Polished black Granite gone dull

[J.R Tiling]

Hi all

Just been to have a look at a granite floor that was laid about a week ago and some of the tiles have gone dull , asked the coustimer if they had been sealed and he said he was not sure , so i dought they were.

Is there any way of making them look good again

 

[DHTiling]

Need a pic really..

 

[J.R Tiling]

will try and get a pic and post , but is it just a case of cleaning the tiles then applying a sealer ?

 

[DHTiling]

It depends.. will have a look at the pic and take it from there..

 

[J.R Tiling]

cheers Dave ,

I know you cant advise much without a pic but do you think it will be able to be sorted with cleaning/sealing products or will tiles have to be replaced ?

Just want to give them a bit of a heads up really for costs etc.

 

[DHTiling]

If they were ok before hand then they will fix no probs..

 

[steveamare]

There could be lots of reason for them going dull - residue from adhesive, grout or sealer are likely culprits. There are various products to remove grout and adhesive residue e.g. Lithofin Wexa or Fila Deterdek. If it's down to excessive sealer, you'll have to find out which sealer was used before we can work out how to clean it up. Send me details via a PM and I'll try to help.

 

[J.R Tiling]

cheers dave

as far as im aware they were fine when they went down , just seem to have lost there shine within the last week

 

[Aston]

just make sure they are granite and not basalt?

 

[DHTiling]

cheers dave

as far as im aware they were fine when they went down , just seem to have lost there shine within the last week

Also check with customer for any spillages recently and what it was. etc..

If it was excessive sealer it would have been dull from day one..same for grout or adhesive.

So if they were ok one minute and then dull a week later then something has been spilt or some sort of cleaning regime.

 

[J.R Tiling]

yea the are deffo granite , have seen the box they were in , they are black galaxy from topps.

as the costimer is unsure if they were ever sealed i assume this would cause the tiles to apear dull if they were infact not sealed

 

[steveamare]

I wonder if these tiles were "pre-sealed" at the quarry with a topical surface sealer. Star (or Black) Galaxy tiles from India often come with a surface treatment that wears off very quickly and makes them look patchy. Same happens with some of the Galaxy slabs that get used for kitchen worktops.

 

[DHTiling]

Also some black galaxy is not true granite.. it is a resin mixture conglomerate and does not need sealing and this might be the cause as well..

Clutching at straws really here till we see what you see.

 

[J.R Tiling]

yea that may be the problem "pre Sealed" , but what would be the best solution to this ? would it be best to give them a coat of sealer and see if it makes a diferance

many thanks

 

[steveamare]

No, I wouldn't put anything on them until we can work out what's been done already. Like Dave says, a photo might help.

 

[Cerbera450]

Or use a floor polisher with stainless stell wool and some Tikko G20 powder/fluid....See Poshfloors.

 

[enduro]

Or use a floor polisher with stainless stell wool and some Tikko G20 powder/fluid....See Poshfloors.

I don't think you should use a crystallizer unless you know what you are doing.

 

[Cerbera450]

Tikko's G20 power/fluid is very straight forward to use. If you speak to Angelo at Poshfloors i'm sure he could run through it.

 

[Ken Bruty]

Just a thought, but I would ask your customer if they have cleaned it since it was fitted, and find out what they used to clean it to save yourself any problems with anything reacting to the materials you may be using, it may have to be neutralised first.

 

[jay]

yes deffo you need to know what has been used to clean first before you do anything

 

[Richard Edwards]

Sounds like a job for a polisher with stripper running through it, double rinse and dry. Then re-seal
Pics required pls