 12 hours, until the first coat is fully dry,^[2] and notes that sealer in shaded areas generally dries more slowly than in sun.^[2] Spread the second coat at right angles to the first.

Afterwards, Drive-Maxx 300 needs 2 to 4 hours before foot traffic and 24 to 48 hours before vehicles,^[1] and longer in humid or cloudy weather. Put tape or bins across the end of the driveway so a delivery driver does not pull in.

Cleanup

Wash squeegees and brushes with soap and warm water while the sealer is wet. The label is direct about leftovers: "Do not pour excess product in drains or watercourses."^[1] Stafford County's stormwater program points out that stormwater does not get treated at the local wastewater treatment plants,^[6] so anything rinsed into a street drain goes straight to a creek. Let small leftovers dry out in the pail and ask your county or town how it takes household paint-type waste.

Stop and call a pro if

• More than a few patches are broken into small, many-sided pieces (alligator cracking), or the asphalt moves when you step on it. Sealer will not hold the pieces together.
• Potholes are wide or deep, or water stands in the same low spots after every rain.
• The driveway is steeper than your sealer allows, very long, or shared with neighbours who need access while it cures.
• You find soft or sinking areas near a buried utility line, a culvert or the road edge.

Related on Loclis

Compare doing it yourself with hiring in should I seal my driveway myself or hire someone, see what driveway sealing costs in Virginia, and plan the next coat with how often to seal an asphalt driveway. For a concrete drive, read how to seal a concrete driveway. More exterior answers and driveway sealing businesses are a click away. If you would rather have it done, describe your driveway once and local businesses will quote it.