35100 Pli-Stix Driveway Crack & Joint Filler, Gray

I had a ton of cracks in my driveway. I tried a few different things but this stuff years later is still holding my driveway together. Some areas did fail and I think I now know why. The trick to using this is cleaning the sides of the crack. That's where the bond occurs so if there's any debris (mud) attached, no bond. If you can get most of it off, you're good. I use a toothbrush sized wire brush and angle it slightly to scratch the sides of the crack to the point where it almost has a gun metal sheen to it. Then I blow it out with a heat gun at close range but pressured air is likely better. The other trick is to make sure you melt the stuff properly. It may appear melted on the top but if it's not melted all the way down, it wont seal off the crack properly. Really taking the time to properly melt it is key. Following instructions on not over-filling the crack (the product needs to be slightly below the surface) is also key. So what can you do to fill the top area if it's more shallow than the driveway surface? Sikaflex asphalt sealant is flexible and could help with the aesthetics of a crack should you need to fill the top area. I can't speak to the ability of sikaflex to adhere to pli-stix as I haven't used that yet.. I made the mistake of using non flexible trowel patch over pli-stix but I would think sika would adhere well to it. Whole sections of aligatored chunks have been made solid again because of this stuff. I really recommend and will use it in future.

Bought this to seal some cracks in concrete around my pool. The concrete had settled and broken. After raising and blocking the slab, the cracks were about 1/4 of an inch wide. As-is, the product was too wide for what I needed. Still, it flowed well and sealed the cracks - just tended to pool and not 'run down into' the cracks much. When applying heat, if you see the product start to bubble, smoke, or catch fire, back off on your heat. The stuff starts to flow BEFORE it starts to bubble. Trust me on this! If you see any bubbling, don't turn the heat off, just back off. You'll see the product begin to flow. If you burn it, it will discolor to a brownish-hue (obviously, try to avoid this unless it's the affect you are shooting for). If you are patient and don't rush, you'll likely be happy with the results. You can cut the strands length-wise if your crack is smaller than 1/2". As an added bonus, the plastic wrapper pretty much falls off if you do this. Didn't have a lot of trouble with the plastic burning/effecting the final product, but I wasn't doing fine masonry work either. Last bit - as the plastic wrapper melts away, the cord will 'dance' a bit. Best technique I found was to slowly heat one side, the as the 'dancing' began, heat the opposite side. If you do this, as the cord melts/flows, it tends to settle right back where you put it to start with. If pushed down into a crack, this shouldn't be an issue. Anyway, happy with the product, got a lot of cord for the price, and it worked as expected (once I was patient with it!). Will buy again. Oh yeah, regular old propane gas worked fine, no need for MAP gas.

Seems like a lot of people are having a problem when applying this. Here is some of the things I found working with this stuff.Don't buy unless you you have a weed torch of some sort. Nothing fancy but your copper pipe torch will not work upside down and you don't want to be that close to the tip. Search Amazon for Propane Torch Weed Burner.Do not remove plastic cover on the putty. It will melt and you will get putty all over yourself trying to do it.I used a hammer to pound the caulk deep into cracks.When melting pick a spot about 6-10 inches long and just start waving the tip along the length at 2-3 inches above the caulk. It will start melting shortly. Once it starts melting just keep waving. Holding the torch in one place causes the caulk to actually burn (it shows) and it causes a lot of bubbles that do not go away. (ugly). A slow wave lets you see the caulk as its melting and stopping overcooking and bubbles. On the times where I had a bigger depression I just cut a small piece and just melted it together. You can always go and remelt an area if you think it needs it.I just did this last week so I don't have durability report but the reviews seem to indicate it good. It is designed for sub surface install so having a pile of melted plastic ON your driveway is not better than having the crack filled to just under the surface.I used a few tubes of crack sealer on the cracks that were obviously too small for this caulk.Yes I would recommend this to anybody that has large long cracks that need to be sealed.

Really good seal on driveway cracks and cement walkway cracks, but remains somewhat sticky in summer heat. I used a heat gun, not a blow torch. I wish the plastic wrapper on the sticks was removable because it melted first and sometimes caused the stick to curl out of where it was supposed to be melted. Cutting the strip into 1/4 inch prevents the curling, and dusting the strip with cement dust, sand, or sheetrock dust (depends on the color you need) will keep it from sticking.

Filled the cracks between concrete quick and beautiful

I live in an area of the country that sees snowfall 5-6 months out of the year. My driveway is about 14 years old and some cracks have started to show up in the concrete. This product forms part of the solution to these hairline masonry cracks in that it prevents water from melting snow making its way into the concrete joints, freezing, thawing and freezing again. This material was very easy to melt and it finished level and smooth. I did a portion of my driveway with CrackStix and the finish wasn't as smooth or clean looking. This product expands better than CrackStix as well so the joints in the concrete can flex a bit with the natural heating and cooling of the day. I'm very happy with this product and would recommend it over any other product for utility and finish.