Acrylic rejuvenator vs asphalt emulsion
I have read a couple of articles on whether or not asphalt emulsion (EA) is resistant to acrylic resurfacer. (AR) Both items come from sources that promote latex-based products. That aside, I want to focus on personal experience.
My personal experience is 30 years of service to the coating of tennis courts (surfaces) applying with practical experience … not in a laboratory, not observing, but through actual work.
One problem I read about is that AE will degrade under UV rays. First of all, so does the asphalt. Second, there is not much UV penetration because the AE is covered in color.
Another topic I read about is that AE is difficult to clean. It is as easy to clean as the color. Sometimes the color is more difficult to clean, especially if you use a lot of blue, which will stain quickly due to the strong pigments.
Rinse AE when wet, it comes off right away. When dry, a hand cleaner like goop works great … no strong petroleum solvents needed.
A third problem is that I read an article stating that the specs require AE to be released after application. In 30 years I have never seen this spec. Maybe it was there more than 30 years ago.
Fourth, this article claims that AE only comes in one texture. I guess it’s true … focus. This is why we add our own sand just like we do for AR and color.
Fifth, the article states that AR contains much more sand than AE. True, yes, but AE has other fiber fillers, while AR has no fillers other than sand. Even the color uses other fiber fillings. On raw asphalt, an AR layer does not fill any better than an AE layer. AR can hold 15 pounds of sand per gallon, while AE is 8-10 pounds per gallon … but the fiber fillings in AE help fill the aggregate in new asphalt and make up for the “lack of sand” difference. .
I must admit that AE can be difficult to use. When AE is used correctly (proper mix ratio) on new asphalt or very rough tennis courts, it works and spreads very well. In 30 years we have never had to go back and scrape a failing surface of ours and we use AE on new asphalt most of the time. In my opinion (30 years of experience) AE has a better grip on new asphalt. AR is easier to use for overcoating because it is easier to spread and due to the faster drying / curing time.
We have been called many times to fix pitches that a contractor completed and the surface failed with AR in use. We use AE to fix the problem. I realize that the contractor’s error may have played a role. When any of the products fail, it is my opinion that, in most cases, it is the contractor’s error. EC can be difficult to spread and the mistake is adding too much water to weaken the binder.
In my opinion, asphalt emulsion (sand-filled asphalt, “plush-tex”) often wraps poorly, but when it actually works very well. I think both products work well and have their specific strengths and weaknesses. Using AE correctly (from my 30 years of use) works well and resists tennis court coating well.