Sealer for slate

[rj1884]

Good evening all. I'm due to start a slate floor soon. The customer wants to keep the look/texture as natural as possible. I know that there are sealers/impregnators which can change the look to a shiny/glossy finish. What would you guys recommend as a sealer to keep the look as natural as possible. The tiles are black slate.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Rookery]

I'd use Lithofin Stainstop or LTP equivalent

 

[rj1884]

Thanks rookery for your reply. What's the best way to apply the sealer. I normally roll on when fixing natural stone etc.

 

[Rookery]

Me too. 4" sponge roller, several thin coats is best. Keep the windows open and wear your PPE.

 

[rj1884]

My plan is to seal a couple of times depending on how the sealer soaks in then if I can leave to dry overnight. Is there a major issue if there is a lack of room for the tiles to be left out.

 

[Qwerty]

If you want as natural look as possible then I would recommend LTP mattstone H2O

 

[jonnyc]

depends on what slate you are fixing.
can you give us more info.
for the brazilain stuff i know that mn stain stop is sufficient but there are many others from india/china/s.africa/etcc that may need more heavy duty seal dependent on texture porosity and finish.
ltp mattstone in my opinion is far less superior to stainstop hence the cheaper price.

 

[rj1884]

Thanks for all your replies. The tiles are fired earth Spanish black slate going down onto floorboards that will be over boarded.

 

[Rich Midge]

I really rate DryTreat, only requires 2 coats and if maintained properly is guaranteed stainfree for 15 years! If the choice is Ltp or Lithofin, I'd go with the latter. I've always gone with a saturation method. 2 coats with a roller to provide enough protection to grout. Then once the grout has fully cured and the floor is spotlessly clean and dry, I flood the floor with stainstop. Leaving it constantly under about 2mm of product for about 2 hours ensures the tiles and grout become saturated. They can't absorb anymore impregnator so are sealed as well as can be.

 

[Rookery]

What do you do with the stainstop that hasn't been absorbed? Surely it'll dry on the surface.

 

[Rich Midge]

Anything not absorbed I simply wipe up then go over the floor with microfibre cloths. Trick is to keep the floor wet, keep applying the stainstop until no more can be absorbed, usually a couple of hours. It costs more this way but I always price an extra day labour at least just for sealing. DryTreat is different, 2 coats on any surface is apparently enough.

 

[White Room]

Dry Treat, is that the one that says after opening it must used in 8 days ???

 

[Rich Midge]

Will look on a bottle in the morning.

 

[rj1884]

Hi all. The tiles are being delivered tomorrow on a palett and dumped in the front garden which I thought was nice of them. My plan is to get them inside straightaway. When would you guys then separate them into there thickness group, would you do it straight away or what until they acclimatise to the indoors. The shop has sent through some builders clean to clean the tiles down with. Have you guys used this before or is it a case of sponge and water to clean the storage dirt from them. Many thanks.

 

[Qwerty]

I grade them ASAP and get them inside. I just use a sponge and bucket of water to clean them down

 

[swanman]

Don't use a roller it will foam up
use a paint pad applicator much better for even coats

 

[rj1884]

Cheers for all you replies. The customer wants to go down the lithofin stain stop route. After the floors been fixed and grouted then sealed for the second time do you guys give it a final clean over, if so what do you recommend to use. .