Polished porcelain question

[On one]

Unfortunately my Polished porcelain knowledge is a bit limited,so.........should a so called 'sealed' Polished Porcelain tile be
very smeary,oily,waxy whatever you want to call it surface?
They are even difficult to mark with a pen.

 

[Stef]

That sounds more like transit wax on them.

 

[Andy Allen]

As above sounds like wax where did they come from..

 

[On one]

As above sounds like wax where did they come from..

Not sure at the minute as the customer purchased them(from a tile retailer as opposed to a diy shed). Not a lot of info on the packing either.
So would you say that they would need cleaned and sealed prior to grouting?

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Poss transit wax as Stef, some may remove with the grouting process, some may require a Solvent based alkali to remove and some require a stripping agent, I would test an unlaid tile to determine which you need before you lay!! Just for peace of mind, if you stripp you may need to re seal with suitable impregnator befor/after you have grouted, water test your test tile to determine this.

 

[On one]

Would Lithofin have a suitable product?

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Would Lithofin have a suitable product?

You could Test, lith Intensive cleaner , dilute 1-3 use white pad, if you needed to test the stripper we have wax off

 

[On one]

I will get the customer to check with the tile supplier in the morning,to see if they can shed some light on the transit wax. I dont hold out much hope though.......they previously said to use 6mm ply as an overlay to stiffen the floor up!

 

[On one]

Apparently.............................I don't have to treat these tiles at all! Grout and away you go.

 

[pete f]

I thought all polished porc needs sealing

 

[Stef]

I thought all polished porc needs sealing

Same as, during the polishing process it opens up the surface to microscopic pores & these must be sealed to stop dirt ingress..

 

[Lithofin BOB]

These days A lot will state they are pre sealed / nano sealed- some will still need to be sealed prior to grouting.
ensure you test ,even your pre- sealed tiles for grout release as I have between 3-6 floors a month with grout contaminated surface. it depends on the quality of the tile and most importantly quality of the pre- seal. Test grout release on a spare unlaid tile- if you can't get it off this - it can be to late if you complete your floor. You can always test to top up a pre seal if not sufficient protection from the box.

 

[nybor62]

to be honest . ive never ever sealed porc . done thousands of m2 on commercial side . never had a problem .

touch wood

 

[Sean Kelly]

According to the experts ALL porcs should be sealed. The experts being Kevin and Anthony Martin (Marble Life).

 

[nybor62]

i beg to differ , imo