Does Sealing The Back Of Stone Impair Adhesion?

[Sean SML Tiling]

Great thread neale. Haven't laid much stone in my short tiling career amd threads like this makes you think before just fixing any old tile :thumbup:

 

[High Peak Tiling]

What are your opinions regarding sealing stone by sealing the full tile, front, back and sides before fixing. Do you think it would impair the adhesive bond ?

I always seal tiles before grouting on edges and top.
Bottom of tiles have full buttered surface in adhesive.

I don't seal the back edge because it's completely buttered. If it was sealed the addy wouldn't completely grab the tile due to using porosity to mechanically bond the two together.

Look at it from a different angle,
I prime all substrates so it helps adhere and regulates the porosity and dusting.
If I was to use something which impregnated the substrate for the use of stopping staining and absorption then the adhesive wouldn't properly adhere to the substrate..?

 

[High Peak Tiling]

Seems though that the main question hasgone unanswered...."Will it impair adhesion"

^^^^^^

 

[Gazzer]

I always seal tiles before grouting on edges and top.
Bottom of tiles have full buttered surface in adhesive.

I don't seal the back edge because it's completely buttered. If it was sealed the addy wouldn't completely grab the tile due to using porosity to mechanically bond the two together.

Look at it from a different angle,
I prime all substrates so it helps adhere and regulates the porosity and dusting.
If I was to use something which impregnated the substrate for the use of stopping staining and absorption then the adhesive wouldn't properly adhere to the substrate..?

Thank you , that was the response I was hoping for.

 

[Peter]

The only stone I have sealed the back of is basalt. Don't see a problem with sealing the back of stone, depending on the type of sealer. Eg. Fila PW10 is specificially for sealing the reverse of stone.

 

[Gazzer]

The only stone I have sealed the back of is basalt. Don't see a problem with sealing the back of stone, depending on the type of sealer. Eg. Fila PW10 is specificially for sealing the reverse of stone.

A good point as regards type of sealer.

 

[TJ Smiler]

It's not something i would do but i can't really see why it would affect the adhesive sticking, if you think about it we seal the face and the edges before we grout with a cement based grout. I would have thought that if a sealer was going to impair the bond strength of cement based adhesive then it would also impair the bond strength of cement based grout too, i know adhesive is a different product to grout but on the basis they are still quiet similar so i can't really see why it would cause a problem.

 

[beanz]

I voted that it would impair adhesion, but now that I think about it, porcelain is non porous, and that adheres just fine...

 

[A&D Tilers]

I have never sealed the backs, I lay a lot of stone and just use rapid adhesive white on translucent tiles grey on others and stain stop the tops and edges as I go along not good idea if your messy.

 

[trustiling]

Never really seal the backs myself just faces and edges.
The advantage of sealing the backs though would seem not only for some types of older less advanced adhesive burning through but also for wet cutting to make the water bead on the tile and not soak through again having to dry out for an eternity, as laying the tiles with them sealed on the top and not on the bottom would trap moisture surely if they weren't 100% dry?
So swaying off topic a little, how do all you guys dry your cuts especially at this time of the year and on sites with little to no heat?

 

[Jelthetiler]

I specialise in stone and in all the years I've been doing it, have never sealed the back. Just seal once or twice a year for the paranoid!
The only thing I will say is that repeated sealing will more often than not make the tile shade slightly darker, especially if like me you are generous in the application.

 

[Jelthetiler]

Chamois leather, £5.