terracota

[RITE TOUCH]

i have done a quote for a customer of mine and he wants terracota laid on the bathroom floor but the tile shop has told him that before sealing the stone it needs 3 coats of linseed oil? has anyone come across this before as i thought just sealing the tertracota would bring out the colour alone? many thanks

[pjc]

It depends what you seal them with :Pete

[Diggy]

Hi ,
Linseed oil is an alternative , in fact it should be boiled linseed oil. The first coat needs to be mixed 50/50 with white spirit this stops it leaving splash marks on the T'a , then use a the oil neat for the 2nd coat. To finish you need a beeswax type polish as this adheres best after the oil.

Try it on one tile first to see.

Best finish in my opinion as the bottled sealers and polishes can look plasticy.

Diggy

edit for spelling

[Highlander]

Petes right mate there are lots of different sealers on the market for Terracota Linseed oil was the old way of sealing Terracota and if you put three coats of linseed oil on terracota no other sealer will work with it.

What ever you use the terracota will soak the first couple of coats like a sponge. Last job I used Aqua mix products but think HG and LTP do products. Linseed is not nice to work with and in a bathroom would go the other route.

Gary

[Dave]

THerer are plenty products on the market now that do not leave a plasticy look.....Try the Lithofin range.......boiled linseed oil was the be all with terracotta but not no more......move with the times i say...

[pjc]

all terracotta are different they are like women you have to treat them as individuals so you cant always treat them with the same sealer but i still find boiled linsead oil is good as a base sealer for some but i wouldent advise wax as a finish nowdays

[whitebeam]

New a tiler that used cellulose thinners with the linseed, god it hummed

[garythetiler]

bentens terracotta sealer for me ,not that i have done much terracotta lately hope it makes a comeback its beautiful when its done right

[Grace'sDad]

Boiled linseed and beeswax leaves a finish and a patina that the modern impregnators can't recreate, but having said that, it's a real pain to do it properly and I don't think it would suit a bathroom very well.

Best take Dave's advice and look at the modern gear IMO.