Well, I was going to measure out the correct quantities of resin and powder to do a small test, but measuring out the correct quantities and mixing a small amount of mixture, and spreading it on the tiles and waiting for it to dry would have taken too long.
So, I mixed up some normal ‘Weber joint pro’ grout that I was using on the bathroom in the same house and spread it over a test area of tiles. No damage to the brushed steel.
I then mixed up the whole 4kg tub of epoxy grout. The only difficult part was working out how to open the tub. The tub contains 2 sections. Section 1 is a tub within the large tub. It contains the resin. Section 2 is the powder. Just mix part 1 with part 2. Simple.
The whole mixture is ready to use immediately. So I spread a little bit on my test tiles. I really rubbed in the mixture and cleaned it off. I have to admit, I was a bit heavy handed and rubbed it into the tiles quite hard. I found that it did create swirls in the brushed steel. ‘Oh no! So I called the customer to say that there could be a slight chance that her tiles could contain swirl marks. However, I was heavy handed and I was sure that the normal grouting procedure would produce a good finish. The normal gout I used was fine and the tiles looked fine.
25 mins later the decision was made to continue. The epoxy grout was now pretty stiff, but smooth. It was hard work grouting with it. As soon as I finished grouting, it was time to start wiping down with a wet sponge and a spray bottle filled with water. The grout clung to the grout lines, but easily came off the surface of the tile. In fact it was much easier to use than normal grout.
I then mixed up my 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] tub and used it straight away. The consistency again was pretty stiff. The same went for tub 3. Working under kitchen cabinets with a stiff grout was pretty tiring.
Several buckets of water later, and the walls looked pretty good. However, my new sponges were no longer useable. They were just too sticky. My normal grout float and trowel were washed every time I started a new bucket of grout. My mixer paddle was again washed in between buckets. All these tools came up fine after a good wash.
The next day I had to wipe the grout residue off the tiles. Yes, honestly. I was able to leave the tiles overnight. The brushed steel tiles looked like they would never clean up, and it took me about 90 mins to clean about 6sqm. They came up lovely.
The Ardex EG8 was a pleasure to use. I was very apprehensive at first, but it is easier to use than normal grout.
