Yes, sealcoating can be performed at night — but it should NOT be. Nighttime sealcoating almost always results in premature wear, tracking, peeling, and failure because pavement sealer requires sunlight, heat, and airflow to cure properly. No contractor or manufacturer will warranty nighttime sealcoating because the risk of failure is extremely high.
Now let’s break down why — in clear, practical, real-world terms — so you can make an informed decision.
If you search online, you’ll find lots of contractors claiming “We can sealcoat your parking lot overnight with no disruption!”
It sounds convenient.
It sounds tenant-friendly.
It sounds like a win-win.
But after 30+ years of sealcoating high-traffic retail sites — grocery stores, strip malls, power centers, pharmacies, and big-box retail — I can tell you this:
Nighttime sealcoating is one of the fastest ways to ruin a parking lot and waste your CAM budget.
This article is not theory.
This is not marketing spin.
This is hard-earned, real-world experience.
I’m writing this so you understand why nighttime sealcoating fails, what the risks are, what contractors won’t tell you, and what your BEST options are instead.
Contractors know the biggest complaint about sealcoating is tenant disruption:
Closed entrances
Lost parking spaces
Reduced foot traffic
Delivery conflicts
Tenant complaints
So they pitch nighttime work as the magical solution.
But here’s the truth:
Nighttime sealcoating solves tenant complaints — but it destroys the sealer.
And ultimately, that destroys your pavement.
To understand why nighttime work is such a problem, you need to understand how sealer cures.
Sealer DOES NOT cure because it “dries.”
It cures because the water evaporates out of the mix and the coating cures through:
At night, you lose all three.
Sealer requires UV radiation to lock up, harden, and chemically bond.
At night:
Zero UV
Zero radiant heat
Zero curing energy
So while the surface may feel “dry,” the film underneath stays soft.
This is why tire tracking is almost guaranteed.
Think of curing like baking a cake.
You can’t do it without heat.
Typical nighttime temperatures drop to:
50–65°F in summer
40–55°F in fall
Sometimes even lower
Below 65°F, the curing process slows dramatically.
Below 55°F, curing almost stops entirely.
Night air has:
Higher humidity
More moisture
Dew forming on the pavement
Moisture contamination leads to:
Streaking
Graying
Dusty appearance
Peeling
Premature wear
Complete failure in wheel paths
You won’t see it immediately — but give it a few days and it becomes obvious.
Even if the contractor begs you to wait until noon to open the lot…
You can’t.
Not on a shopping center.
Because:
Tenants arrive early
Delivery trucks show up at sunrise
Employees park before opening
Customers ignore barricades
Once soft sealer is driven on before full cure, the damage is irreversible.
Some manufacturers will verbally say things like:
“It’s possible…”
“It depends on weather…”
“You may be okay if temperatures stay high…”
But here is the one question that exposes the truth:
The answer is ALWAYS:
❌ No.
❌ Never.
❌ Not under any circumstances.
And contractors won’t warranty it either.
Why?
Because they know the failure rate is near 100%.
It’s extremely common for property managers to push back during the scheduling conversation with:
“But my contractor said they can mix this stuff into the sealer that makes it dry at night.”
What they’re referring to is a polymer additive called Fast Sealing Additive (FSA), manufactured by Maintenance Inc.
And yes — FSA is a real product. It's an awesome product we have used for over 30 years.
Yes — it accelerates drying under normal daylight conditions.
Yes — many contractors use it to reduce cure times on busy properties.
But here’s the part most people are never told:
FSA is designed to:
Increase surface dry time
Improve early resistance to tracking
Help sealer set faster in the sun
Reduce downtime during daytime applications
What it does not do:
Create UV radiation
Eliminate humidity
Prevent dew formation
Provide surface or ambient heat
Cure sealer without sunlight and airflow
In other words:
FSA speeds up drying — but it does NOT replace the physics needed for proper curing.
Nighttime conditions are still nighttime conditions.
No additive on the planet can overcome that.
This is where everything becomes undeniable.
If you look at Maintenance Inc.’s official product data sheet for Fast Sealing Additive — the document contractors rarely show customers — it clearly states:
In other words:
Even the manufacturer that sells the additive openly warns against nighttime use.
If the company that MAKES the additive doesn't openly recommend nighttime sealcoating…
…why would any contractor?
No. Not for shopping centers, strip malls, or any high-traffic commercial property.
Night sealcoating can work in very rare situations, only under ideal weather conditions (ie, no humidity, rain forecast, 70 degrees+) ,such as:
A low-traffic parking lot that can stay closed to vehicle and foot traffic for 24 hours after sealcoating
A church parking lot with no morning services
A private commercial lot that can stay closed for 24+ hours in warm temperatures
But for retail centers, grocery stores, restaurants, medical offices, and anything with foot traffic or deliveries, the answer is a clear:
Instead of nighttime sealcoating, the best long-term strategy is:
Catches small failures early.
This is the single highest-ROI maintenance service.
Prevents rapid spreading and $$$ structural damage.
This means weekday daytime work, heat, sun, wind, and proper cure time.
This helps property managers plan CAM budgets accurately.
$0.22–$0.38 per SF
$1.00–$3.00 per LF
$325–$350 per 3x6 area
$0.10–$0.30 per SF annually
These numbers prevent surprises and allow for long-term pavement preservation.
You asked the question:
“Can sealcoating be performed at night?”
And now you have the honest answer:
Sealcoating CAN be performed at night, but it SHOULD NOT be. It will not cure correctly, it will not last, and no one will warranty it because nighttime applications almost always fail.
If you want a long-lasting parking lot, the right strategy isn’t shortcuts — it’s proper maintenance, good timing, and realistic expectations.
If you want an honest recommendation for your property, upload 5–10 photos and we’ll evaluate your asphalt with zero pressure and zero upselling.