What SS-1h Emulsion Means

SS means slow setting. The 1 is a viscosity grade. The h means a harder base binder. SS-1h is a common slow-setting emulsion for tack coats and light fog seals because it has time to wet the surface before it breaks. The letters are not a thickness and not a pail of driveway sealer.

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Read the letters as a product code

SS-1h shows up on tack and fog quotes, and it looks like a model number. Break it apart. SS means slow setting. The emulsion is formulated to take some time to break, which means the water and binder separate, so it can wet the surface before it sets. The 1 is a viscosity grade in the naming system suppliers use. The h means the base binder is a harder grade. Together, SS-1h is a common slow-setting emulsion for tack coats and for light fog seals. It is not driveway sand-mix sealer in a pail, and the letters are not an inch of pavement. Store and handle it the way the supplier says. This article does not give a home spray recipe or a dilution to try in a driveway sprayer.

Why slow setting is the point

A slow-setting emulsion gives the crew time to get a thin film onto a milled or dusty-looking surface before it breaks. That is why it is used as tack between asphalt lifts and as a light fog. It is a different behavior from a rapid-setting chip-seal emulsion, which is meant to break quickly under cover stone. If a quote says SS-1h tack, you have learned the family of product, not the application rate and not the thickness of the new mat. Ask the rate separately, and ask whether that rate is residual asphalt or emulsion as sprayed. A slow set is not a reason to walk on the film or to pave hours later than the crew planned. Follow their timing. The bond still depends on a clean surface and on paving while the tack is in the condition they want.

What the code does not decide

SS-1h does not choose your driveway thickness, your tonnage, or your stone size. Hot-mix tons still come from area and compacted thickness at a planning density of 145 pounds per cubic foot: area times inches over 12 times 145 divided by 2000. The plant ticket is the real mix weight. The emulsion is a separate liquid. If the ticket or the quote names a different emulsion than SS-1h, ask why before you assume the bond coat changed in a way that matters. Suppliers also sell other slow-setting grades. The letters confirm a family. They do not confirm that the surface was cleaned or that the rate was light enough to avoid a slick film. Ask those questions in plain language. Leave the spraying and the handling to the crew and the supplier's instructions.

A practical sequence

Read SS as slow setting, 1 as the viscosity grade, and h as a harder base binder.
Treat SS-1h as a tack or light fog emulsion, not as driveway sealer.
Ask the rate separately, and ask if it is residual or as sprayed.
Keep the emulsion off the hot-mix tonnage and follow the supplier's handling.

The mistake to skip

Buying SS-1h as if the letters were a thickness or a bucket of driveway sealer.

Questions people ask

Can I brush SS-1h on a driveway as sealer?

No. SS-1h is an emulsion used by crews for tack coats and light fog seals. It is not the sand-mix sealer sold for dressing a driveway, and this article does not give a way to spray or brush it at home. If a quote names SS-1h, ask where it will be applied and at what rate. The letters describe the product family, not a home maintenance step.

Does SS-1h replace a tack rate?

It names the product. It does not name the gallons per square yard. You still want the rate, and you still want to know if that rate is residual binder or emulsion as sprayed. Slow setting describes how it breaks. It does not describe how thick your asphalt is. Mix tons stay on the plant ticket.

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