Hello there, long time reader, first time poster. Good forum!

My father has just begun trying to renovate his hallway floor using a seemingly random assortment of nasty chemicals. He first scrubbed it with Cillit Bang and steel wool, then Flash, and most recently he's been using a mixture of sand and "Dambuster" - a sulfuric acid-based drain cleaner!

When I realised what a bodge this sounded I checked on this forum and read lots of recommendations for Aquamix, Nanoscrub etc. I was going to buy a load of that and take over the job for him, doing it properly.

The thing is though, the crazy mixture of stuff he's using actually seems to be working really well. It's lifting all the gum, grease, oil, underlay imprints etc, and doesn't appear to be damaging the tiles. I've inspected them closely and I can see that the porosity is no worse in the cleaned tiles and the colour is unchanged.

What I'm wondering is, as long as I can convince him to use a proper finishing product (rather than trying to seal it with flippin' lard or whatever) what's the worst that can happen by continuing with this amateur bodging method? As long as its all clean and undamaged, does it really matter what chemicals were used to do the cleaning? Thanks in advance.





Scrubbed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23461540@N04/4479082482
Not scrubbed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23461540@N04/4479080114

Just make sure whatever chemical ****tail he has used to clean the floor it is all removed thoroughly before any sealer is applied...I use all Aqua mix products and Nanoscrub alone would probably not clean them, you would need Aqua mix sealer & Coating remove, and Aqua mix heavy duty tile & grout cleaner with a bit of Nanoscrub...Check out the forum sponsor www.tradetiler.com he supplies Aqua mix products.

Sounds like good advice - chemicals left on the tiles would probably stop any sealant working properly I bet.

I'm liking the sound of Enrich 'N' Seal on the site you recommended beacuse it "darkens and enriches" the colour, but it also says it's "low sheen". The scratched, pitted surface of the tiles is giving them a very dull look at present so I'm thinking something slightly more glossy would help.

Would using Aqua Mix Renue first solve this problem?

Again, thanks in advance!

Aqua Mix do a High Gloss Sealer..You may have to ring Dave at tradetiler to see if he stocks it...if not google it to find a supplier.

Here you go.

Golv polish is used by a few vicky floor guys.. after impregnating.

LTP also do a product that is suitable..

LTP Ironwax primer and LTP Ironwax acrylic gloss sealer.

And this can be followed by a maintenance cleaning with LTP floorshine.

Thanks both.

So am I right in saying I've got a choice of three products for sealing:

Golvpolish
LTP Ironwax Acrilic Gloss Sealer
Aquamix High Gloss Sealer

... and that I need to impregnate the tiles first with something like LTP Ironwax Primer?

If so, are any of the sealers better than the others, or should I just go for the cheapest?

Thanks again!

I've decided to get a 946ml Aqua Mix Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner to finish off the cleaning (there's some grime that even the acid hasn't removed) and 946ml Aqua Mix High Gloss Sealer to finish it off.

Two quick queries:

1. The floor in question is not textured. The Aqua Mix website says the High Gloss Sealer is recommended for textured floors. Does it matter?
2. Are the quantities above sufficient for the 7.5 sq m hallway in question?

Ta.

Maybe I'll just stick to the drain cleaner...

Right, I cleaned the floor thoroughly by scrubbing for a very long time with Aqua Mix Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner. I then mopped very thoroughly, many times, with clean water. I then left it for a couple of days to dry and applied Aqua Mix High Gloss Sealer.

Within hours, white chalky deposits began appearing on the darkest tiles - the most porous ones. Since the floor was now sealed, I had to re-strip it again. I have now left it around a week, and efflorescence is still appearing on the most porous tiles. I've tried scraping it off, and also wiping it off with a slightly damp rag, before wiping dry immediately after (to minimise the amount of water soaking in).

The High Gloss Sealer is an acrylic polymer based product, which does not appear to protect against efflorescence at all. I think what I need is some kind of wax or oil that would soak into the tiles and give them a dark shine - I think this would give better protection against salts, or at least allow the salts through so they can be wiped off.

Any suggestions?

You need to use Aqua Mix EFF-EX to remove the Efflorescence.

Originally Posted by plappyflugilips

I think what I need is some kind of wax or oil that would soak into the tiles and give them a dark shine ]

A mate of mine who does a fair bit of restoration on these uses a mixture of Boiled Linseed Oil and White Spirit....... not sure if he's right or not, but he says that's how they were done in the old days!

After you get the floor clean, my choice would be Lithofin impregnator followed by Golv Polish. Each to their own though