grout residue on tumbled travertine - Tile Advice

[mr cocked itup]

Hi all
I recently tiled a splashback using tumbled Trav. I grouted it today using mapai ultracolour plus.

I completely cocked up because a. I didnt seal first. B I left it too long to clean off.

I didn't realise this stuff sets so quick! I left it 5 mins to take a call and it had gone rock hard in the bucket 15 mins after mixing.

Panicking I tried my best to get the grout off. I managed most of it but I'm left with a thick haze that's not wiping off with water.

Anyone recommend any haze remover that won't eat the trav?

 

[Stef]

Oh not good, if you have a polisher then you could use that but not sure any other way as I've never had the problem.
Lithofin Bob would be your man if he sees this thread.

 

[One Day]

Quick fix - White scotch pad with warm water and a generous splash of white vinegar + lots of scrubbing.
Then you could seal with a solvent based colour intensifier which will hide the remaining residues.

Proper fix - Call Bob at Lithofin....

 

[Tile Shop]

Going down the ltp route (the one i'm used to but never had to do it personally), anything like marble trav and limestone will etch with their usual grout stain remover and screw it up royally.

Their solution is to use the power stripper instead with a white pad. But it will take a bit of elbow grease. Won't be a quick job. But i have advised this before on limestone and it worked. However that was just a thin haze so depends how thick the excess grout is.

 

[Sean Kelly]

Hi Cocked,
First of all, don't go reaching for that vinegar just yet. Vinegar is an acid and it will eat your travertine. There are plenty of alkaline cleaning solutions for natural stone. Your local tile shop will sell you something that will help.
It will probably take you longer to clean the tiles than it did to tile unfortunately.
If you had some pics then we could see the extent of the damage.
Bob is the cleaning expert on this forum and hopefully he will see your plea.

 

[Qwerty]

I have some Fila stone grout haze remover. Works a treat

 

[One Day]

A weakened vinegar won't affect the finish on tumbled trav in any way you could notice by eye.
I'd certainly not recommend it on a polished stone, but on tumbled it'll loosen the grout a bit - long before it will etch the travertine.

 

[Old Mod]

Has no one tagged @Lithofin BOB then,
he won't come if you don't sing his name

 

[Lithofin BOB]

With Sean, you can test to break this down with an alkaline , this will hopefully soften the polymer binders and release this way, Paul's stripping agent will also be a possibility, stay away from the acids, with the alkaline , bit more elbow as stated and also let the product dwell for longer 15-20 mins in some cases , test up from 4-5 mins on one stone use a white pad to aid mechanical cleaning

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Has no one tagged @Lithofin BOB then,
he won't come if you don't sing his name

Ha ha ,I am rubbish at finding things on this site or anything comp related!!!!!!

 

[mr cocked itup]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I'll make sure the cleaner is alkaline based.

Out of interest does anyone else use the mapai grout? Surely 15 mins pot life must be a problem on big jobs?

I think the porosity of the tiles compounded the issue though. If I had sealed them I think I wouldnt be posting this!
It's my own fault though I should have read the instructions

 

[Old Mod]

Ha ha ,I am rubbish at finding things on this site or anything comp related!!!!!!

Haha that's alright Bob, you can't be expected to read every post mate.
Do you use the new post list to search tho?

 

[Italy]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I'll make sure the cleaner is alkaline based.

Out of interest does anyone else use the mapai grout? Surely 15 mins pot life must be a problem on big jobs?

I think the porosity of the tiles compounded the issue though. If I had sealed them I think I wouldnt be posting this!
It's my own fault though I should have read the instructions

yes, your fault. Always read instructions. the important thing is to solve the problem
I'm sorry.
ps MAPEI not Mapai

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I'll make sure the cleaner is alkaline based.

Out of interest does anyone else use the mapai grout? Surely 15 mins pot life must be a problem on big jobs?

I think the porosity of the tiles compounded the issue though. If I had sealed them I think I wouldnt be posting this!
It's my own fault though I should have read the instructions

By sealing the stone, the porosity of the stone will not draw moisture from your grout ,keeping it wet slightly longer and easing the cleaning up

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Haha that's alright Bob, you can't be expected to read every post mate.
Do you use the new post list to search tho?

was flaked by 9,30 and early one this morning ,also said site was down and 6 am
Do use the new post bit after my last lesson from you!!!