yes b & q polished porcelain

[tilekraft]

hi boys and girls,

tiling 50 sqm of b & q polished porcelain tiles, the tiles have really bad smears on them and cant get them off,

any ideas kids?

[Fekin]

I used a dry cloth and buffed them up.... quite a ball ache, but it got them cleaned up.

[tilekraft]

no go mate, they arent moving

[Dave]

Were these streaks on the tile straight from the box..?

[tilekraft]

yes mate
just keep rubbing and nothing is happening

[enduro]

Sounds like you want to check the tiles to make sure they are meant to be like that, or hire a rotary floor polisher to try and clean them.

[Fekin]

Unless they are streaked crappy tiles, and meant to be so, then I'd take'em back to the store and say "look at this sh*t"

[tilekraft]

Sounds like you want to check the tiles to make sure they are meant to be like that, or hire a rotary floor polisher to try and clean them.

tiles are polished porcelain which cost £7 sqm

me and a mate have tried the polisher and nothing has happened

[enduro]

Must be a quality tile at that price

[tilekraft]

Unless they are streaked crappy tiles, and meant to be so, then I'd take'em back to the store and say "look at this sh*t"

already layed pal

customer has seen the same tiles and a mates house and says how great they look.

tiles are £7 for gods sake

[Fekin]

Try going to the store, but they may say you shouldn't have laid them if they we're marked.

[tilekraft]

in day light the tiles look great,

and then look at the lights reflection and there sh@t

[Dave]

This sounds like a protective coating that is applied to a lot of Chinese porcelain at the moment.........use a coatings/polish remover and apply to the tiles as instructed..leave to dwell for 10mins or so then using an emulsifying pad gently rub the tiles to remove the coating...then once clean and removed you will need to seal with a suitable impregnating sealer.......

[wetdec]

Its grease the chinese use when they are polishing them. We have got it off with spirit b4 now but you had better test an area. The black ones are really dark brown which can be more obvious when they are cleaned if its black your using


tiler

..

[Fekin]

Sounds like there may be hope then

[tilekraft]

ok gang i will give it a go

keep the ideas coming just incase

cheers tilekraft

[CJ]

Try a cloth soaked in meths.

Don't light up

[CBTC]

Some manufacturers use a wax (ish?) film to give protection in transit. Have you tried a clean using a degreasing solution - Lihofin, HG or similar product?

[CTD Marie]

Hello.

I have been speaking to your nearest CTD branch regaring your problem, we have a product called HG Quick. Says to remove stains/ dirty off porcelin tiles.

If you want more infor you can ring Kings Norton branch on 0121 433 8787 and ask for Mark.

Cheers.

[365drills]

Bit weird I know but in the past we have used our trusty bottle of Autoglym





Details here:

[Grace'sDad]

OK, I did some of these a couple of months back and had this problem.

Get some Fila Extra strong residue remover (Topps) and dilute with 5 parts water.
Soak the tiles with it for 4 minutes and remove with paper towels. The streaks and stains will be magically gone! Also note how the paper towels turn brown! The residue remover (seems to) lightens the tile colour slightly so don't leave it on too long and make sure you are consistent with the dilution and time on the tiles.

Make sure to seal well afterwards. These are so porous even dust will stain them.

--In regards to other comments on here, I wasn't aware of any protective coating on the tiles. In fact B&Q now put labels on every pack warning that they need sealing before fixing etc. I am aware of polishing oil, but this was easily washed off with soapy water--

[poynton phil]

hope these aint the 600x600 polished black ones, i'm laying them next week

[Grace'sDad]

Poynton Phil,

My problem (above) was with the 400x400 polished black porcelain which is the same material as the 600 x 600. (only easier to lay!!!)

They aren't as bad as people make out - just work really cleanly and DO NOT allow anyone to walk on them until sealed fully (3 times in my case). Ideally they would be sealed before fixing but let's face it - it's just not practical.

As I said, dust from off your shoes or knees really stains 'em so if you are cutting and fixing edges the following day, wear clean pants and take your shoes off! You'll be glad you did.

On the plus side, they are easy to cut dry and wet and look great when finished.

(I had to charge an extra full day for additional cleaning and sealing)

[guy1976]

hope these aint the 600x600 polished black ones, i'm laying them next week

iv fixed those ones before they didnt need sealing but test a offcut first

[wetdec]

Bit weird I know but in the past we have used our trusty bottle of Autoglym





Details here:

Be careful if you use this TEST an offcut it might possibly stay in the pores


tiler

..

[Grace'sDad]

iv fixed those ones before they didnt need sealing but test a offcut first

They didn't = past tense.

B&Q are now putting labels on every pack and on the shelf edges, warning that they must be sealed before fixing, before grouting, and after grouting.

I have been told that the current batch is china's worst.

[Rad2474]

Iput these tiles,6000x600 on my kitchen floor about 4 months ago no problems,stains or any other bother.

[Dave]

Iput these tiles,6000x600 on my kitchen floor about 4 months ago no problems,stains or any other bother.

That's a big tile Rad.......

[Mike Strutter]

That's a big tile Rad.......

I bet you didn't need many

[Mike Strutter]

I've just measured up a kitchen/utility room in a bloody massive house, ok the floorspace in the kitchen is only 13m, but the house is a huge detached place. Anyway the customer has bought these b&q polished porcelain 600x600 in cream. They've got a nutty boxer dog living there so i think i may well be up against it when it comes to keeping them mark free before sealing them.
There's a black matt marble tile down already and the dog has contributed heavily in ballsing them up so they go for these things instead .