Hi there,
I'm restoring an old black and white tiled victorian pathway (see pictures attached). When I moved in the path was completely covered in 3 inches of concrete and terazzo tiles (horrible 1970's job). I've chipped all this away to reveal the old path, which is in reasonable condition given the circumstances but has a lot of chips and cement residue and some missing/ broken tiles. I've sourced a load of replacement tiles so I'm good for spares.
My question is about cleaning and finishing. I've used HG tile cleaner, and tried HG cement cleaner (product 11 in their range). This is more acidic and has cleaned the tiles v well but left the black ones looking bleached and lighter than they should. I'd like to darken them back to the dark grey colour, so any tips on doing this would be much appreciated.
I'm also interested in how people finish tiles, and have noticed that some seem to use sealant to create a sheen. Other stuff I've read has suggested wax or oil. Would this work for an external path like this? (I've also got a tiled hallway so thinking ahead about how to tackle this - its in much better condition but needs brightening up).
For the cracks I've experimented with milliput epoxy putty, but getting a colour match is tricky. the superfine white is a bit too white - how do people go about fixing cracks and chips?
Thanks in advance for the advice,
Dave
I'm restoring an old black and white tiled victorian pathway (see pictures attached). When I moved in the path was completely covered in 3 inches of concrete and terazzo tiles (horrible 1970's job). I've chipped all this away to reveal the old path, which is in reasonable condition given the circumstances but has a lot of chips and cement residue and some missing/ broken tiles. I've sourced a load of replacement tiles so I'm good for spares.
My question is about cleaning and finishing. I've used HG tile cleaner, and tried HG cement cleaner (product 11 in their range). This is more acidic and has cleaned the tiles v well but left the black ones looking bleached and lighter than they should. I'd like to darken them back to the dark grey colour, so any tips on doing this would be much appreciated.
I'm also interested in how people finish tiles, and have noticed that some seem to use sealant to create a sheen. Other stuff I've read has suggested wax or oil. Would this work for an external path like this? (I've also got a tiled hallway so thinking ahead about how to tackle this - its in much better condition but needs brightening up).
For the cracks I've experimented with milliput epoxy putty, but getting a colour match is tricky. the superfine white is a bit too white - how do people go about fixing cracks and chips?
Thanks in advance for the advice,
Dave