Jakarta 600 x 300 Porcelain from Tile Giant

[pault123]

Hi I have just had 32 metres of the above tiles fitted in the bathroom. They are not polished or glazed, but have a matt finish (full-bodied ??). Initially had problem with grout haze seem to be sorting that with a tip from here using diluted clear vinegar.
Have left a tea bag, tomato sauce, vinegar, bleach etc on off cut overnight - all wiped clean with plain water. So do I need to seal them & if so what with ??
One issue is I have 2 daughters who colour their hair & wonder about the effect on tile (and grout)because they get a bit messy with it sometimes !!
Thanks for any tips
Paul (originally posted in wrong forum !!)

[Phil Hobson]

You can seal the joints with a spray. There are a few products in the tile shops now. One is called Sealguard. You should check with your supplier as to wether or not the whole tile needs to be sealed. If so, a liquid sealer would be cheaper. eg. Lithofin

[TF Ed]

hi paul

as phil says, sealguard is excellent for the grout joints (tradetiler sells this) and again lithofin sealers are the best imo..lithofin fz impregnating sealer would do the job
apply with a cloth or paint paint, see how it takes to absorb, dont apply too much and then leave and then go over the area with a clean dry cloth to polish up
regards
ed....

[pault123]

Thanks for replies.
Suppliers said it doesn't need sealing, however the boxes state "should be treated with an anti-absorption product" !
So guess its the lithofin Then.
Does this change the appearance of the tile, because if not I could just do the areas prone to wear & tear. Guess I know you're gonna tell me to do the whole lot
Cheers
Paul

[tfs]

Some matt tiles should be sealed mate as they can be absorbant depedning on glaze etc.

I would seal over with a glaze protector such as LTP glaze protecor also sold by Tile Giant. Seal before and after grouting! (seal before fixing the tile if possible and then once after grouting)

Your retailer should specify when this is the case.

[tfs]

I know the tile you are talking about, it is porcelain backed with a glaze over it (two different colours in the tile if you look close at it, the biscuit is different than the face of the tile) Even dust can be hard to remove from this tile at times.

I would say that this tile does need a glaze protecter which will give you a primary seal. Ensure that the tile is clean and free from dirt and dry etc prior to using a primery sealer.

They also do the polished version which deffo needs to be sealed.

[Matt]

Thanks for replies.
Suppliers said it doesn't need sealing, however the boxes state "should be treated with an anti-absorption product" !
So guess its the lithofin Then.
Does this change the appearance of the tile, because if not I could just do the areas prone to wear & tear. Guess I know you're gonna tell me to do the whole lot
Cheers
Paul

If someone from Tile Giant has told you that, they have told you wrong.

The Jakarta matt should be sealed. We recommend LTP Mattstone for this. It only needs a lite coating. The appearance changes very slightly depending what colour you have.

[Dave]

If someone from Tile Giant has told you that, they have told you wrong.

The Jakarta matt should be sealed. We recommend LTP Mattstone for this. It only needs a lite coating. The appearance changes very slightly depending what colour you have.

Matt... wouldn't the MPG sealer be better..

[tfs]

Matt... wouldn't the MPG sealer be better..

I think that one is for polished tiles mate

[tfs]

my preference would be glze protector or possibly mattstone(now that Matt has recomeded it)

I have only used Matt stone for trav etc in the past though

[tfs]

The porcelain tile was a very rough, matt faced tile with sort of pores on the surface. It has a different colour on the back of the tile. Kind of like a porcelain backed tile with some kind of glaze on the face. very matt as oppose to satin finnish

[Dave]

I think that one is for polished tiles mate

Ahh just re-read.. yes unglazed and not polished...cheers...

The glaze protector would be ideal...

[tfs]

I fitted this tile in a bathroom and decided not to use a few of the loose tiles as they had grime/ dust etc on the face which was a nightmare to clean, so I sealed the rest with Glaze protector. I didnt think Matt stone was realy suitable at the time so I chose the glaze protector.

[Matt]

Ahh just re-read.. yes unglazed and not polished...cheers...

The glaze protector would be ideal...

We did a lot of testing before recommending a product. We also spoke to the manufacturer and LTP. The result was Mattstone would be the best product for it.

I did a few tests myself and was surprised how well the Mattstone worked.

[Dave]

It is good to remember matt... as long as LTP say it will work then ok by me..

[Matt]

The porcelain tile was a very rough, matt faced tile with sort of pores on the surface. It has a different colour on the back of the tile. Kind of like a porcelain backed tile with some kind of glaze on the face. very matt as oppose to satin finnish

Jakarta is a double loaded porcelain which is why it has the appearance it does, I.E the top 2-3mm is the same colour as the surface and the bottom is a different colour.

It is made with two layers of porcelain that are pressed together and then fired.

[Matt]

It is good to remember matt... as long as LTP say it will work then ok by me..

I must say I was surprised at the result. I figured the particles in Mattstone would be too big for the pores in the porcelain (I had previously thought that the MPG Sealer would be more suited), guess I was wrong

[Dave]

That is what i thought... too thick a sealer for the surface tension of the vitrified tile..

But like i said... nice to know..

[pault123]

Thanks for the information, have done 2 coats on 2/3rds of it and it looks and works just fine.
Basin is now fitted and the bath sealed up, so just the shower and flooring to sort out !
Thanks again, and have informed the guy at Croydon Tile Giant which sealer should be recommended !