Slate confusion

[dbmaki]

Having spent a couple of hours reading various threads, I'm now thoroughly confused! I've laid some natural slate tiles in my bathroom. They are black/dark grey, brazilian slate and slightly riven. I did not seal them before grouting. Many people on the forum seem to think this is a big no-no, but others disagree. My first question is what is wrong with this? Is the main problem keeping the tiles clean and preventing the slate absorbing any grout? Given that I've spent a lot of time cleaning the tiles and they have come up looking pretty good, is there anything else I need to worry about?

My next question is what should I use to seal the tiles? The place I bought the tiles from sold me some HG Impregnator. This product does not seem to have many fans on this site but a couple of people have said that it's okay. Should I use it or invest in something else? My bathroom is only 3m x 1.5m so I wouldn't need too much. I don't want a high gloss finish, so something that looks relatively natural which brings out the best in the slate.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[DHTiling]

The best advice is to seal slate before grouting as this aids in the grout clean up ... you can grout before sealing but as this is a forum based around differing degrees of skill , then sealing first is the option to stop any mishaps.. So if you have grouted first without sealing then you have done well.

As for sealing.. then i am not a lover of HG.. my preferred product would be LTP Mattstone or Lithofin stainstop..

 

[CCTiling]

Seal before and after grouting. I would use Lithofin MN Stainstop and Lithofin Builders Clean to remove the excess grout

 

[nybor62]

as all above

 

[Ian]

I use HG products quite regularly, if you don't want a gloss finish it's probably not the best option as it does dry quite shiny especially if you don't remove any excess impregnator. I've also used LTP mattstone and, all-round, will give you the result you are after.

 

[dbmaki]

Thanks, everyone. I've decided to try using LTP Mattstone.