Sealing Terracotta.

[Billy Hunt]

Hi Fellas,Any one recommend a sealer for terracotta floor job ,got about 20m2 or so,have heard you need to give it 4 coats but I would have thought now days there must be something on the market that could suffice with two coats.

Would it be less hassle to seal before laying as opposed to before grouting?
Don't want any wet cutter splashes marking the tiles.
guys.

 

[marbleman]

Hi Billy.
iam old school when it comes to terracotta , i would seal with boiled linseed oil before tiles go down , 1st coat i use boiled linseed oil and white spirits 75% and 25% if dries to quickly re-apply , normal i would leave over night so it can dry properly , make sure you seal floor area with a good primer , use rapid set addy which helps in not staining terracotta , work as clean as possible making sure you clean off any access you drop on surface with clean water
Once you have laid floor seal again with boiled linseed oil 50% and 50% white spirits leave for 10-20 minutes and wipe off with white spirits to remove access linseed oil , only grout small areas when doing terracotta as it will dry quickly even though you have seal tiles , remove access with clean water . once you have grouted leave to dry for 1-2 hours then wipe tiles off with clean dry cloth , leave to dry over night , then i use 75%white spirits and 25% white spirits for final clean , allow to dry ,
Then i use a good beeze wax for top coat , i would hire a small polisher for polishing wax in , follow instructions on tin as they all differ in drying time , once it starts to turn use polishing machine to bluff to high finish , and beleive you me you will be happy with finish

Juts to say there are other ways of doing terracotta by using modern sealers , but to me the will never match the finish of boiled linseed oil and a wax finish , but i will leave that to others to give you that information

 

[Del W]

Before doing anything make sure the tiles are dusted off.Ive used linseed oil with no problems.You can use the LTP products as some have recommended in other posts.(type terracotta in the top right corner search box) Whatever method you use,seal before fixing,seal after fixing,seal after grouting.Work as clean as you can because it stains so easily.Bear in mind youll use more adhesive because some of the tiles will be dished underneath.

 

[Sue Foulkes]

What is a good soap to use on old old terracotta that has not been sealed yet?