My husband is putting a saltillo tile floor in one of our apartments. He is a licensed carpenter but doesn’t have much experience with tile laying. He read the article in the 2005 Homebuilding issue about tiles and sealed the tiles once before grouting as recommended in the article and on the sealer bucket. He just called me and told me that the dark red/brown grout leaves dirty marks on the tiles although he is wiping them immediately after applying the grout. He’s not near any DSL so I am the go-between. Does he need to put more sealer down? Can anybody help with a suggestion?
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It might be too late for those that have been grouited. But for the areas where he has not grouted yet, a second or third coat of sealer would be a good idea. Try not to get too much sealer on the edges of the tile.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
He started the grouting in the closet, so there is no problem with putting one or more coats of sealer on before continuing. You pretty much confirmed what we thought was the problem. Thanks
He is a licensed carpenter....
do they have those? not be'n a smart A ... just never heard of it
p
Use a grout bag or put more sealer on.
I have layed saltillo twice in my house. Once in in a small bath and hallway. I used water based sealer and was not happy with the results. The second time was a dinining room and I used a tung oil based sealer much more shine and much more of what I was looking for in a finish. That being said I put three coats on before I grouted and didn't have a problem with staining. The finish is wearing though and I keep telling my wife we need too empty the room and re-coat. I know nothing about saltillo except what little I've learned from working with it. Good Luck!
seal well, wipe off quickly, then wipe off again with clean water, then wipe off again with clean water, then after the grout is firm, wipe off again with clean water with vinegar added, 10-25% of the water. Then wipe off again with clean water.
At least that's what I always find myself doing. It comes out looking nice, so I'll probably keep doing it.
zak
"so it goes"
I always put on at least two coats of sealer before grouting.
"Citius, Altius, Fortius"
I used this product for some slate we installed last year
http://www.aldonchem.com/order-us107-grout-easy.htm
It worked as advertised and made the grout cleanup job much easier. Unlike a sealer, it washes off and doesn't affect the look of the surface. Satillo might need two coats, so test it on a small piece before you do anything bigger.