Sealant recommendations for marble and limestone. - Tile Advice

[edwardk]

I've got some limestone flooring/walls do lay and some marble floors.

I was sold Ardex X77W to do the lot.

Kitchen floor is screed (limestone).
Bathroom floor will be Marmox (10mm screwed to 19mm flooring grade t&g ply - very stiff)(marble).
Bathroom walls will be 12mm Marmox (limestone)

I understand that I need to seal the stone.

At what point do I seal them ? Before laying with an inital coat or after laying (but before grouting).

Any recommendations on a good sealer ?

Marble is a botticino one.
Limestone is applestone and other is sinema.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[ernie]

Hi personally I would apply one coat of sealent prior to grout as the limestone can be difficult to remove the grout from, after grouting another couple of coats. IMO

 

[DHTiling]

LTP matt stone is perfect for all the stone you have..


Full application instructions can be found on the LTP site..


LTP Online

 

[jasonj]

As Dave said LTP Mattstone is an excellent sealer. I generally apply 2 coats prior to grouting as it makes grout removal easier and if the customer is willing to pay then 2 coats after grouting. I generally apply the sealant with a foam (Lint free) roller and lightly roll any thick patches with a dry foam roller to even out. So far i havent had any problems using this method although some tilers do like to use a sponge or lint free cloth.

Jase

 

[DHTiling]

In addition to Jase's advice.. i use a paint pad... and to add make sure you buff up any sealer that has not soaked in within 20 mins or so..

Some limestones can take several coats to saturate.. once the stone stops absorbing sealer then it is saturated..

 

[edwardk]

Sweet - thanks for the help - will find a seller online I think as not sure local place here (CHannel Islands) sells it - have seen 'Lithofin' (sp ?) locally.

Any online shops to recommend ?

How many litres to buy ?
Got 25 m2 in kitchen and 8m + 16m in bathroom = 49 m2 in total

Yes - this is for my own place so if you guys recommend 2 coats then grout then finsih with 2 coats I'll go for that - am happy to pay for materials as labour (me) is 'free'

Have a paint roller tray and spare unused roller so will use that - is it water based ? (for cleaning)

 

[jasonj]

Lithofin is another top range product IMHO. Their products have been tried & tested and i have had no problems in the past. Try this website www.extensive.co.uk their Lithofin products are very reasonable, some cheaper than what i get at trade price from my local supplier. On their website there is an area calculator....select the product and put in how many metres you need to seal and it is quite accurate.

For the Limestone i would reccommend "Lithofin MN Stainstop" which is what i generally use for Limestone. Its not cheap but an excellent product.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Jase

 

[DHTiling]

You can get LTP direct from them online.. Great product and not as dear as Lithofin..

Buy Here>>> LTP Online

 

[edwardk]

I ran through the LTP site and chose limestone it gave me Mattstone as the sealer. When I went for marble it gave me MPG Sealer.

I'm going to put marble on the floor in the bathroom (man I'm moving up in the world ! Been using a bucket and ply flooring for far too long !).

Will the LTP Mattstone be ok on the polished marble ?

The coverage calc on the LTP site thinks I need the following (49 m2 of tile but probably 45 m2 of flooring)

LTP Mattstone
4 coats = 18 litres (3 x 5litres = £386.40 + 3litres = £57.96 ... total of £444.36)
3 coats = 9 litres (2 x 5litres = 154.56)
2 coats = 4.5 litres (5litres = £77.28)

Can I get away with 2 coats on the wall in the bathroom ? Or is this madness and 3 coats should be the minimum on the wall and 4 coats on the kitchen and bathroom floors.
Didn't realise it was that expensive

Thanks
Ed

 

[jasonj]

LTP is cheaper than Lithofin and to be honest i havent had any complaints for the two products. As Dave said the LTP will be fine on all of it for probably half the price. I have had customers be quite content with 1 coat before grouting and 1 coat after and 18months on the sealant is still doing its job. But that depends on the stone.

For the Limestone if you want to maintain the natural effect of the stone with no discolouration go with the LTP Mattstone

As for the Marble i would go with MPG Sealer, it does act as an impregnator. Try an off cut test first and see if you want just the MPG Sealer or the MPG Sealer and the LTP Mattstone. I would imagine the LTP Mattstone will dull polished marble.

Also with your marble make sure you find out if it is sealed with transit wax or Nano wax. If they are pre-sealed with any of the waxes you need to remove this film before you impregnate and seal the marble using Lithofin Waxoff. I dont know an LTP product that removes the wax. Make sure you rinse well as not to get any chemical reaction between the Lithofin Waxoff & the LTP sealers. There is a case for using different brand products causing possible cross contamination/reaction but ive found plenty of rinsing fine.

Use the MPG Sealer after the Waxoff process & if needed apply the LTP Mattstone, although the impregnator should be sufficient.

Good luck

Jase

 

[DHTiling]

Mattstone will seal marble.. The MPG is designed for tighter surface tensions like polished stones but mattstone will seal it no probs..

 

[edwardk]

I reckon the LTP calculator is wrong :

It says :
LTP Mattstone
4 coats = 18 litres (3 x 5litres = £386.40 + 3litres = £57.96 ... total of £444.36)
3 coats = 9 litres (2 x 5litres = 154.56)
2 coats = 4.5 litres (5litres = £77.28)

But I reckon this is what it actually means:
LTP Mattstone
4 coats = 9 litres (2 x 5litres = £154.56)
3 coats = 6.75 litres
2 coats = 4.5 litres (5litres = £77.28)

I was thinking of getting 2 x 5 litre tins of LTP Mattstone and either doing 3 or 4 coats and then keeping whatever was left over for a recoat in 2 years time (it doesn't go off does it?)

Anyone think my calculations are more accurate or wrong ?

 

[edwardk]

Think I'm going to go with two 5 litre tins - hoping to have about 4 litres left over which I can use for an additional coat in 2 yrs time.

 

[edwardk]

Have been laying 1300kg of oak.... now ready for the stone.
Sealed about 2/3's of it the other day.
I figured I had the time and the plumbers wanted some ducts open still so I couldn't actually get laying the stone.
Instead I have sealed the limestone for the kitchen with a single coat of LTP Mattstone - man, it absolutely stinks! I can still smell it 4 days on....

I ended up using a foam roller and tray for a thin coat - soaked in after I'd done about 10 tiles - thanks Ed

 

[davemul]

Hi guys, sorry to hijack the thread... I need some sealer for my limestone tiles... LTP gear looks good!

my question is... LTP also do a colour intensifier sealer. My limestone tiles are quite pale. Is the intensifier a drastic change? or should I stick to just the matt sealer they do

thanks

Dave