Can You Paint an Asphalt Driveway?

You can, but coating the whole driveway with ordinary paint is usually a mistake. Paint sits on top as a thin layer that turning tires and weak prep will chip and lift. For black and protected, use a driveway sealer. For color, use products made for pavement.

Acrylic driveway sealer → Faded asphalt driveway →

Can You Paint Asphalt Driveway Surfaces With Regular Paint?

Not with good results. Cover Pro Painting, a painting contractor, says asphalt driveways should be seal coated rather than painted. Its reasoning: paint only changes the color while sitting on the surface, so chipping, peeling, and hot tires lifting it are all more likely. The company also warns that interior or porch paint gives out quickly on a driveway, since the friction from tires turning in place is more than it can take.

Makers of pavement marking paint add a few asphalt problems:

• Fresh pavement isn't ready. PPG's data sheet for its traffic paint says new asphalt tends to bleed, and that asphalt which is poorly blended or not fully cured can be pulled loose as the paint film cures on it.
• Fresh sealer gets in the way. Crafco tells users not to put its traffic paint over a newly sealed surface, because sealers can affect how the paint sticks and cures.
• Waiting periods are real. PPG asks for at least 14 days of aging on new asphalt and on sealers. Crafco asks for at least 30 days on new asphalt.

Three Risks Cover Pro Flags

Cover Pro lists three driveway risks, written partly with concrete in mind:

1. Slip risk. Sealers that dry to a glossy, wet look can turn slick in the rain. Cover Pro suggests a lower gloss, more texture, or an anti-slip grit to get traction back.
2. Hot-tire pickup. When tires are hot, plasticizers can move from the tire into acrylic sealers and coatings. That chemical reaction can mark the finish or lift it.
3. Peeling. Cover Pro puts most peeling down to poor prep, moisture, or an old coating underneath that doesn't match, rather than a bad product.

Better Options by Goal

If You Want It Black Again

Use an asphalt driveway sealer. Cover Pro credits sealing with guarding the surface against moisture, UV, and daily wear. A-Rock Asphalt Services, a sealcoating contractor, adds that sealer holds up against oil, gasoline, and other car fluids, and says a coat may last anywhere from 1 to 3 years before it needs reapplying. For more on why driveways lose their color and what brings it back, read our guide on faded asphalt driveways.

If You Want Some Protection Plus Crack Filling

Resurfacers are a thicker step up from basic sealer. One example is Liquid Rubber Driveway Restore. Its application guide, posted on Lowe's product-document site, calls it a hard but flexible coating with added aggregates to help it handle vehicle traffic, and says it fills small alligator cracks. The guide insists on inspection, repair, and cleaning first, and calls prep 90% of the job. Our guide on sealer vs resurfacer covers when the thicker products make sense.

If You Want a Color Other Than Black

A-Rock notes that driveway sealer comes in a range of colors, though the choices are narrower than what you'd find with paint. Acrylic products are another route, but they are the coatings Cover Pro names in its hot-tire warning, so follow the label on prep and cure time. Our guide on acrylic driveway sealer explains how these products differ from standard black sealers.

If You Want Lines or Markings

Use a traffic or zone marking paint made for pavement, keep it to narrow stripes, and respect the aging times above.

Step-by-step striping is covered in how to paint lines on an asphalt driveway.

A Note on Coal-Tar Sealers

Some sealers are made from coal tar. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) says these can hold up to 1,000 times more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than asphalt-based products, and Minnesota lists some PAHs as possible carcinogens. Acrylic sealers contain none. Two states regulate them by law:

• Minnesota. The Legislature passed a ban in 2013 that took effect January 1, 2014. It stops both the sale and the application of coal tar-based sealants statewide (Minn. Stat. § 116.202). The MPCA says it reaches out-of-state contractors, and cities with an enforcing ordinance can make owners remove coal-tar sealcoat applied after the ban began.
• Washington. Under chapter 70A.440 of the state code, no one could sell a pavement sealant labeled as containing coal tar, wholesale or retail, after January 1, 2012, and since July 1, 2013, putting one down on a driveway or parking area has been illegal too. The law defines coal tar by a PAH level above 10,000 milligrams per kilogram. The Department of Ecology and cities or counties with an ordinance can enforce it.

Local ordinances can add their own limits, so check your city and county rules too. This is general information, not legal advice.

If You Paint Anyway

To coat a small area such as a play pad:

1. Let new asphalt age as the label says.
2. Clean, degrease, and dry the surface completely.
3. Repair cracks first.
4. Pick a product rated for exterior pavement and vehicle traffic.
5. Add traction the right way. Brad the Painter, a painting blog, says to skip beach sand, whose uneven, oversized grains catch and start peeling. He broadcasts uniform silica over each freshly painted section instead of stirring it into the can.
6. Apply thin coats and plan on recoating as tire paths wear.

For a dedicated play surface, a properly built court is the lasting option; see asphalt basketball court thickness and tons.

Bottom Line: Should You Paint Asphalt?

Can you paint asphalt driveway pavement? Technically yes, but ordinary paint peels and lifts under hot tires. Use sealer for black, a resurfacer for small cracks, pavement-rated products for color, and traffic paint for lines.