[joke question] How well does shellac work as a sealant for an asphalt driveway?
I dropped a nearly-full quart can of Zinser clear shellac (2 lb. cut?) on my driveway yesterday. I didn’t brush or spray, and hadn’t sanded to any grit whatsoever before applying. Simply dumped. I used paper towels to pad the excess from my shoes and the pavement. If I can convince my wife that it’ll protect the driveway, she might let me get away with not trying to clean it off. Otherwise, I might be out there with a scrub brush until she’s satisfied that it’s useless to try.
How long can I expect it to last?
Replies
The 'black japan' finish on the floorboards around the border of a room in Victorian times was a mixture of shellac and coal-tar.
Your 'asphalt' is actually bitumen based and will mix with the shellac in the same way that the coal-tar did so there is no way to clean it off.
Your options are to replace the affected bitmac, live with it or shellac the remainder of the driveway.
IanDG
Exactly.Buy two more gallons of 2 lb cut and spill them all over the driveway.
Or....
you could apply denatured alcohol with a heavy duty scrub brush.This will remove shellac on the high spots but the low areas will probably remain shiny for a good while.
Edited 9/13/2004 4:26 pm ET by JACKPLANE
A base coat of shellac just gives you a minimum of protection. Then again if you french polish the whole driveway the finish should last for at least a couple of generations. That way when your grand children bring you home from the insane asylum to visit you can see still a perfect finish.
Philip
On a warm sunny day the shellac will melt and get sticky. Shellac softens at around 140 and the asphalt gets hotter than that. Dump a gallon of ammonia on it and scrub. If you leave it, it will get on your shoes and you'll track it in the house. Wife will not be happy.
You never want to topcoat asphalt with shellac anyway. Use a water-based poly. One of the few things I'd ever do with a water-based poly.
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