Black Galaxy tiles have gone patchy after sealing

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Discuss Black Galaxy tiles have gone patchy after sealing in the UK Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.

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shirleyali1

This problem has been going on for months now and is driving us crazy. We had a conservatory floor laid with black galaxy tiles. The tiler did an excellent job in laying the tiles. He grouted them the same day and cleaned them off to a degree. Several days later another man turned up to seal the tiles. It was a red hot day and he sealed the tiles in about 20 minutes. We asked if it needed cleaning off before it was sealed,he said no it was ok. We were told to leave the sealer till the next day and then wash the floor. The floor looked awful with loads of patches, some running in places through several tiles and it looks mottled now, nothing like the tile we chose.
We complained to the company who were very aggressive, but eventually said they would return and seal the floor again, when it was cooler. This they did 3 days ago, telling us to leave the floor till the next day again and then clean it. It looks worse.
Please can anybody suggest what to do. We paid a fortune for the job.:mad2:
 
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Spud

unless you know what sealer they used this is difficult question to answer some sealers are whats known as impregnators which go into the pores of the stone others sit on the surface floor tiles that need sealing should be clean and dry before sealing most good tilers give the tiles one coat of sealer before laying one coat after laying and a third after grouting but it all depends on the type of tile type of sealer etc
 
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DHTiling

shirleyali1 said:
Thanks Dave, but we don't know which sealer he used, it was just in a plain plastic bottle. Do you think that the floor not being cleaned before it was a sealed, caused the problem, plus could we have the sealer removed?
Many thanks
Click to expand...


Yes!! shirley if the tiles were not clean then the sealer will lock the dirt in....and could have caused the patchy drying.....

Is it possible to find out the type of sealer used..?

This could be a case of the wrong sealer used as well.....but we would just be guessing till we know what we are dealing with.....
 
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wetdec

As I would see this there are 3 possible issues :

It is unusual for granite to be sealed 3 times as over 80% of granite needs no sealing because the absorbtion of granite is very low in deed. Keepin this in mind it could be that maybe too much sealer has been left on the surface and dried there giving a shading effect.

Granite as you know is natural and it is not uncommon for differing areas of a slab(that the tiles are cut from) to be denser than others. If this is the case then possibly you have areas of tiles which have and areas of tiles which havnt absorbed sealer so giving shading.

If the granite was laid and grouted relatively quickly the adhesive below could b still be disspersing moisture in some areas. This moisture can effect the tile in that you would get a shading effect untill it dries fully. If this is the case then the sealer is not helping.

Every natural install is different and with granite being sourced just about everywhere quality varies and so its near impossible to pinpoint exact problems. As the guys have said if a start can be made with the type of sealer then it would be easier to advise.


tiler
 
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wetdec

Hi

If its Glenstone then it will prob be from Glenstone granite in Ireland who I would then assume is supplying them the granite.

I would sugest that you give these guys a call and explain gently the situation and see what they have to say ?

CompanyGlenstone Granite Ltd.

AddressUnit 17, Centrepoint Business Pk
Dundalk
Co. Louth
Carrickarnon
Ireland
Telephone+353 (0) 42 938 0450Mobile+353 (0) 87 679 3456Fax+353 (0) 42 938 0451

tiler
 
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shirleyali1

Could not get through to Glenstone, Ireland, wrong number on website I think, but have spoken to a company who mend mistakes etc and he said that the polished black galaxy should not be sealed and that it will cost approx £460 to take off the sealer and repolish. He has advised me to instruct a solicitor to claim the money from the Tile company. Could anybody please confirm that this is my best plan of action.
 
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TilingLogistics

shirleyali1 said:
Could not get through to Glenstone, Ireland, wrong number on website I think, but have spoken to a company who mend mistakes etc and he said that the polished black galaxy should not be sealed and that it will cost approx £460 to take off the sealer and repolish. He has advised me to instruct a solicitor to claim the money from the Tile company. Could anybody please confirm that this is my best plan of action.
Click to expand...

Thats interesting. I have sealed polished black galaxy successfully I might add. It will take sealer. What interests me is unless it was a topical sealer (i.e. a sealer that stays on the surface) how are they going to remove it? Unless they mean they are going to try and strip what sealer is left on the surface which if it was correctly applied should be virtually nothing! Furthermore they are a brave company to quote over the phone without seeing the job and doing a test area IMO:huh2:

Kev
 
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grumpygrouter

TilingLogistics said:
Thats interesting. I have sealed polished black galaxy successfully I might add. It will take sealer. What interests me is unless it was a topical sealer (i.e. a sealer that stays on the surface) how are they going to remove it? Unless they mean they are going to try and strip what sealer is left on the surface which if it was correctly applied should be virtually nothing! Furthermore they are a brave company to quote over the phone without seeing the job and doing a test area IMO:huh2:

Kev
Click to expand...
I too have successfully sealed black galaxy, used Lithofin Stainstop MN.
 
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shirleyali1

Hi to all
Hope some of you remember me, just to say we are still having a problem with the black galaxy tiles laid in the conservatory.
They were laid and sealed in one day. A few days later another guy came and sealed the tiles on a red hot day. He sealed about 18 sq metres in less than 20 mins. told us to shut the door and leave them till the next day and then wipe off the surplus.
He also asked for the payment in full, which we stupidly did without cleaning off the sealer.
Anyway after cleaning the floor the tiles were all streaky. We phoned up, and he reluctantly came up to look at them a week later, on another hot day and sealed them again. Telling us again not to walk on the floor till the next day and then clean the floor.
Floor even worse.
Man was very abusive, said he wouldn't do anything else.
So we got another firm in who were recommended to us. They said the sealer should not have been applied in hot temperatures and had baked on the granite tiles. They recommended stripping back the tiles to remove the excess sealer.
When they did this a lot of black mess came out, and now the tiles are a lot lighter. It seems the tiles were probably dyed.
Could somebody tell me what the best course of action is now. The tiles are a complete disaster. Can you dye them back? the stains are still there as well and run through severall tiles.
Just wished we had not paid up so quick, learned a hard lesson.
 
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