Mapei Ultracolor Mixing Guide

Im having trouble with this at the moment. It goes really slack after about 10 minutes? So slack in fact it just slides off the float.

no problems here. I always have a 500ml empty drink bottle in with the tools. 2 of those to a 5kg bag and its perfect.

Fav grout by a mile but is it just me or dose every one else find the darker the grout the slower it sets?

Originally Posted by Scottley

Im having trouble with this at the moment. It goes really slack after about 10 minutes? So slack in fact it just slides off the float.

Do you let it slake..?

Yes mixed as per instructions and left for 5-10mins. Start using and its fine then after about 10 more minutes is just goes to slop. I added more powder the other day to see what happens and it did it again after another ten minutes. Repeated the same process and it did it again. It was as if someone had added some water to it when i wanst looking! It did it on blanco 100 and 113 grey. Same room, same procedure, same paddle everything. Will try the FF next time it hink as i do find this a very coarse grout

I agree it does wet up but i mix is stifish to start with try that..

Not a fan of swaying from manufactureres instructions but Ill give it a go and see how it is . Pain though as i just made the transition to mapei from ultra and now having problems.

The instructions say upto 1.3 ltrs of water.. if i put that much in it goes like pee.. so mix according to how you like it..

I love this grout,i knock it up as thick as. You can grout a area and leave it spottless before leaving the job because it drys in the joint so quick. Also find ardex fs just as good. Saying that I still use bal grout on ceramic . I find on the ceramics mapei goes off a bit to quick

Mix it a little bit thinner for ceramics

It still will go off quick in ceramics because they are so porus. Say im doing a 4 m2 kitchen spashback with 100x100, the bal I can grout all 4m2 without the grout going fury in the joint then wash of all at once. Where i find the mapei i will do 1.5 then wash off even if wet . Glass ,porcelain without a doubt its got to be mapei

It can sometimes go a bit slack, I think the reason for this is as you said its like someone has added water to the mix! If you give the tiles a final wash before you grout make sure you are not getting your joints full of water, I suspect this is what causes it. Make sure your sponge is only slightly damp, also do the same with washboy when wiping down.

worst grout ever, first whats the the mixing about!!! after speaking to a rep at the stone show this year i came away more confussed. first do this then that then take a measuring jug with you a add just under a litre 0.95 to this then mix wait, stir again then your ready.I said after all that it would be time to pack me tools up!! my argument was why is mapai so differant then say , maxigrout from granfix, or even palace grout, with these you dont need a science degree to mix it up. second i can work with granfix easy, quickly and if it falls on the floor i dont need a hammer and chisel to get it , unlike mapei. I also agree with the threads it goes sloppy, and if you get any water on it while groutin its game over sloppy as WORD REMOVED. Do these companys ever talk to tilers and come and find out there oppinon before it comes out, or just listen to people in the scince depts creating this muck. sort it out!! moan over.

Originally Posted by turnstone

worst grout ever, first whats the the mixing about!!! after speaking to a rep at the stone show this year i came away more confussed. first do this then that then take a measuring jug with you a add just under a litre 0.95 to this then mix wait, stir again then your ready.I said after all that it would be time to pack me tools up!! my argument was why is mapai so differant then say , maxigrout from granfix, or even palace grout, with these you dont need a science degree to mix it up. second i can work with granfix easy, quickly and if it falls on the floor i dont need a hammer and chisel to get it , unlike mapei. I also agree with the threads it goes sloppy, and if you get any water on it while groutin its game over sloppy as WORD REMOVED. Do these companys ever talk to tilers and come and find out there oppinon before it comes out, or just listen to people in the scince depts creating this muck. sort it out!! moan over.

iv'e been using it for a while now and had no trouble with it. i don't measure the water but i do leave it a minute or 2 after mixing and stir again to get the consistency right before grouting.

Most grouts need to sit for a while and then remix. Also most manufacturers specify water to powder ratios .

agree white ok, same as ball and the rest. try the colours , good luck. Mapei are a big company and flood every shop with a massive range of colours , and most magazines and forums have sponsers ect. But really the problem is the grout and the fact they dont care if there product is hard to work with or it drys before its out of the bag, ASK THE TILERS!!! there the ones that get browned off with it when it starts to effect the job and the cant find a tile shop near that dont supply mapei , so there stuck with it.

Any grout that is flexible needs a slaking/dwell time for the polymers to dissolve then you remix before grouting.. As a tiler you are supposed to know this..??

[QUOTE=Sir Ramic;544168]Most grouts need to sit for a while and then remix. Also most manufacturers specify water to powder ratios .[/sure your right most, infact all have instructions on water ratio ect, but mapei get wrong and your know about it, other grouts no problem a little bit more water or powder and there fine, mapei forget it.QUOTE]

nice one dave, yes i know this . as a tiler!

So what is the problem with mixing again..? you have lost me.


I use this grout loads and no probs.. it suits me as a stone installer perfect...

Originally Posted by turnstone

agree white ok, same as ball and the rest. try the colours , good luck. Mapei are a big company and flood every shop with a massive range of colours , and most magazines and forums have sponsers ect. But really the problem is the grout and the fact they dont care if there product is hard to work with or it drys before its out of the bag, ASK THE TILERS!!! there the ones that get browned off with it when it starts to effect the job and the cant find a tile shop near that dont supply mapei , so there stuck with it.

I am a tiler and have no issues.

have you tried webers grouts turnstone? quite good i thought

thanx kitty, weber new grout is great some thought went it to this one, did you know that a major tile supplier who supplies mapei is now lowering stock and are changing to new weber, too many complaints about mapei.Im sure i upset the instruction reader tilers when i have a go at mapei, but thats my point you should be able to open a bag of grout put some water in a bucket mix it so your happy with the mix (from experience) and start grouting 5 to 10 mts with out the mess of dropping and the mixture getting sloppy. If you love mapei fine stick with it, its your time cleaning it up and trying to work with it, if want a good grout thats easy to mix and apply look around there is plenty of competion now for mapei that leaves it standing. big up for webers new grout, try granfix maxigrout and palace mould resist very easy to work with.

Have used a fair few colours and found no probs as long as mixed correctly with right quantity of water,only trouble was when it first came out i added more water to it as it started to cure and colour got lighter.

you shouldn't add more water to it but simply stirring it again should make it useable. mapei technical say you can do this 3 times with a mix

While Mapei, in my opinion, is one of the harder grouts to use, the only problems I've had with it are in the early days when I've used the wrong mixing method or the wrong wiping down method and I've now used shed loads of the stuff. Guidelines on method and use are there for a reason..... stick to them and you should never have a problem!


Created on iPhone.....

Originally Posted by turnstone

thanx kitty, weber new grout is great some thought went it to this one, did you know that a major tile supplier who supplies mapei is now lowering stock and are changing to new weber, too many complaints about mapeiet the in.Im sure i upsstruction reader tilers when i have a go at mapei, but thats my point you should be able to open a bag of grout put some water in a bucket mix it so your happy with the mix (from experience) and start grouting 5 to 10 mts with out the mess of dropping and the mixture getting sloppy. If you love mapei fine stick with it, its your time cleaning it up and trying to work with it, if want a good grout thats easy to mix and apply look around there is plenty of competion now for mapei that leaves it standing. big up for webers new grout, try granfix maxigrout and palace mould resist very easy to work with.

Any member can state their opinion on any product.. it was just that your first post was wrong regarding the mixing of the said product.. or any polymer grout.. you do not just chuck it in a bucket and mix to your hearts content ffs,,

All grouts from ALL manufacturers are made to be mixed with a certain amount of water.. any more can result in a weak mix..

Freedom of speech about any product is welcome but if a member is going to diss any brand and not mix it etc correctly then you cannot bad mouth it.. IMO.. if it does not perform to what you thought..

As for Weber's new pro-grout.. i was one of the testers on it and i love it..

Originally Posted by turnstone

worst grout ever, first whats the the mixing about!!! after speaking to a rep at the stone show this year i came away more confussed. first do this then that then take a measuring jug with you a add just under a litre 0.95 to this then mix wait, stir again then your ready.I said after all that it would be time to pack me tools up!! my argument was why is mapai so differant then say , maxigrout from granfix, or even palace grout, with these you dont need a science degree to mix it up. second i can work with granfix easy, quickly and if it falls on the floor i dont need a hammer and chisel to get it , unlike mapei. I also agree with the threads it goes sloppy, and if you get any water on it while groutin its game over sloppy as WORD REMOVED. Do these companys ever talk to tilers and come and find out there oppinon before it comes out, or just listen to people in the scince depts creating this muck. sort it out!! moan over.

Rubbish.

Best grout ever.

Ignore the rep, just mix as normal to the consistancy of whipped cream. Let it stand for 5 minutes and give it another quick blast. It is hard to get the concistancy right with this grout for best results but you'll get to know over time. Make sure your tiles are dry. Any water on the surface will make the grout go really wet when applied. Let it dry to a haze and rub over the tiles and not the joints directly with a sponge to get it smooth. Do a wall and go back over with a clean sponge. Start at one end and do one clean wipe vertically/diagonally down the wall from top to bottom, turn sponge over and do another wipe then rinse sponge. The tiles will be pretty clean now. Let the grout dry off and then do final wash in similar fashion. By the time that dries the grout is hard and you can do silicone. Boom, off home.

With floor tiles you can get a big rectangular sponge, I use DTA one, and start in the corner. Bend the sponge up at one end as you firmly press down with the other half so you only use 1/2 of one side of the sponge and firmly drag diagonally across the tiles. You can manage to get 4 wipes before rinsing and the Ultracolour will be smooth after just a single wipe. No need for a second wash just give any haze a wipe off with a rag when dry.

Make sure you take off all of the grout off because it goes rock hard and also be careful when doing big areas. It doesn't go off that quickly but once it does start to it goes hard, fast!

Hope that helps anyone struggling.