Anyone have any experience/advice on DIY sealing an asphalt driveway. Home is in Colorado mountains and it is hard to find a company to do it. I'm on the estimate list for next year. That's a whole other dilemma with getting things done in a mountain town. Anyways, I was thinking maybe it would not be that hard to do. It is a pretty steep inline if that makes any difference. I just don't know it the stuff you can get at Home Depot would be slick or not?

We hired a company twice to spray seal coat on our private asphalt road. They did 2 coats of Star Seal. https://starseal.com/. It lasts about 5 years but no snow here. The mix has sand in it and isn't slick.

Mobilize equipment, crew, and material tojob site.
Sweep and clean parking lot of all loose dirt and debris
Haul off and dispose ofwaste materials to approved offsite location
Applyt w ocoats of heavy-duty coal tar TridentTM sealant, allowing drytime prior to applying 2nd coat
Each coat is to contain 2-3 lbs of sand per gallon and contain 3% latex additive
Sealant applied at manufacturers recommended rate per square yard
Second coat will be applied at a 90-degree angle tot h e first coat to ensure maximum
coverage on lotsurface
Barricade area for approximately 12 hours to allowmaterials to cure.

Thanks. I've had my office parking lot in Round Rock done twice by a paving company. I would prefer to let a paving company do the driveway in Steamboat as well. Partly because I do not think I could do as good a job as someone that has the equipment to do this and also I just don't want to spend all my time working around the house while I'm there. But getting things done up there is just terrible. The work ethic is a totally different mindset up there in those resort towns.

Here's my two cents after living in the northeast (where asphalt is king) for 27 years, your mileage may vary...

The asphalt sealers from the big box stores should not make your asphalt driveway slick. The only time that might happen is when you apply so much sealer that it basically creates a flat/even surface (like concrete or ice). If you apply it properly (i.e., not too thick), and not too frequently, this should not happen.

Where we lived, the consensus was to always apply bucket sealer with a roller or squeegee. The guys who sprayed, always used hot tar mix. More times than not, they would overspray it onto the yard...looked like hell for a few weeks. They spray it so thin, it never lasts more than a season or two. I'm sure other parts of the country are different...that's just how it was where we lived.

My preference was to use a paint roller on a broom handle apply/spread the sealer. Starting at the highest point, pour a little of it directly on the asphalt and 'push' the puddle across and the driveway, working down to the lower elevations as you go...always keeping a 'wet edge'. The idea is to get the sealer down into the tiny pores, without leaving any puddles behind. IMO, a paint roller is much better at doing this than a squeegee. I could always spot someone who have used a squeegee, as their driveways had uneven appearance that looked like waves or crop rows. Roller application, if done right, will yield a very consistent appearance across this entire surface (assuming you keep the sealer well mixed and don't dilly-dally).

The key to a long lasting sealer job is prep. Sealer will not stick very long to a dirty surface. My preference was to pressure wash (with a ltiny bit of soap) a few days prior (while the weather was still warm), then fill in any cracks with crack sealer the day before sealing.

Extra hands are a blessing for the actual application of the sealer, if DIY. Of course, wear your crappiest clothes and shoes that you will likely toss when done.

Thanks