Restoring outside red doorstep tiles - why doesn't anything work?

[lizziesdad]

We bought our 1930's built house 32 years ago and have struggled ever since to restore the tiles on the outside porch ( open to the elements). They are, we think, red quarry tiles. They looked dull and dirty and initially we scrubbed and polished with Cardinal Red Tile Polish but they never looked very good as they hadn't got a uniform colour appearance. Some look red and others were much paler. The polishing was also labour intensive. Over the years we have scrubbed them to clean off the old polish, cleaned them with meths, applied tile paint, removed the paint ( what was left of it) with paint stripper, scrubbed them with all kinds of cleaning agents, applied Tableau Red Tile Liquid Shine - all to no avail! Everything lifts off after a few months. Some of the tiles also develop a sort of white, powdery residue. Please can you help? We don't mind having painted tiles, just why won't anything stick? Our doorstep looks rubbish.

 

[DHTiling]

Any pics. ,???

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Whereabouts are you ??

I've re-tiled quite a few doorsteps with red quarry tiles.
(if re-tiling is an option)

 

[MARBLE_TONY]

Give it a good strip again and then a good clean with a high alkaline cleaner then allow to fully dry out. Now the white powdery stuff is most likely going to be efflorence this will have to be treated then you will be better off sealing it with a premium enhancing impregnating sealer this will last depending on which one you chose

 

[lizziesdad]

Give it a good strip again and then a good clean with a high alkaline cleaner then allow to fully dry out. Now the white powdery stuff is most likely going to be efflorence this will have to be treated then you will be better off sealing it with a premium enhancing impregnating sealer this will last depending on which one you chose

Thanks, Tony. Could you recommend a high alkaline cleaner and also a sealer? We don't mind the hard work but want to use the correct stuff. We live in Enfield, N London.

 

[Ajax123]

Letting them dry fully is likely the key here. A 1930s door step is unlikey to have any DPM underneath it. The quarry's need to be able to breath so it is not surprising tha all the "sealants" you have out down lift. It is equally not surprising that you get a white powdery residue which is likely efflorescence being allowed to develop because you are lowing moisture to build up in the system by sealing it. I think an impregnating sealer will be unsuitable for this application. Anyway old fashioned quarry tiled should not be sealed in my opinion as they are built into a system designed to breath.

To deal with this permanently it is either a case of cleaning them up in the old fashioned way I.e. on hands and knees with a soap stone and scrubber or take them up and replace them with a more modern installation which deals with the lack of a DPM.

 

[MARBLE_TONY]

I would prefer not to advise anything if you don't mind as we are also retailers of restoration products. So would prefer if some of the others chipped in for product recommendations as my view may come across biased also would be unfair on the companies who sponser the forum.

 

[originalfeature]

Sounds to me as though the tiles had been regularly waxed by a previous owner and that is preventing adhesion in places. You will really need to strip back all the polish and intensively clean the tiles with a strong alkali cleaner (e.g. HG Remover or Lithofin Tile Restorer) and start again. The trouble is that the Cardinal and Tableau finishes might be difficult to remove where they are adhering properly.


The tiles are around 80 years old now so, as they are subject to the weather, they will be past their best. If the area is not large, the best solution would be to remove and replace the tiles. Then your maintenance would be limited to regular washing.

 

[Tile life]

Hi, you are best off stripping them right back to what they actually are. As mentioned above the first step is a high alkaline detergent. I like a product called Fila PS87. Then you will need to apply an acidic cleaner to penetrate deeper in to the tiles and also clean the stuff that the other cleaner cant. These two types of cleaners neutralise each other so keep the stages separate and rinse properly. I personally like Fila Deterdeck as its a phosphoric acid and safer than the usual brick acid.

Leave it a day and if there are white patches from rising salts then repeat the acid stage.

Once all thoroughly dry a proper colour enhancer that penetrates the tile is the only way you will get those quarries looking good for more than a couple of months, topical seals just dont work!

The best one I know of is Fila stain stop colour enhancer. Its got me out of many a pickle, but impossible to remove if you dont like it so be sure to test one tile first.

 

[Chuck gesler]

Whereabouts are you ??

I've re-tiled quite a few doorsteps with red quarry tiles.
(if re-tiling is an option)