Stain Stop - Tile Advice

[Ajax123]

Are there any stone treatments e,g lithofin etc etc that will offer stain proofing agaiñst things like coffee and red wine and do they affect the texture of the finish I.e. add a shine or make the tiles dull and matt etc.

 

[J Sid]

I've used Lithofin stain stop for years.

Used on my own dinning room and lounge floor, this has had the old bottle of red wine knocked over and not left any stain at all. Highly recommended

 

[Dave]

No sealer offers 100% stain proofing , a sealer offers protection from spillages and general dirt .
If you spill something acidic etc , then leave it for a prolonged time , then it will eat through the protection .

Sealers offer ease of maintenance and are not a be all and end all of protection.

As for changing the texture , a topical sealer can do that , say a honed finish to a shiny finish.

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Impregnators will give water and oil protection as above . Unless stated water reppelance only.
Acidic attack can penetrate after a certain time , generally not long
Most importantly is how you apply and then maintain the product and keep it active by using the correct aftercare products.

 

[StevieBoy]

Are there any stone treatments e,g lithofin etc etc that will offer stain proofing agaiñst things like coffee and red wine and do they affect the texture of the finish I.e. add a shine or make the tiles dull and matt etc.

As has been already said, nothing will prevent stains 100% but Lithofin is probably the better to go with.

 

[Rich Midge]

Apologies Lithofin Bob, I've used your products for years and still do now but DryTreat Stainproof is now my preferred impregnator. Only 2 coats no matter whether it's tile or stone and guaranteed stain free for 15 years. That said, I was using KF last week on an Original Style floor!

 

[Ajax123]

It's not actually for a stone tile but for a polished gypsum screed.

 

[Rich Midge]

It's not actually for a stone tile but for a polished gypsum screed.

That's something I've never come across! Is the screed still fairly porous if you can get past the polished surface?

 

[Ajax123]

That's something I've never come across! Is the screed still fairly porous if you can get past the polished surface?

The surface is Like bell metal once polished. It is however a little porous so staining is a difficulty. Hence the thread. It's a synthetic rather than a natural stone

 

[Rich Midge]

How will you go about sealing it? With stone or tile I've used the saturation method with Lithofin. A couple of coats before grouting followed by saturation after ie I cover the floor with a couple of mm of StainStop and keep applying product for a good few hours ensuring the floor is always covered with the impregnator. This method eventually forces it through the polished surface. Apologies if I'm teaching you how to suck eggs!

 

[Ajax123]

How will you go about sealing it? With stone or tile I've used the saturation method with Lithofin. A couple of coats before grouting followed by saturation after ie I cover the floor with a couple of mm of StainStop and keep applying product for a good few hours ensuring the floor is always covered with the impregnator. This method eventually forces it through the polished surface. Apologies if I'm teaching you how to suck eggs!

No apology needed. I don't even know if it will work yet. It'll be an experiment. I guess I will use a similar technique though

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Morning guys, An impregnator ,is only as good as the products you maintain it with , long term.

The guarantee on products, is generally a free bottle if it goes wrong. Others have tech back up to sort problems if they occur and to advise on ongoing maintenance .

Saturation , is not for hours , I saturate the most dense polished granites only for 20-25 minutes . Your saturating the face , to line the cappillaries ,not the whole depth of stone. 2 coats generally, 1 before grouting one after, or screeded floors 2 coats should be fine, depending in porosity and density of product to be impregnated

Alan, the polished gypsum , should not be a problem . Test your chosen impregnator, saturate and remove excess , leave to cure 24 h and water test ( and any other contaminates to determine repelancy , teas coffee oils) please note , your floor will still be prone to acidic damage with any of the above.

Sometimes with this type of screed, solvents can highlight workings in the product or show colour differences , if you find this occurs on test and it is an issue , test a water based product as these most times will not change the colour in your floor. we have stain stop W, stainproof by dry treat as above or Matt stone water based ltp could be tested for this perhaps.

If you have sample cards of the screed , you could send them to me , I can test them with several products (ours lol ) and return to you if you wanted.

 

[Rich Midge]

It would appear I've wasted away hours trying to force impregnator through dense polished stone! Another lesson learned this morning.............. although now I guess i shouldn't really charge a day for sealing, bugger.

 

[Ajax123]

Every day is a school day,..

 

[Lithofin BOB]

It would appear I've wasted away hours trying to force impregnator through dense polished stone! Another lesson learned this morning.............. although now I guess i shouldn't really charge a day for sealing, bugger.

not a day wasted , sounds like you have always given a fully sealed floor, i always charged the day, an impregnating price rather than a day rate lol , still got to get there , seal it and get back,consumables