Help!: Porcelain Floor Tiles

[AlisonM]

I have some large Italian Porcelian floor tiles but unfortuately they have been packed tightly for some considerable time and now that I have unpacked them the surface of the tiles have a chalky inprint of the rear of the adjacent tile. This washes off easily with water but leaves a "shadow" of the tile underside gridlines that can been seen in certain lights at some angles. I am not sure whether the tiles have been "etched" or whether they are stained. As I have 80m2 I am reluctant to use them if this cannot be removed or has damaged the tile so that any spills will be easily absorbed by the tiles across these marked areas.
Has anybody come across this befre and is there a remedy
Many Thanks

[jay]

Hello sounds odd they norm have a slip sheet (piece of paper) between them when boxed .Might help if you can post some pics and how long have you had the tiles since purchasing

[AlisonM]

005.jpgThis was really difficult to photograph so hope you can see this. In certain lights the whole tile has these gridlines across it. I do not know how long the tiles have been stored but certainly I think a couple of years. There were no paper slips seperating the tiles. I have tried various marketed products, acid, alkali and solvent to no avail. I wonder if there has been some sort of chemical reaction between the finished surface and the unglazed underside of the tile.

[Rich]

How strange, as Jay says they are usually so over packaged to avoid such things happening. Have you tried any kind of cleaning products to try to remove the marks? Hard to say whether they are scratched of stained with out seeing them.

[jay]

if you have tried all those products it sort of rules out transit wax of some sort its a bit hard to tell from the pic but has it scratched the lines in you may need a magnifier glass ,so the tiles have been sitting at your place for two years not at the tile shop

[Rich]

Sorry, I put up my post before I saw your pic and reply to Jay.

Did the chemicals help at all? If you have used cleaning chemicals on these tiles without any joy, it would suggest to me that they have been scratched. Unfortunately either way I wouldnt lay them, if you cant remove the marks with the chemicals then they are either scratched and ruined or have been stained beyond repair.

What products did you use on them?

[AlisonM]

Hello, we've tried Lithofin wexa, Lithofin wax off, HG extra, and good old fashioned bleach. The tiles (Keope) look perfect when wet, but when dry the 'ghost' of the grid pattern returns. Thanks.

[widler]

just thinking aloud,but have they been stored damp,it could be the tiles have been damp and the tile has stained from the back,not the tile on top

[AlisonM]

Hello, that did cross my mind too, however, one tile in each pack of three is ok as it hasn't had another tile adjacent to its working surface. Also the tiles are 10mm thick and so i thought it unlikely.Thanks.