Sealing Polished Porcelain Tiles

[aussiesil]

hi, in oz it is all the trend to tile your kitchen splashback with large porcelain tiles. It looks beautiful as there are'nt many grout lines. Im finding though the buildup of grime you get from cooking, which i clean straight away, leaves smear marks and starting to see a dulling affect. You can see where i've wiped in the daylight and its really annoying. So it sounds like from what i have read on this topic that i will need to seal them too prevent it from getting worse. Any advise please.
silvana

 

[jay]

hi you can test with a normal kids coloring texta (water based) mark it leave it 1 minute wipe it off comes off fine no sealer .doesnt come off seal (look carfully):8:

 

[emc:tiles]

Hi guys. I would normally suggest sealing a Polished Porcelain, however a very very thin layer is required, otherwise it leaves a horrible sticky mess on the surface.

Some very high quality porcelains though, and some chinese ones, are coming through with whats known as a "Nano-Glaze" which is a form of pre-sealing at the factory.

There are spray sealants on the market that just turn to dust if applied to something that isn't porous, and means you can just sweep it off, no hassle with rubbing and washing it all off.

 

[DHTiling]

The chinese ones have a transit wax on them...this wax is a temporay measure to prevent staing whilst being transported...
This wax needs to be removed before sealing with penertrating sealers designed for porcelain.. or the sealer will not take..

 

[Pete C]

Hi.
I have just finished laying a 30mtr floor using 600 x 600 CIMIC polished porcelain tiles.(Hards as nails and a nightmare to cut. )
The customer purchased the tiles and was told that they are double fired and they do not need any special aftercare.
The customer is now telling me that someone else has told her they have to be sealed.
Any advice would be appreciated. thanks
GG

I have a similar story:
My tiler suggested we looked for tiles at a specific shop and warned us not to get Porcelain tiles as they would need periodic sealing. So we went to the said shop, selected our floor tile, only to find it was polished Porcelain (Nepal). The tile shop owner insisted that the tile was pre-treated so didn't need sealing.As the price was £38 sq mtr. this seemed plausible so we bought the tiles. Some time after the tiles were laid, we spotted what looked like the exact same tile in B&Q for £12 sq mtr.
It makes you wonder whether B&Q is the place to go for tiles - at least you know for certain they are not going to be top quality.

Thanks for the tips on how to check whether or not sealing is necessary; fingers crossed the tile shop owner was as honest as he looked....
One final thing...a radiator dripped some black gunge on to the grey grouting - any tips on how to restore?

 

[emc:tiles]

Some Chinese products do come with a transit wax...but the Nano-Glaze is a new sealing method that has only just started being used....see the link below for more info...

Far infrared emitting nano glaze - Patent - d comprised of a mixture of 35

 

[emc:tiles]

The stuff that was cheaper....is cheaper for a reason...you get what you pay for

 

[DHTiling]

So in theory according to that spec...the nano glaze is fired at manufacture...

Any product that helps seal the pores of polished porcelain has to be a good thing....because the transit waxed ones should be banned...

 

[DHTiling]

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a far infrared emitting nano glaze that constantly and effectively keep the surface of ceramic product smooth, bright and attractive, provide the antibiotic function by preventing the attachment and propagation of virus and bacteria, and upgrade the function of the substance contained in or passing through the far infrared emitting ceramic product by constantly activating the molecular characteristics of the substance. To achieve the purpose, the present invention is comprised of a mixture of 35˜65% solvent, 1˜35% solubilizing agent, 0˜25% refractory agent but not including 0%, 0.1˜5% adhesive agent, 0.5˜30% far infrared powders, and 0.5˜10% nano materials, added with water to be ground into a glaze at the concentration of 350±20 g/200 cc and a fineness of 200˜325 mesh. The present invention is coated to the surface of the ceramic body or biscuit and sintered at 1120° C.˜1350° C. into a finished ceramic product provided with far infrared emitting function and nano characteristics.

certainly seems to be fired to the surface...

 

[dazzak]

Not only that, but the transit wax can make grouting an absolute nightmare if you dont clean it off. It takes an absolute age to remove it properly as well, and if you're not careful you can scratch the surface of the tile.

I would always say that polished porcelain needs to be sealed regardless of what anyone says. It's a fact that the polishing process opens up millions of tiny microscopic pores on the surface of the tile, and these pores can take in and hold dirt and stains. Whats the sense in risking it and potentially ruining your floor?

Like other people have said tho, dont splash the sealer about. You only need a very thin layer, so basically use a foam roller and wipe off the excess after a few minutes.