Mapei Grout

[Andy Allen]

got a floor to do and im going to be using mapei black grout..114, I normally use bal grout but the black bal grout is rubbish and tends to turn a dark grey rather than black..

any do's and don'ts when using this grout..? with bal grout I would grout the floor then after about 20/30 mins give it a wipe down then after about an hour give it a final wipe over with a damp sponge.....

last time I used mapei I found it went off really quickly, so how long do you leave it before washing off and do you only give it the one wash over getting it as clean as poss the first time, if that's poss with black grout..

 

[John Benton]

The Mapei black grout is black and stays black, but you will, as you say, just have to make sure you don't use too much water. I limited myself to about 6m at a time on an 18m floor. Would rather take time to do it that way and concentrate on a smaller area and your not chasing about then trying to wipe down when it's set too hard. I left it about 15 mins on a 3mm joint.

 

[Andy Allen]

how many wipes would you give it john just the one..? or would you give it a final wipe over ...if so how long would you leave it between wipes...thanks.

 

[John Benton]

I just did one wipe and then left it all till next day. I then did one wipe and followed that immediately as I was going, with a big bath towel so as not leave any residue to spread around.

What I will say is though Andy, the tile was fairly smooth and I was able to angle the grout float, almost 90 degrees, to leave very little on the tile. This may not always be the case though

 

[kaharrison9]

On floors I have never had much of an issue with ultracolour.

Generally follow as the instructions say, take your time, have all buckets, water, floats, etc, ready.

I do approx. 12m2-15m2 first, wash down, clean grout bucket+ wash boy, re-mix, apply another 12m2-15m2,back for final wash down of the first section then onto first wash down of the second mix and repeat.

I find this way keeps things quite fluent.

Obviously the 12m2-15m2 may alter depending on grout/tile size.

If it is drying to quickly then don't mix as much next time.

Kevin

 

[Andy Allen]

I tend to point the joints in with the float rather than spread it all over especially with black grout, l less of that crap to wipe off the better..... thanks for the advice...

 

[kaharrison9]

One thing to bear in mind is the temperature in the room which can determine how quick ultra colour sets

 

[Andy Allen]

On floors I have never had much of an issue with ultracolour.

Generally follow as the instructions say, take your time, have all buckets, water, floats, etc, ready.

I do approx. 12m2-15m2 first, wash down, clean grout bucket+ wash boy, re-mix, apply another 12m2-15m2,back for final wash down of the first section then onto first wash down of the second mix and repeat.

I find this way keeps things quite fluent.

Obviously the 12m2-15m2 may alter depending on grout/tile size.

If it is drying to quickly then don't mix as much next time.

Kevin

when you do the second and final wash down do you leave it long enough for the grout to go hard......last time I used the mapei the second wipe down was a nightmare think I might of left to much on the tile and left it to long, had to scrub so hard ended up washing it out the joints, that's why I have tended to stick to bal grouts, I find them a bit more forgiving and you can leave them a bit longer without any issues..

 

[kaharrison9]

I tend to make a judgement on how quick the grout is drying on the tile face after the first wash down.

Keep checking if it is coming off the face and continue with the second grouting.

Usually I manage get the 2nd grouting done if not stop grouting and give the first lot the final wash down as yes it is a real pain once it starts leaving grout scum on the tile face.

If you find you have not had time to get the 2nd grout in it tells you not to mix as much next time and do say 8-10m2 next.

Beware of the new Bal micromax2 that is an awkward one