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I have just laid a natural slate floor (1/4″-3/8″ variance), with roughly 3/8″ grout lines on a concrete slab. I used a thin set mortar with latex additive and grouted with a mildly tinted grout. All materials were purchased through a national home supply chain. The floor has turned out very well and has been curing for a few weeks noe while I’ve been trimming, caulking, sanding, etc.
I want the floor to remain that way and as such, am looking for advice on a material(s) that can be used to seal the floor properly as it leads to the entrance of my walk out basement and will receive a fair amount of abuse. I am hoping to find something that will give me a good matte finish as opposed to the “wet look”. I have read the letters section of the most recent edition of FH, but am hoping to gather further input. Any suggestions?
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Stone Glamour is the product you are looking for and should be available at a tile supply place. I put a couple of coats on the top side of the slates before installation and follow with a couple before grouting then finish with a couple after grouting. Sounds like alot of coats but it goes on really fast (I use a pad) and a gallon goes a longgggg way. Enough to do 300 sq. ft. all coats. Holds up well and can be reapplied once in a while to freshen. In your case as you have already laid and grouted just mop the stuff on after a good cleaning. It will look wet at first but mellows fast with some traffic.
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I have just laid a natural slate floor (1/4"-3/8" variance), with roughly 3/8" grout lines on a concrete slab. I used a thin set mortar with latex additive and grouted with a mildly tinted grout. All materials were purchased through a national home supply chain. The floor has turned out very well and has been curing for a few weeks noe while I've been trimming, caulking, sanding, etc.
I want the floor to remain that way and as such, am looking for advice on a material(s) that can be used to seal the floor properly as it leads to the entrance of my walk out basement and will receive a fair amount of abuse. I am hoping to find something that will give me a good matte finish as opposed to the "wet look". I have read the letters section of the most recent edition of FH, but am hoping to gather further input. Any suggestions?
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Bob has some good advice concerning the sealing of tile & grout. However, I'd like to point out one thing; when applying the first coat to grouted tile, pay extra attention to full coverage of all the grout. Sealer randomly applied may result in spotty discoloration of the grout.
The severity of this depends on the type of sealer used and the color of the grout. Lighter colors tend to show discoloration more than darker colors.
For the first coat, I use a synthetic sponge. Addittional coats can then be applied with a sponge mop, Hudson sprayer, etc.