B&Q porcelain tiles problem

[davydiver]

Hi Guys, I have recently purchased and had installed 33 sqm of B&Q porcelain tiles, they were sealed once by the fitter prior to grouting then once after by me, I noticed after letting the sealer dry that it was very difficult buffing the tiles, it looks like the tiles have a wax coating on them, what can I use to remove this and will I have to seal them again?

[Ultimate Tiling]

Hi I think this thread may answer you question.

yes b & q polished porcelain

[Dave]

Did the tiler and your goodself remove any excess sealer before it totaly dried..?..
This could be the problem why you can't buff them to a shine......

[basshunter]

did you remove the wax from the factory before sealing?

[davydiver]

Nope I didnt know they had wax on them! there was nothing on the packaging to suggest this.

Update, B&Q have issued me with a load of Plas plugs tile cleaner wipes, saying that these would remove the excess wax and wax/sealer goop which I used on the whole floor, I then wiped the floor with a damp sponge and re-sealed, guess what same problem again, how can I tell if all the wax has been removed?

[basshunter]

hi mate,i heard the best thing to use is turps or methylated spirit.Hope it gets sorted for you!!

[brian c]

ANYONE ELSE GOT ANY SUGGESTIONS OR EXPERIENCE FOR REMOVING THE WAX FROM THE TILES BEFORE SEALING?I KNOW HG DO A CLEANER WHICH REMOVES WAX ETC.

Got another job this week with nthese tiles...arghhhh....dont like them ,cheap rubbish.

[nellyb]

Lithofin wexa should remove the wax prior to sealing. That said, you'll probably have to leave it a couple of days to let the floor dry properly before sealing so all in all, a right ball ache!

I would assume that if the tiles have been sealed without removing the wax/oil covering then part of it will be sealed in?

[james]

i havent had any problems with the b & q porcelain.
apart from the staff been plonkers

[whitebeam]

i havent had any problems with the b & q porcelain.
apart from the staff been plonkers

Thats a requirment on the job description

[Daz]

I did a floor last week with polished porcelain (500 x 500) from Topps. I set the tiles then cleaned with Fila (extra strong) grime remover, covered with a coat of Fila porcelain impregnator / sealer, then grouted, then sealed again. They buffed to a lovely shiney finish!

[davydiver]

Hi guys, well on the advice of B&Q I spent most of saturday on my knees scrubbing the tiles with Plasplugs tile cleaning wipes, then washed them with cold water, I then sealed one row (to test) with plas plugs impregnator sealer, and they still arn't great, the ones which i've cleaned are fine but the ones i've sealed still wont really buff up, they seam to buff up then when you walk on them of touch them they mark, could this be sealer residue?

[Dave]

I can't see cleaning wipes removing sealer residue or the sealer its self......try using lithofin Wexa and then seal with lithofin fz porcelain impregnator....but you need to make sure they are clean and dry before sealing.....then wipe any residue away BEFORE it dries.......

[waterworld17]

Hi all i have never heard of porcelain tiles that need to be sealed?? They are not porous.

[Dave]

Hi all i have never heard of porcelain tiles that need to be sealed?? They are not porous.

But they have open pores on the surface which grab dirt / stains etc and the use of a penetrating sealer makes the cleaning of them a lot easier...

[whitebeam]

Hi all i have never heard of porcelain tiles that need to be sealed?? They are not porous.

A tiler of thirty years said the same to me about polished porcelain

[FreeD]

I had the same problem m8 this was the solution

Yep as above my experience of some of these tiles is that they have wax coating on this needs to be removed first with a cleaner e.g LTP GRIMEX...then sealed with suitable impregnator e.g LTP MPG SEALER...i've found LTP very helpful in the past...you could contact them direct with your requirements.

LTP Grimex will take off the sealer and wax coating easily. Then seal with LTP MPG Sealer.

[RickyRaqeeb]

I have the same problem. I bought the chocolate colour tiles. some look faded whilst other look clean and more brown

I first thought i was the grout and tried to use strong tile cleaners to make the faded ones bring out the colour and then tried tile sealer. Non has worked.

Thinking i should complain to B&Q

Any one out there that has bought the Sicily tiles out there

[timeless john]

Did you buy all the tiles with the same batch number?

[RickyRaqeeb]

these tile do not have batch numbers. I checked that before i bought them

[DOM]

Im just about to start tileing my ensuite with b@q beige 400mm porcelin tiles , is there a wax on them that i need to remove . I no ive got to seal , lay , clean , reseal then grout but this job with the wax is doing my head in

[Ceramica Tiling]

Take them back and get some real porcelain

[DOM]

Are they that bad

[Ceramica Tiling]

Yes , you get what you pay for. As a company we wont lay them anymore,last job it took us more time trying to get a good finish than laying them. I would by good quailty porcelain that dosent need sealing that comes with a perfect finish.

[brian c]

fitting these tiles in the morning.

[DOM]

will you let me no how you get on

[Dave]

Yes , you get what you pay for. As a company we wont lay them anymore,last job it took us more time trying to get a good finish than laying them. I would by good quailty porcelain that dosent need sealing that comes with a perfect finish.

So you mean pre-sealed polished porcelain..? Assuming DOM means his tiles are polished.

[Ceramica Tiling]

So you mean pre-sealed polished porcelain..? Assuming DOM means his tiles are polished.

So you have never laid porcelain that dosent need sealing and comes with a finished face?

[Dave]

Glazed yes..

Polished through bodied tiles need sealing unless factory finished,, as in pre-sealed.

The polishing process open ups surface pores and these need filling with appropriate sealer to aid in the maintenance cleaning of the tiles.. it is not about them being porous..

[sunbabemel]

we have just fitted 15 sq meters of the cream glossy 600 x 600 from b and q, at £14.99, only noticed day before the tiler was coming they had to be dewaxed and sealed before laying them,went to b and q got the stuff recommended in the box of tiles to clean off wax, we put it on with a sponge, left on for ten minutes then washed off with just hot water then dried with a towel and then put on the sealer, on the face of the tile and the edges, we had i think 45 tiles to do and it took two of us 4 hours to do, started at 6pm finished at 10pm, arms aching, tiles weigh a stone each,was worth it though, look good, and polished up well. so if you read the box properly and do what it says you should be ok.