A customer in Fovant, Salisbury got in touch to clean and seal her Black Limestone tiled floor as she wasn’t happy with appearance. She informed me that when they were laid they were a grey colour which she loved but when the tiler sealed them they became jet black in appearance. The sealer obviously didn’t meet her expectations so I conducted a test to see whether I could remedy the situation and she quickly booked me in.
Cleaning and Stripping the Sealer from Black Limestone Tiles
First I used a mild solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was brushed over the floor and left to dwell for ten minutes. Next using a grout brush I scrubbed out all the dirt from the grout lines and removed the now dirty cleaning solution using a wet vacuum rinsing thoroughly afterwards with clean water.
The floor was now ready to be burnished using a series of diamond encrusted pads which would remove the sealer and bring up the polish on the stone. Starting with the coarse pad attached to a rotary machine and some water I began to cover the area turning the water into white slurry. Once I had passed each tile four times I would then remove the slurry with a wet vacuum and rinse thoroughly with clean water. The process was then repeated with the medium and then fine burnishing pads. Once the floor had been rinsed sufficiently I left to dry for an hour or so before using the last very fine diamond pad to buff the tile to a shine and then left the floor to dry overnight.
Sealing Travertine and Limestone Tiles
I returned the next day and started by conducting a damp test in multiple areas to check the stone was ready for sealing. The test results were fine so I continued by applying two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which will protect from stains and it also brings out the natural colours in the stone. My customer obviously wanted me to keep the tile looking grey so I didn’t use any Stone Oil to darken the tile in this instance.
It’s probably difficult to appreciate from the photographs but my customer was very happy indeed and the tiles now have the desired look.
Source: Stone Floor Cleaning and Sealing in Wiltshire
