Discuss problems sealing slate!!!!! in the UK Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.

R

ruairi mac

Hi everyone, i need some help asap!!

I just finished tiling a slate floor yesterday, customer was very happy, I got paid and went home.

Customer rang this morning to see if I could call to take a look at the floor as he was concerned about the finish, basically I applied the last coat of sealer yesterday with a small soft paintbrush and the sealer has dried with the brush strokes in it!!

The tiles themselves are a black slate tile 900x600, 600x600 and 600x400 in a modular pattern.

Tiles were set with minimal lippage and customer actually commented on this as his daughter has the same tiles but were laid by someone else.

Tiles were washed 3 or 4 times with clean water and after the customer managed to spill a full cup of tea on the un-sealed floor, they even got a wash with Lithofin Power Clean.

The tiles were left to dry and next day I applied a coat of Larsen Colour Enhancer. Some tiles obviously soaked this up more than others but after a second coat of Larsen Colour Enhancer the floor looked great. ( both coats were just rubbed on with a clean cloth )

To seal the floor before grouting I used Larsen Tile, Slate and Floor sealer. Its a milky white liquid. I started to apply it with a roller but found that it was ponding/puddling so i then tried the paintbrush. At this time i was concerned about the brushstrokes so i rang my local supplier and Larsen as well, both told me that the products were definitely compatible and could be applied with a roller or soft brush when i explained about the ponding/brushstrokes i was told that it should dry out OK.
I didn't want to take a chance with it so I applied the sealer with the brush and rubbed it up with clean cloths and I was happy with the glossier finish on the tiles compared to the un-sealed tiles.
Before I left that day i took a cutting of the slate that i had tested the Enhancer on and brushed a coat of the sealer on and left it overnight.

The next morning (yesterday) I went back and grouted the floor and washed it twice to make sure there was no grout residue on the tiles. the sample tile I sealed the night before was looking good so i was under the impression if I just brush the sealer on and let it dry it would be fine.

Then I got the phone call this morning!!!

I have never come across this before with any other products, so basically any help or ideas on were I went wrong would be much appreciated.
What is the best way to apply the sealer coat?
From what I've seen today I am going to have to strip the sealer coats back and do it again, what product is best for doing this? and what product is best for sealing a slate floor that has been colour enhanced.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Ruairi Mac.
 
M

Mike Mike

Hi mike. It's definitley not a case of grout/cement residue. The floor was clean and ready for sealer. Any ideas for removing the sealer so I can start again??

Hi Ruairi, sorry, no idea how you'd remove the sealer so you can re-seal. I think you should phone the Technical Dept of the manufacturer and see what they recommend, and maybe email them a photo or two in advance if you have some.

It's a mystery why they looked fine when sealed before grouting, then after grouting there's brush marks visible???

Good luck, hope you get it sorted out, must be frustrating to do a really nice job that the customer is happy with, then get a phone call the next day saying that a problem has developed. :mad2:
 

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