Should Porcelain be sealed

[DHTiling]

Hi lee....thanks for the photos..

I have seen those tiles before and they are glazed..........it will be grout residue clinging to the rough surface......they are not the easiest tiles to get clean.....

I would recommend 2 options if your are wary of the grout sticking to the surface.

1. Go with gazza's advice and use a protective sealer...

2. Go ahead with the grouting and don't leave the grout too long before washing off.......taking care to make sure you get all the grout off.......then when dry if you have any grout haze use a grout residue remover to shift the rest....

If you are not confident with option 2 then go with the protective sealer....if you get it from CTD it will probably have to be ordered in...

Good luck and let us know how you get on......

 

[TilingLogistics]

I would suggest 2 things!

Firstly the grout is penetrating the tile through the biscuit on the unglazed edges causing picture framing.

Secondly if the grout is indeed staining the glaze then surely the tile will accept sealer?

Kev

 

[GazTech]

Hi All - This is just the forum I was looking for - Hope you can advise....

I am new to this, and layed my first tiles last week. They are Glazed Porcelain Dust Pressed floor tiles (cream in colour)

I began grouting a couple of them with 'cocoa' coloured grout - but as soon as I attempted to clean-off the excess, the tiles were stained brown and I had real problems getting back to 'normal'.

I researched whether I should seal them beforehand, but all advice suggested that Glazed tiles did not require sealing.

Is this true? Is it normal for brown grout to stain?

Any advice on how I should proceed would be fantastic.

Let me know, Lee

The tiles were not stained, it was brown grout in the glazed pitted surface Kev. If they were stained he wouldn't have got them back to normal...Gaz

 

[TilingLogistics]

Thanks for that mate obviously I didn't read the post correctly/fully. I would try Aqua Mix Nano Scrub then to get the staining out

Kev

 

[dlmurray]

That's a good point I suppose - If the grout stains the tiles, would a sealer not penetrate the tile?

Just a curious question really, but what would happen if you did try to seal a glazed tile? Would the sealer never dry?

Thanks for all your help on this guys. I will go with the protective sealer and then wash off.... Will give you the thumbs up when all done!

 

[GazTech]

That's a good point I suppose - If the grout stains the tiles, would a sealer not penetrate the tile?

Just a curious question really, but what would happen if you did try to seal a glazed tile? Would the sealer never dry?

Thanks for all your help on this guys. I will go with the protective sealer and then wash off.... Will give you the thumbs up when all done!

If it's a wax type sealer it would set on top, then eventually wear off. An impregnator sealer would not soak in, so that would wash off.Decent glaze on a tile is like glass, ever tried to stain a window pane ?...lol

 

[J4CK THE RIPPER]

I laid a large floor with porcelain tiles which went fine when I came back to grout up I noticed picture framing on a small area of tiles I could not understand why it was only on this small area until it rained and there was a leak in the roof so this small area was getting wet and soaking up the water around the edges of the tiles. I am now worried that when I grout the tiles will soak up the pigment.
The tiles are glazed porcelain and have a rough surface.

Should they be ok to grout.

Thank you
Jack

 

[dlmurray]

My tiles are not a high quality glaze by any account! Suppose that is what I get for shopping at B&Q....