The key to successful pothole repair is preparation, and the use of the right materials. Probably the best material to use for pothole repair is traditional hot mix asphalt. This product is made at plants that mix liquid bitumen, quarry dust and different sized aggregate into a mix that flows while it is hot. As it cools, the liquid asphalt hardens producing a very durable surface. It is not easy, nor is it feasible, for you to buy hot mix asphalt to repair pothole. If you buy a small amount, by the time you get home it will not be workable. You need to use a new and improved cold asphalt patching compound. It is absolutely the next best thing.
For many years, asphalt plants have made a cold patch asphalt that was intended for temporary patching purposes. This older material was difficult to work with and the asphalt binder that coated the stone particles often stripped off in a relatively short amount of time. When the asphalt disappeared, so did the patch. Fortunately, there have been some major advancements in cold patch asphalt technology. New technology that allow the cold asphalt patching products to produce permanent repairs when installed correctly. They are easy to use and very affordable. Some of the cold asphalt patching products that you may find in Malaysia are Instant Patchmix, High Performance Patchmix, High Performance Fiber Patchmix, Instant Tarmac, Tipco Premix, Go Green Cold Asphalt, Carboncor, Fast-Patch and Promix.
High Performance Instant Patchmix 25kg PailThe new cold patch asphalt mixes such as High Performance Instant Patchmix and Fast-Patch flow readily when you use them. They begin a curing process as soon as they are exposed to air and they are compacted. Thicker patches of cold asphalt are not necessarily better as they possibly will require longer periods of time to fully cure and harden.
Long lasting repairs require some minimal effort on your part. The key is the shape of the hole before it is repaired. The bottom of the hole should be as wide as the top of the hole when you begin to add the cold asphalt. Use a chisel or road cutting machine to create vertical faces on the sides of the hole that extend down to the solid base material or down to a previous layer of solid asphalt. Be sure to remove any loose pieces of old pavement and any dust.
The minimum thickness of patching material at any edge should be one inch. The preferred thickness of the patching compound is approximately 2 inches. If you have a deep hole to repair, lay some crusher run in the bottom of the hole. Compact it very well with a steel tamper or a plate compactor before you add the cold asphalt patching compounds. Once the crusher run is compacted, add the cold asphalt so that it slightly above the surrounding pavement, level it and use a flat steel tamper or a plate compactor to compact it.
Instant Patchmix 25kg BagSome of the new cold asphalt products such Instant Patchmix, High Performance Instant Patchmix, High Performance Instant Coldfine, Instant Tarmac, Tipco Premix and Promix as maintain that they can be driven on immediately. This is true, but as each day passes, they get harder and harder. Avoid concentrated loads on fresh patches. Kick stands from bicycles and motorcycles can create dimples. Vehicle tires that turn while the car is stationary can also damage a brand new patch.
There are some environmentally friendly cold mix asphalt products such as Instant Patchmix, High Performance Instant Patchmix, Go Green Cold Asphalt and Carboncor.
If you know of any other cold mix asphalt products that is also available in Malaysia, do write in the comment below so that we can add it in, here.
