DIY Related: Polished Black Porcelain Tiles

[PhilGabb]

I've just laid some Polished Black Porcelain Tiles, bought from Wickes. They went down well, were easy to cut, wet or dry, and looked good. On advice from Wickes, I applied their Natural Stone Gloss Finish. I challenged them about this, as Porcelain is not natural stone, but was told it was the correct product to use. I now have tiles with a blotched, streaky finish. Does anyone know how to get rid of the blotches/streaks, or how to remove this product?

PS - Annoyingly, I see that Wickes have changed their product advice to say that
This tile is pre-sealed, no further sealant required.
It did not say that when I bought them!

[kilty55]

hi phil was this verbal advice they gave you or was it in writing/attached to the tiles

i sympathise with your dilemma,i havent used any products from wickes so cant really comment on how to remove it but im sure someone will be along soon to help you out

[PhilGabb]

Verbal advice, but I have sent query to their technical advice service to see what they say. Thanks for the sympathy - feeling frustrated as this was final step in a complete refurb of the whole kitchen!

[Dave]

What a load of tosh advice wise..

Use LTP solvex to remove this topical sealer.. then neutralise with plenty clean water and leave to dry.. they seal with LTP MPG sealer.

[PhilGabb]

Thanks, Dave - at least I know that I have a way to rectify this. I will be giving Wickes a hard time over this, and will let you know how I get on.

[Dave]

Thanks, Dave - at least I know that I have a way to rectify this. I will be giving Wickes a hard time over this, and will let you know how I get on.

No probs, you cannot use that sealer on those tiles FFS.. plz do let us know how it goes.

[PhilGabb]

One week on, and my tiles are looking good again. After talking to two numpties from Wickes customer service, I finally got hold of someone who understood the meaning of the word "service". She contacted the manager of the Wickes store, who rang me within 2 hours to let me know that he had polish remover ready for me FOC, and apologised for this mistake. I collected this (Wickes Tile Renovator), along with a free bottle of Wickes Tile Clean and Shine, and a refund for the original, unnecessary polish. The Renovator was easy to apply, and removed 99% of the polish. A bit of elbow grease, and a stanley blade scraper got rid of the last few bits.

Only downer is that we dropped a plate on one of the tiles and it has scratched it quite deeply. It is a half tile at the edge (goes under the kickboard of the kitchen units). Any suggestions on whether to replace or repair, and how?

[whitebeam]

Remove the grout around the tile, put some masking tape over the tile to avoid any shars flying everywhere and tap with hammer to break and remove..

Bolster maybe required to help remove remaining adhesive.

[PhilGabb]

Thanks for that - having looked around, I am not confident of a repair, so will replace.