Patchy Mapei grout... any ideas? - Tile Advice

[richardbell81]

Hi all,

I grouted my bathroom floor tiles last night with Mapei Ultracolor plus (112 medium grey) but it's drying with dark patches everywhere. I've read plenty of posts with people saying the grout has dried with lighter patches which is why I was so careful mixing it and applying it exactly as it said on the bag! I got that specific colour as it was so close to my tiles and I wanted the tile and grout to be as seamless as possible... but this just makes the whole job look bloody awful!

I'm still clinging on to the hope that it will fully dry out by tomorrow but I know deep down this is going to need sorting.

Has this happened to anyone else and if so, is there any way to sort it without having to rake up the whole lot??! I've attached some pictures so you can see what I mean. The patches of lighter grey are what it should look like!

Any help much appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[White Room]

I'd give it a couple of days and see what happens then...

 

[richardbell81]

Oh... The tiles are porcelain and I fixed to them to No more ply with keraflex maxi. I left the adhesive to set for 3 days to make sure it was fully dry. I also made sure all of the channels were fully dry and clear of any adhesive before I grouted.

 

[richardbell81]

I'd give it a couple of days and see what happens then...

finger crossed, I can only hope your right! just odd that it seems to have dried fine in some patches.

 

[bugs183]

Give it a couple of days, i'd be suprised if Mapei grout is blotchy as is is such good stuff.
Had lots of trouble with Bal superflex grey, i refuse to use it now, and Bal have been pretty quiet about any solutions.

 

[White Room]

I now use a second bucket of clean water, one to wash the sponge after wiping down and then the second for rinsing in clean water ready to wipe down again...

 

[Ian]

I have had similar problems in the past with this grout (Jasmine) and have read a few similar posts reporting the same problem. I had to recolour the grout to solve the issue. I will never use this grout again as I really don't rate it, it's far too sensitive and not user friendly (this is my own opinion).

 

[richardbell81]

I now use a second bucket of clean water, one to wash the sponge after wiping down and then the second for rinsing in clean water ready to wipe down again...

I did exactly that... 2 buckets... one to clean and one to rinse! I wiped over after about 20-25 mins like it says on the back of the bag!

 

[richardbell81]

I have had similar problems in the past with this grout (Jasmine) and have read a few similar posts reporting the same problem. I had to recolour the grout to solve the issue. I will never use this grout again as I really don't rate it, it's far too sensitive and not user friendly (this is my own opinion).

Im guessing you have to re-colour darker, what did you use out of interest? So annoying as I went out of my way to get this exact colour!!

 

[Ian]

Im guessing you have to re-colour darker, what did you use out of interest? So annoying as I went out of my way to get this exact colour!!

You can recolour darker or lighter. I'll go and get a link for the product, back in a mo.

 

[richardbell81]

Thanks very much for the link! Hopefully it won't come to that but good to know I've got that option if I need it!

 

[White Room]

I have had similar problems in the past with this grout (Jasmine) and have read a few similar posts reporting the same problem. I had to recolour the grout to solve the issue. I will never use this grout again as I really don't rate it, it's far too sensitive and not user friendly (this is my own opinion).

What grout do you use now Bri..

 

[Ian]

What grout do you use now Bri..

BAL Micromax, super flex and microflex, basically BAL. I have always used BAL and on the few occasions I've used ultra colour I've had issues, either setting too quickly, drying patchy etc, I also don't like the fact that it needs to be mixed a whole 5kg bag to exactly 1 litre of water, to me that suggests that it's too sensitive. I've read too many posts on here with it going wrong from DIY and pro's. I know a lot of folks on here love it so it must be a decent product, but not for me.

 

[bugs183]

Just shows how each individual differs when it comes to products. I was always a Bal user, but find i'm less impressed with them after using Mapei! Especially anything with microban.
Did you use a washboy or a sponge to clean the tiles, i'm just wondering if there is process that is stripping the dyes out of the grout regardless of the manufacturer. I've racked my brains, but have no real answer to this problem that seems to happen every now and again to everyone regardless of the make of grout.

 

[richardbell81]

Just shows how each individual differs when it comes to products. I was always a Bal user, but find i'm less impressed with them after using Mapei! Especially anything with microban.
Did you use a washboy or a sponge to clean the tiles, i'm just wondering if there is process that is stripping the dyes out of the grout regardless of the manufacturer. I've racked my brains, but have no real answer to this problem that seems to happen every now and again to everyone regardless of the make of grout.

I did use a sponge to clean the tiles but it's the fact that its drying darker in patches, not lighter... I.e it cant be that it's removing pigment. If that makes sense.