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TilingLogistics
This post is not designed to teach people but rather enlighten those who are not as clued up on sealers. I thought I would pass on a bit of knowledge I have regarding sealers and some general points regarding applying them.
It is not my intention to promote any particular brand but to talk about them in general.
As most of you know there are two types of sealers: Penetrating and Topical.
Lets cover Penetrating to start and consider some of the hurdles that tilers encounter when they apply them.
Penetrating sealer is exactly what it says it is a sealer that is designed to penetrate the stone etc. It works by being applied to the stone and then being allowed to have a dwell time in order to let it penetrate. In general most penetrating sealers are either water or solvent based and they use the water or solvent as a carrier (Transport) to penetrate into the stone then eventually the water/solvent evaporates and only the sealer is left. Depending on how porous the material is you may require more than one application in some instances on very porous stone I have applied four coats. There are exceptions whereby some penetrating sealers are all sealer and have no carriers they rely on the sealer itself and therefore there is virtually no evaporation these tend to be enhancing sealers.
It is important to remember when applying a penetrating sealer what we want it to do! I wonder how many of you have opened all the doors and windows when applying sealer because they are following the application directions and keeping the room well ventilated. But how many of you have realised that whilst you have a nice through draft for ventilation that the some of the sealer is being blown dry on the surface by that ventilation and not being allowed to do it's job by dwelling and penetrating. So the next time you apply it think about the area you are sealing and try to ventilate another part of the room. The application of all sealers should be roughly the same. It should be applied sparingly and with care. Apply evenly using vertical and horizontal strips and try and treat it as a chargeable part of the job not something you have to do because the customer wants it. Good application of sealer takes time but in the long run you will save yourself a lot of cleanup problems by taking your time.
This is how I do it!
1. Mop the floor using a flat haired mop sprayed with Silicon (This lifts all dust and grit)
2. Apply the sealer in small workable ares (As far as I can reach) using a Good Quality Paint Pad (My Preference) I apply firstly horizontally and then go over the same area vertically this ensures I miss no areas and get no pooling. I pay particular attention to the grout lines.
3. Once the sealer has had the reccommended dwell time or disappears I wipe any excess with paper towels and then I buff with an old terry towel.
4. Repeat if necessary if the stone requires further applications.
5. I tend to let each application cure for at least 24 hours.
6. Finally I buff the whole floor (I use a rotary machine fitted with a white pad and an old towel underneath it)
7. Finally I buff the floor again with the flat mop.
I hope this information helps some people and gives you food for thought next time you seal.
Next time I will cover Topical sealers.
Kev
It is not my intention to promote any particular brand but to talk about them in general.
As most of you know there are two types of sealers: Penetrating and Topical.
Lets cover Penetrating to start and consider some of the hurdles that tilers encounter when they apply them.
Penetrating sealer is exactly what it says it is a sealer that is designed to penetrate the stone etc. It works by being applied to the stone and then being allowed to have a dwell time in order to let it penetrate. In general most penetrating sealers are either water or solvent based and they use the water or solvent as a carrier (Transport) to penetrate into the stone then eventually the water/solvent evaporates and only the sealer is left. Depending on how porous the material is you may require more than one application in some instances on very porous stone I have applied four coats. There are exceptions whereby some penetrating sealers are all sealer and have no carriers they rely on the sealer itself and therefore there is virtually no evaporation these tend to be enhancing sealers.
It is important to remember when applying a penetrating sealer what we want it to do! I wonder how many of you have opened all the doors and windows when applying sealer because they are following the application directions and keeping the room well ventilated. But how many of you have realised that whilst you have a nice through draft for ventilation that the some of the sealer is being blown dry on the surface by that ventilation and not being allowed to do it's job by dwelling and penetrating. So the next time you apply it think about the area you are sealing and try to ventilate another part of the room. The application of all sealers should be roughly the same. It should be applied sparingly and with care. Apply evenly using vertical and horizontal strips and try and treat it as a chargeable part of the job not something you have to do because the customer wants it. Good application of sealer takes time but in the long run you will save yourself a lot of cleanup problems by taking your time.
This is how I do it!
1. Mop the floor using a flat haired mop sprayed with Silicon (This lifts all dust and grit)
2. Apply the sealer in small workable ares (As far as I can reach) using a Good Quality Paint Pad (My Preference) I apply firstly horizontally and then go over the same area vertically this ensures I miss no areas and get no pooling. I pay particular attention to the grout lines.
3. Once the sealer has had the reccommended dwell time or disappears I wipe any excess with paper towels and then I buff with an old terry towel.
4. Repeat if necessary if the stone requires further applications.
5. I tend to let each application cure for at least 24 hours.
6. Finally I buff the whole floor (I use a rotary machine fitted with a white pad and an old towel underneath it)
7. Finally I buff the floor again with the flat mop.
I hope this information helps some people and gives you food for thought next time you seal.
Next time I will cover Topical sealers.
Kev
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