How to Remove Driveway Sealer

Driveway sealer is designed to stick to a porous mineral surface and shrug off water, oil and tyres for years. Concrete is a porous mineral surface. The clock on a spill starts the moment it lands, and everything gets harder by the hour.

1. Fresh vs Cured, Asphalt vs Coal Tar

Two questions decide how hard this is going to be: how long has it been there, and what kind of sealer is it. Answer those before you buy anything.

Fresh sealer is a water-based problem

Nearly every driveway sealer sold at Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards is a water-based emulsion: asphalt or coal tar particles suspended in water. Until that water evaporates and the particles fuse, the sealer is water-soluble. A splash on the sidewalk in the first twenty or thirty minutes comes off with a hose, a stiff brush and a squirt of dish soap or degreaser. This is the golden window and it is why the single most useful piece of advice in this whole article is: keep a hose running and a scrub brush in reach while you work, and deal with drips immediately.

After about an hour in warm weather the film skins over and water alone stops working, but the sealer is still soft and has not bonded deeply into the concrete. Degreaser, scrubbing and a pressure washer will still get most of it in this stage. After 24 hours it has cured, and you are into solvents.

Cured asphalt emulsion

Once cured, asphalt emulsion behaves like a thin layer of asphalt. It is softened by petroleum solvents such as mineral spirits, kerosene and diesel, and by citrus d-limonene cleaners. It is not moved by water, acids or bleach. Products like Latex-ite, Black Jack Drive-Maxx and most store-brand sealers fall into this category, and it is the easier of the two to remove.

Cured coal tar

Coal tar emulsion, still sold in parts of the Midwest and South and common on older driveways, is a different chemistry. It cures harder, resists petroleum solvents much better (that is precisely why it is prized as a sealer, since gasoline and oil do not soften it), and it is more of a skin and health hazard. Removing cured coal tar from concrete needs a stronger commercial asphalt and tar remover, more dwell time and more repetition, and you should wear nitrile gloves and eye protection throughout. If your sealer smelled strongly of mothballs or creosote when it went on, it is coal tar. Our coal tar vs asphalt emulsion comparison explains the differences in more depth.

Acrylic and solvent-based sealers

Less common on asphalt driveways but worth mentioning: acrylic sealers respond to xylene or acetone rather than petroleum solvents, and solvent-based asphalt sealers come off with mineral spirits while fresh but cure hard. Check the pail.

2. Concrete Sidewalks and Garage Aprons

This is the situation most people are searching for. The driveway meets a concrete sidewalk, a garage floor or a paver walkway, and somewhere along the edge there is a black smear, a line of drips or a spray pattern from a contractor's wand. Concrete is porous and light in colour, so the stain is obvious, and it soaks in. Here is the escalation ladder, cheapest and gentlest first.

Step 1: If it is still wet, flood and scrub

Get water on it now. Hose the area thoroughly, squirt a heavy-duty degreaser or dish soap on it (Simple Green, Zep Purple, Dawn, anything that cuts grease), and scrub hard with a stiff deck brush. Rinse and repeat. Do not let the rinse water run onto more concrete than necessary; direct it back onto the asphalt or into the grass. A wet spill treated within half an hour usually disappears completely, leaving at most a faint grey shadow that weathers away within a season.

Step 2: Pressure washer with degreaser

For sealer that has skinned over but is less than a day or two old, a pressure washer in the 2,500 to 3,000 psi range with a 25-degree or turbo nozzle, after a degreaser has been allowed to dwell for ten minutes, will take off most of the surface film. Hold the nozzle at a steep angle to lift the edge of the sealer rather than driving it into the pores, and keep it moving so you do not etch a clean spot into the concrete that shows as its own stain. Expect to leave a grey ghost in the pores that needs Step 3. Our guide to pressure washing a driveway covers safe pressures for concrete.

Step 3: Citrus solvent or commercial remover

For cured asphalt emulsion, this is the workhorse. Citrus-based cleaners with a high d-limonene content (Citra Solv, De-Solv-it, Goo Gone Pro-Power, or the concrete-specific citrus degreasers) soften cured asphalt and are far kinder to you, the lawn and the storm drain than petroleum solvents. Apply generously to the dry stain, let it sit for fifteen to thirty minutes without drying out (cover it with plastic on a hot day), then scrub with a stiff nylon brush. The sealer will turn to a brown sludge. Blot the sludge up with rags or sawdust rather than rinsing it across clean concrete, then wash the area with degreaser and rinse. Repeat as needed; two or three rounds is normal for a well-cured stain.

For coal tar, or asphalt emulsion that has been down for months, step up to a purpose-made asphalt and tar remover. These are sold by sealer manufacturers and at auto parts stores and are formulated to break down exactly this material. Follow the dwell times on the label and do not let them dry on the concrete.

Step 4: Mineral spirits, carefully

Mineral spirits or paint thinner will soften cured asphalt emulsion well and is what a lot of people reach for first. It works, but with cautions. It is flammable, the fumes are unpleasant, it kills grass and it must not go down a storm drain. Used on concrete it also tends to spread the stain: the asphalt dissolves into the solvent, the solvent soaks into the surrounding concrete, and you end up with a larger, paler stain instead of a smaller dark one. If you use it, work a small area at a time, keep the solvent on the stain and not around it, blot the dissolved sealer up with absorbent rags immediately, and follow with a degreaser wash to lift the oily residue. Dispose of the rags safely; solvent-soaked rags can self-heat.

Step 5: Poultice for the shadow in the pores

When everything visible is gone but a grey shadow remains in the pores, a poultice draws it out. Mix an absorbent powder (diatomaceous earth, kitty litter ground fine, baking soda or a commercial poultice powder) with enough citrus solvent or mineral spirits to make a peanut-butter paste, spread it a quarter inch thick over the stain, cover with plastic taped at the edges, and leave it for 24 hours. As the solvent evaporates through the powder it pulls dissolved asphalt with it. Scrape up the dried poultice, rinse and assess. Two applications will fade most residual shadows to the point where they are not noticeable.

Do not use muriatic acid

People reach for muriatic acid because it cleans concrete, and it does, by dissolving the top layer of cement. It does nothing to asphalt. What you get is a patch of freshly etched, rougher, lighter concrete surrounding a stain that is now sitting in an even more open surface. The etched patch will also weather differently from the rest of the slab for years. Acid is for etching a garage floor before coating it, not for removing organic stains. The same goes for bleach: it lightens the concrete around the stain and does nothing to the stain.

Sealed or decorative concrete

If the concrete has a clear sealer or is stamped and coloured, be aware that every solvent above will also soften the concrete sealer. Test in an inconspicuous spot, work fast, and plan to reseal the area afterwards. On pavers, the same methods work, but joint sand will need topping up after pressure washing, and polymeric sand should be masked before applying solvents.

If the sealer is on your own concrete driveway rather than a sidewalk, and you are removing it because you want to switch to a concrete sealer, the full-surface approach in how to remove old driveway sealer and the product choices in how to seal a concrete driveway are what you need.

3. Hands and Skin

You will get it on your hands. Everyone does. Wet sealer comes off with dish soap and warm water if you wash within a few minutes, which is why we keep a bucket of soapy water beside the pails. Once it has dried on skin it is stubborn, and the instinct to reach for the mineral spirits is exactly wrong.

Oil is the answer. Asphalt dissolves in oil, and skin tolerates oil far better than solvents. Vegetable oil, olive oil, baby oil or WD-40 rubbed firmly into the stain for a minute or two will loosen it; the sealer turns brown and smeary and then wipes off with a paper towel. Follow with dish soap, which cuts the oil, and warm water. A dedicated citrus or pumice mechanic's hand cleaner (Gojo, Fast Orange, Permatex) does the same job faster and is worth keeping on the shelf if you seal your own driveway regularly.

Do not use mineral spirits, paint thinner, gasoline or acetone on skin. They strip the skin's oils, they are absorbed through it, and coal tar residue in particular should not be driven into the skin with a solvent. Coal tar is a recognised skin sensitiser and photosensitiser: get it off with oil and soap, rinse thoroughly, and keep the area out of direct sun for the rest of the day. If you are sealing with coal tar, nitrile gloves are not optional. For more on what is actually in these products, see is driveway sealer toxic.

Stained skin that has been through oil and soap and still has a grey tinge will clear in a day or two as the skin naturally sheds. Do not scrub with abrasives to speed it up.

4. Shoes and Clothing

Shoes

Shoes are where sealer travels. You step in a wet edge, walk into the garage, and now there is a trail on the concrete and the kitchen floor. The shoes you seal in should be shoes you are prepared to throw away, and they should come off before you leave the driveway.

If you want to save a pair: wet sealer on rubber soles comes off with a stiff brush and soapy water. Cured sealer on soles can be softened with citrus cleaner or WD-40, scraped with a plastic scraper or old butter knife, and scrubbed. Leather uppers are usually a loss; oil and citrus cleaner will remove the asphalt but also the finish. Canvas can sometimes be saved with the clothing method below. Do not put sealer-contaminated shoes in the washing machine.

Clothing

Wet sealer on clothing: scrape off what you can with a spoon, rinse from the back of the fabric with cold water to push it out rather than through, then work a degreasing dish soap into the stain and let it sit for an hour before washing hot, alone. Check before drying, because a dryer sets what is left permanently.

Cured sealer on clothing: work cooking oil or a citrus cleaner into the stain to soften the asphalt, let it dwell for thirty minutes, then work dish soap in to break down the oil, and wash hot, alone. Expect a shadow to remain on anything light-coloured. Cured coal tar in fabric is, in our experience, permanent. Treat your sealing clothes as disposable coveralls, and wear a pair of cheap long trousers and a long-sleeved top rather than anything you own for a second reason.

5. Car Paint, Trim and Tyres

Paint and clear coat

Spray overspray on a car parked too close, or a spatter from a squeegee, is a common complaint after a contractor visit and an occasional self-inflicted one. The good news is that automotive clear coat is smooth and non-porous, so the sealer sits on top rather than soaking in, and the auto industry has been dealing with road tar for a century. The bad news is that clear coat scratches easily, so the tools that work on concrete will ruin it.

Use an automotive bug and tar remover (Turtle Wax, Stoner Tarminator, Meguiar's, or any similar product) on a clean microfibre cloth. Apply to the cloth, not the panel, lay it on the spots for a minute to let the solvent work, then wipe gently in one direction. Refold the cloth constantly so you are not dragging dissolved asphalt across clean paint. Repeat until the spots lift. Wash the area with car soap and rinse, dry, and reapply wax or sealant, because tar remover strips whatever protection was there.

If a faint film or roughness remains, a detailing clay bar with plenty of lubricant spray will pull it off. Clay works by shearing bonded contaminants off the surface and is safe on modern clear coat when used with lubricant. Follow with polish if the paint has lost gloss, then wax.

Never use a stiff brush, a scraper, a Magic Eraser, mineral spirits in quantity, or a pressure washer close up on painted panels. Time matters: sealer that sits on a hot car roof for weeks can start to etch clear coat, so deal with it within days.

Glass and chrome

Glass is easy: tar remover and a razor blade held flat, then glass cleaner. Chrome and polished aluminium tolerate tar remover but not abrasives.

Black plastic trim and rubber seals

Tar remover can leave unpainted black plastic looking blotchy. Test first, use sparingly, and follow with a trim restorer. Rubber door seals can be cleaned with citrus cleaner and a soft brush.

Tyres

Driving on sealer before it cures picks up a coating on the tyre and then lays it down on the garage floor, the street and the neighbour's driveway. Tyres themselves clean up with degreaser and a stiff brush; the tread will shed the rest within a few miles. The garage floor tracks are a Step 3 concrete job above. If the sealer picked up because it was still tacky days later, that is a separate problem covered in why driveway sealer is still sticky.

6. Squeegees, Brushes and Tools

Sealer tools are cheap, and most people treat them as single-use. If you want to keep a good squeegee for the second coat or next year, the rule is simple: clean it before the sealer cures, which means within minutes of your last pass, not after lunch.

Have a bucket of warm soapy water and a hose ready before you finish. Hose the squeegee and brush hard, then scrub in the bucket, then hose again. Pay attention to where the blade meets the frame and to the bristle roots on a brush, because sealer packed in there will harden and shed lumps into your next coat. Hang them to dry.

If you got distracted and the sealer has skinned over on the tool, soak it in the soapy bucket for an hour and scrub; it will mostly come off. If it has cured overnight, mineral spirits and a wire brush will recover a squeegee blade with effort. A cured brush is rarely worth saving.

For a pail you want to reuse, rinse it immediately; cured sealer inside a pail is permanent and any flakes will contaminate whatever you store in it next. Rinse water from tool cleaning should go onto the sealed driveway or the lawn, not the storm drain. Rinsing fresh sealer down a storm drain is illegal in most jurisdictions and coal tar in particular is a serious contaminant.

Spray rigs and pump sprayers need to be flushed with water immediately and run until clear, and the tips soaked. A sprayer left with sealer in the lines is a sprayer you will be replacing.

7. Preventing It Next Time

Every method above is slower and less satisfying than not making the mess in the first place. On the driveways we have sealed, ten minutes of masking saves an hour of scrubbing, and the finish along the edges looks better for it.

Mask every edge that meets concrete

Run painter's tape or masking tape along the concrete side of every joint where the asphalt meets a sidewalk, garage apron, curb or paver edge. Two-inch tape is enough for squeegee work; for spraying, tape a strip of masking paper or cardboard to the tape so overspray lands on paper. Press the tape down firmly, because sealer will wick under a loose edge. Pull the tape as soon as you have finished the adjacent strip, while the sealer is still wet; if you leave it until the sealer cures you will tear the film along the edge.

Cut in the edges with a brush first

Before the squeegee comes out, brush a neat band of sealer about six inches wide along every edge with a 4-inch brush. A brush gives you control a squeegee never will, and it means the squeegee never has to go right up to the concrete. Pros do this on every job; it is what makes their edges look crisp.

Drop cloths, cardboard and cars

Lay flattened cardboard or a canvas drop cloth over the garage floor immediately inside the door, and over any section of sidewalk you will be walking across with wet tools. Move cars to the street, and if you are spraying, move them out of range of any wind. Tell neighbours if you are spraying near their vehicles. Keep pets indoors; a dog's paws are an excellent way to distribute sealer through a house.

Set up before you open the pail

Hose connected and running, soapy bucket and brush by the pails, rags and paper towels within reach, gloves on, old shoes on. Every drip you catch in the first minute is a drip you are not scrubbing with citrus cleaner next weekend. And if you are hiring the job out, make masking of the concrete and moving of vehicles a written condition; it is one of the things that separates a careful contractor from a spray-and-run outfit, as we discuss in DIY vs professional driveway sealing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Driveway Sealer Guides

• How to Remove Old Driveway Sealer — taking a whole surface back to bare asphalt or concrete.
• How to Remove Oil Stains From a Driveway — the same degreaser and poultice logic applied to motor oil.
• Best Driveway Cleaner — the degreasers that actually cut asphalt residue.
• How to Clean an Asphalt Driveway Before Sealing — prep that keeps sealer where it belongs.
• How to Seal a Driveway — the edging-with-a-brush technique that prevents most spills.
• Coal Tar vs Asphalt Emulsion Sealer — why one is so much harder to remove than the other.