Has anyone sealed their asphault track. What did you use and how did it work. Thanks Steve.......

Let me ask what they used at the Mushroom Bowl in PA, it has been awesome everytime they re-sealed it over the last 10 years.

We have sealed Storm Steel in Cedar Rapids, Iowa twice in the last 5 or so years. We used 532 Henry products driveway sealer and it worked great. It is a pretty big job and requires water to get it to lay down properly.

We were going to reseal the track this year and at least in our area no one carries Henrys 532. Home depot used to carry it and they still do in some areas of the county, but not in the midwest. They carry a different sealer in our area but we couldn't find out if the properties of any of these products were the same as the 532.

I know that the 532 is a coal tar base and others are asphalt base and the two product can not be used together.

Hays Reeling from Lefthander RC resealed the corners at Triclone Raceway in West Bend Wisconsin and used some sort of runway sealer and I think he got some information from John at BSR and I think they had great results.

If anyone else has any information it would be great to hear.

GEt ahold of Shadow....Not only does he paint killer bodies, but he Paves/Seals for a living...He could probably steer you in a direction.....I believe he sealed the asphalt track at Marshall's in Pa...... :thumbsup:

he's not a fan of sealing asphalt.

with asphalt if you are not gona dig it up and repave dont mess with it sealer looks good on parking lots and driveways and makes it look new sealer does what it says seals so hope you do not have any nitro's there it will be slick from the oil and just lay on top untle it is washed off with just asphalt oil will soak down into the mix it is mostly petroleum based anyway i did asphalt for many years for a living also

where do u get that stuff.

Don't spread that stuff around. Sealer is a waste of money and shortens the life of the asphalt causing it to crack. Never sealed one driveway or parking lot in 32 years of paving (I like to sleep at night), sealer is a waste of money period!! GEt ahold of Shadow....Not only does he paint killer bodies, but he Paves/Seals for a living...He could probably steer you in a direction.....I believe he sealed the asphalt track at Marshall's in Pa...... :thumbsup:

I'm no expert on this subject but from my experience I think it depends on what kind of tire you want to run. My first experience on a sealed asphalt track was when I first started running caps about 6 years ago. I went to a quarter scale track in N Central Ia to a race and everyone was running foams and so I did so also. It was about a 400 ft track with not alot of banking but all the cars there were just awfully loose and hard to control. When the races were over for the day I had some caps along so I tried them and it was a night and day difference and the caps worked really well. My other experience is at Storm Steel in CR IA which was an old quarter scale track that everyone use to run foams on for pan cars. Now I never really run foams on that track but what I have heard it was an abrasive surface hard on tires. The IROAR club decided they wanted to race there so they sealed it and have been running caps there ever since. It has been a very fun track to race on and traction is very good and tire wear is not a big issue. It has not been sealed for at least a couple years and I would say it is not as good as a freshly sealed track but still a lot of fun. The Triclone in Wisc is a sealed asphalt and it has some of the best racing around and one of the nicest tracks in the country. I'd vote for a sealed track but I like to run caps and maybe caps work good on a freshly paved smooth asphalt track like Freddies.

Steve, The first time I sealed Easley I used a product from Lowe's that was for sloped surfaces. It wasn't abrasive but gave some incredible traction. When I was going to seal it the second time Lowe's wasn't carrying that particular type of sealer. I tried something that sounded similar but it was horrible and made the surface very slick. Couldn't get anything to hook up on it. Thankfully we had only done a test section and not the whole track. Tried a different type on the touring track and it too didn't afford any real traction. It's such a major investment that can go so wrong, you gotta be real careful.

Good luck.

Craig, Thats the problem Danny is having at storm steel as AJ stated above. The sealer they have used in the past is not available locally so they haven't found one they like yet to reseal it.

...it seems once it's been sealed...you have to continually reseal it..or else it looses grip ever couple years...

I don't know what type as asphalt is best...around here the stuff they use in parking lots SUCKS and has 1/2 inch rocks in it..that after a year of weather comes apart really bad...

Well some of the sealer issue is appearance. Racers like the look of a nice black track compared to the greyed out faded asphalt. The sealer fills in the space between the stone in the asphalt and reduces the abrasive condition of the surface. Over time with rain and other elements working the asphalt it becomes more abrasive, creates better traction but wears down tires a bit faster. Alot of it depends on the type of asphalt that is put down in the first place but since most tracks use the playground type they can deteriorate faster than the typical highway grade. But when you look at spending $400-$600 and 30-40 man hours to seal a track like ours, making the wrong choice can be devastating.

Racers are more picky now then when we used to just run in parking lots. You'd take it the way it was and still have fun.

Craig,

Sometimes I long for the days of the OLD Parking Lot races to return.

We have a hard time getting anyone who had a lot decent enough to race in...give us permission to use it...but as far as I'm concerned... PARKING LOT RACING - is the PAST - and the PATH to the FUTURE of R/C Racing

I personally wouldn't want to race in a parking lot or on a flat track every sat,I guess that's why I have never really had the urge to run carpet.