Have several friends or former clients(I closed my remodeling business) who all treated or knew someone who treated their asphalt drive.

Not one person was satisfied long term.

Sealers are basically just thick paint and will peel up/degrade and wind up looking worse than the drive before use.

Avoid the ones that are coal-tar based, they have a much higher content of toxic PAH compounds. The petroleum asphalt based ones have a much lower PAH content.

I haven't used any of them so I can't help you much with durability. Does Consumer Reports say anything?

They are all completely useless. Your driveway does not need to be "sealed" from a functional standpoint. I lived in a home with a 50 year old asphalt drive, and it was perfectly fine. It just wasn't dark black. If you want to paint it to make it dark black, then you're setting yourself up for a cycle of maintenance where you don't need to.

I bought a house, and the driveway seems rather worn. It appears to need some sort of treatment, as some areas appear to be eroding.

I understand that a sealer won't repair this issue, but it seems that some sealant layer would reduce the damage that occurs.

Would you just recommend just crack sealer to get another 40 years of life from this asphalt?

Looks like the sealer that they put on it is wearing off, and that's why it looks like it does. If you have actual cracks in the drive (and it's not the clearest picture to show that if you do) then yes, crack sealer will help to keep the water out of those cracks. That will help to prolong the life of the drive. BUT---once an asphalt drive has cracks in it, it's life expectancy is greatly reduced and you should be thinking about replacement, not repair. The freeze/thaw cycle accelerates the wear by making those cracks bigger, even with sealer. There's just no way a homeowner can force enough crack sealer into those cracks to completely seal all moisture out. Even pre-heating them with a blowtorch and heating the crack sealer, although it will produce a better seal, won't do that long term.

Your drive should be up for replacement within 3-10 years, depending on climate and how successful you are at keeping water out of the cracks in it. If this is a relatively newish drive, I'd suspect poor foundation work or a poor asphalt mix. Or both. If it's an older drive, then it's coming to the end of it's useful lifespan.

I purchased six 5 gallon buckets of Black Jack 7 year sealer. The following year, more than 50 % of it was gone with some areas almost completely faded. After a phone call to a company service representative, and asking about any warranty, the rep continued to explain to me about proper application procedures. As he explained I beat him to the punch which annoyed him. I am maticulous with all projects. He did not want to hear and honor any warranty and then told me "if your not happy with our product then go buy elsewhere" (with a very nasty tone) I would reccomend that everyone stay away from this product! junk!

> I am maticulous with all projects

meticulous
1. taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough:
a meticulous craftsman; meticulous personal appearance.
2. finicky; fussy:
meticulous adherence to technicalities.

Doesn't that include spelling? ; )

Sorry, but the irony made it irresistible!

Thanks for your input on the asphalt sealer. Most other Black Jack users seem to be in agreement with you.

I've been using Latex-ite for the past several years, never buying the most expensive grade. I particularly like their rope crack-filler-- I also use it to patch divots and small holes, using a heat gun and a blade to melt and force it into the voids. I do believe that doing this every other year has kept deterioration from the condition it was in when I bought the house (areas of cracking and crazing) to a minimum over the past 24 years. However, "5 year sealer" definitely doesn't last 5 years no matter which brand.

I did my driveway with the blackjack 8 year warranty within 16 months it was peeling up I contact the company they told me that because I lived in New York state there was no warranty deed or are winners I think people who purchase Blackjack we all need to start a Facebook page and I'd be willing to do it if I have enough people willing to take a class action suit against these people because love should not be selling a product that has an 8 year warranty on it but because you live in a certain area there is no warranty!

So I called Lowe's corporate office and they didn't even want to hear about it either I mean this is ridiculous I paid something like $32 for A5 gallon pail and I bought 50 of them!!

And as we all know it's not just the price of the product it's your time you know cleaning the driveway power washing it buying the driveway cleaner soap and then applying it waiting 24 hours and reapplying it because it says in order to have the warranty you have to apply it twice and then they tell you they're not going to stand behind their product because you live in New York state unbelievable!

Has anyone used Sealbest from Menards? Did it last? How do you like it?

DON'T USE JETCOAT SEALER...

I purchased 17 buckets of this so called sealer with a 6 year warranty. What a joke this sealer and company is. After putting this sealer down in April 2018, it is wearing/dissolving away daily. My driveway has numerous wear/light spots that the sealer is now completely gone off the asphalt. I tried the warranty and customer service...guess what...it is the installer/my fault that this sealer didn't last 6 months. First, it was due to the low temperature that I applied the sealer in although the highs were in the low 80's. Next, it was the cure time wasn't enough with the temperature that I applied the sealer in. Lastly, I didn't apply two coats although the application label said "should" apply two coats and the Warranty says "must" apply two coats. Just and underhanded way to keep anyone from winning a warranty claim. My advice...use any other type of sealer but this junk.

All of you folks should be complaining to your state's Attorney General as a consumer complaint. Facebook probably will not embarrass the people who make these crap products. If the AGO gets enough complaints they might do something.

As for the poster from New York, are you going to just take the skeevy manufacturer's word for it that there is no warranty in your state? How about asking the state about that...

Latexite 10 year driveway sealer this was second time using this product and only covers half of what it claims 1 pail covered 150 square feet not the 300-400 sq ft that it claims and thats putting on a thin first coat it does go on nicely however after sealing some small cracks with the latexite liquid sealer cracks are still visible and slightly opened also when the sun heats up the driveway if you ride across those sealed cracks the sealant does turn wet and active again not nice I believe these driveway sealers are best used in certain states not so good up in New York.

You are burning your money to even entertain the idea of a driveway sealer, do don’t be surprised to see that money peel off and vanish. There is no functional reason to use any of that. You’re just painting your driveway black. How crazy is that idea?

Because an appraiser will appraiser your house higher and it makes your property look much nicer in general.

Menards 100 & 200 totally worthless. The higher ones were better 800 or 1000. Im literally going to drive over to my moms and look right now as we're buying tomorrow and we did 1000 on part of hers. Wondering how much better it has held up since. At first huge difference. I'll be back...

You said you were coming back,..... I need to know about the Sealcoat 1000

Let the perfetionals do it it needs to be sprayed with a seal coating machine

I just did my patio area with the sealbest 400. used the trowel grade patch n crack filler. had to use alot of it.

let that dry over 24 hours.

then applied the sealer, after taking over 24 hours to dry, i got alot of little cracks every where i had used the crack filler paste underneath it!!

i sent sealbest photos and asked what they recommend i do? Im not to happy with the way it turned out. the can says 3 hour dry time, but it took over 24 hours to dry.