Contractor Tips

For you guys in the southern regions that continue to work this time of the year a good way to prevent plug ups is to remove the sheet of hardened sealer in the top of your tanks. This can be made easier by holding a mirror inside your tank and illuminating with a flashlight to see if there is any build up.
A scraper on a long handle can be used to loosen the “sheet” of coating, then use a piece of cardboard to catch the dried out sealer. It is also a good idea to repeat this procedure every couple of months during the season, nothing is more aggravating than stopping every 30 minutes or so to clean your filter or tips.
If you haven’t familiarized yourself with the material calculators on our new website, now is the time to do so. These calculators are very easy to use and will help you determine the material needed for seal coating, crack sealing and striping. Practice using a few of your jobs from last year.
You may also want to take advantage of our tank capacity calculator. A fresh copy of your tank capacity in each truck could be very valuable. Also, don’t forget to equip each piece of equipment with a current copy of all MSDS’s of material you use. Print these from our website and store in a piece of 2 inch pvc with a cap on each end then store on the dashboard of each truck. An hour of preparation time now can save a lot of downtime this season.

First, curing time in July and August really slows down due to high humidity. Give your sealer as much time as possible between coats and before opening to traffic.
Secondly, now is the time to check the top of your tanks for dried sealer. Sealer will build up during the season to the tops of tanks and then start falling off into your liquid as your equipment travels down the highway. The easiest way to remove the dried sealer is to hold a mirror inside your tank then use a flashlight to illuminate the top of the tank. Use a long handled scraper to loosen the coating and if possible place a thin piece of plywood underneath the loosened material to keep the dried sealer from falling into your tank. On larger tanks unfortunately you will have to fish the trash out with shovels, or climb into the tank for some very dirty work. Use all safety precautions possible if you have to enter a tank.