How to Seal a Driveway – The Idiot’s Guide

Purchase a driveway squeegee

About $15 at Home Depot or Lowes, or you can snag one online. They look like this:

Buy your sealer

• It’s relatively cheap at $15 – $25 per 5 gallon bucket
• For previously sealed driveways, you’ll get 400 square feet of coverage per 5 gallon bucket
• For new driveways, expect to get about 200 square feet per 5 gallon bucket

Get a mixing paddle for your drill

Mix it up. All the good thick sealant will settle to the bottom of the bucket, so it needs a good stir.

Avoid stirring the sealer by hand, you’ll tire yourself out before you start!

You might think that the paddle would cause the sealer to splash all over the place. You’d be surprised, just keep the paddle near the bottom of the bucket while it’s spinning.

Put up a barricade at the end of your driveway

• Cement blocks with a board across them
• Thick rope or ribbon between two trees
• Road / construction cones, or

Wear old clothes and shoes

You might be thinking, “I’ll just be really careful”. Don’t even try it. Nobody, in the history of driveway sealing has been able to walk away clean, without a spec of sealer on them. Like trying to dive into a pool without making a splash, it’s just not possible.

You could wear decent shoes and wrap some plastic bags around them.  Or, you could spend $10 on a pair of shoes from Walmart that you can say good-bye to forever when you’re finished.

Make sure it’s nice and hot out and won’t rain for 48 hours

In the south, this is an easy rule to follow. But in the North, that really only gives us a window from June – September.

If it does rain on your sealer while it’s still drying / curing, it will combine to create a white-colored rough texture that does not look good against black driveways.

One way to be safe is to do a rain dance in reverse.

Repair cracks and holes with asphalt patch

This seems like more work than it’s worth, but think about it. You’re sealing your driveway for two reasons: aesthetics and protection. The sealer can’t prevent water from getting under your driveway via cracks and holes. This water can freeze and expand – you get the rest.

So, take a few minutes to fill those cracks and holes. Otherwise, this could happen:

Start Sealing

Pour a gallon at a time and spread a thin coat in a cross pattern (squeegee one direction, then the other to fill in all pores).

The 5 Gallon bucket is heavy, so it can be helpful to have a one-gallon bucket on hand to scoop some out of the larger bucket. Unless you’re this guy:

Stay off it!

Give it at least 24 hours before walking or driving on it. Unless you have special talents.