Enhancing Slate

[QED]

Hi Guys,

I'm just finishing off some natural multi-coloured slate floor tiles (300x600).

They've been cleaned, sealed, and are currently being grouted using an Anthracite coloured grout.

I've cleaned the tiles well, it could be my imagination, but the glorious colours and striation which the tiles had prior to grouting seems to have been lost.

I had a good tiler friend a while ago, I was doing some labouring for him at the time, we were working on a black slate floor. I seem to remember him saying at the time that you can get a type of oil or some conditioner substance which can give slate a nice lustrous sheen.

(there's a part of me that wonders how this works with the sealant, as surely any liquid would just bobble on the top of the tile?)

Does anyone know of such a product, can anyone recommend trade names?

Cheers

 

[Muse2k8]

If you wanted the bright colours a colour enhancing sealer would have worked wonders. However it does sound like the slate might have a grout haze on it. Have you tried giving it a good clean?

 

[Rich]

Have you cleaned it down with Grimex? This should clean any oils and dirt off of the slate before sealing, these will make the slate look dull. Which sealer did you use?

 

[DHTiling]

Hi stranger..

If you wet the tile , does the colour come back..?

 

[QED]

Hi stranger..

If you wet the tile , does the colour come back..?

No it doesn't, wouldn't that only happen if it wasn't sealed though?

Have you cleaned it down with Grimex? This should clean any oils and dirt off of the slate before sealing, these will make the slate look dull. Which sealer did you use?

I've cleaned it down with LTP before sealing, and after grouting. I can't remember which sealer it was, but I'm not sure it's relevant (if it is do let me know) because the lustrous sheen I'm wanting to recreate is the one after I sealed, so I don't think the sealer has compromised the look, if anything it's enhanced it.

If you wanted the bright colours a colour enhancing sealer would have worked wonders. However it does sound like the slate might have a grout haze on it. Have you tried giving it a good clean?

As mention above it's had a dam good clean with LTP, if you lick your finger and run it over the tile there's no dust or patina left


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Thanks for the responses so far, but getting back to my question - has anyone heard of a product such as an oil or conditioning agent which can be applied to slate?


Thanks again

 

[Tony73]

Hi, there is stain stop for marble, lime stone, granit which you don't use on slate. And there is slate seal or slate oil only for slate

 

[DHTiling]

Ahh.. i missed the sealed bit

Sooo... if sealed then nothing will enhance unless you remove the sealer..


And yes LTP do a stone oil..

 

[Tony73]

I usualy use fine wire wool to clean slate and dry cloth, before sealing slate tiles

 

[Tony73]

yeh, to remove sealer, would recomend to use lithofin sealer remover

 

[QED]

Hi, there is stain stop for marble, lime stone, granit which you don't use on slate. And there is slate seal or slate oil only for slate

Ahh that's interesting - having a quick Google there seems to be a lot of products which appear to be oils which seal - presumably as I've already sealed this won't be much good to me or will it?

Are these oils the type of product which you can use on top of a seal?

 

[DHTiling]

No you cannot... hence why you use sealer to help with oil type spillages..