Ceramic tile sealer - glossy vs matte

[Walter Cohen]

I had a ceramic tile floor put in about 2-3 years ago in my kitchen and off-kitchen room. The tiles are a matte finish, not entirely matte but it looks like it had a bit of a sheen to it. They are certainly not like my glossy bathroom tiles. The floor has recently been looking rather grungy no matter how much I clean it and it seems to hold the dirt more than I think it should. Whatever sealer was put on by the installer most likely needs to be reapplied, but not before I use a heavy duty tile cleaner/degreaser.

I stopped in my local HD and I see they have a matte finish sealer or a glossy finish sealer. I'd prefer to purchase the glossy sealer and apply that over the matte tiles/grout. The guy at HD said that I could do that and it would make the tiles glossy(er) but not quite as though they were originally glossy tiles. This is the effect that I am looking for anyway. In retrospect I probably should have purchaseed glossy tiles to begin with....

As the sealer, whether matte or glossy, would be absorbed into the tiles/grout anyway and any remaining would dry on the surface I don't really see any problem with using glossy instead of matte. I guess it is a personal taste issue more than anything else but can anyone see any downside to doing this?

Thanks. Walter

[PipeDown]

Not too glossy or the floor will be slippery when wet. Glossy floor tiles are fine for a small room like a bathroom but the slipping issue makes matt finish better for large rooms. You can also buff on some old fashond floor wax. Use a penetrating sealer (if the tile is porous) and it will not change the appearance but will make it waterproof and less likely to stain, it may take 4-5 coats, keep going until it will not absorb any more. A penetrating sealer will do nothing to a glazed tile but will still protect the grout. Sounds like you are looking at an acrylic surface sealer, only the first coat or two will absorb, after that you build up the film.

[Walter Cohen]

Yes, it is an acrylic water-based sealer from TileLab.

Thanks. Walter

[dadiOH]

There is no point in applying a sealer to tile that has a glazed surface, matte or not. Sealer on grout, yes; sealer on tile, no...all it can do is add a film which gets dirty and is hard to clean. As you are experiencing.

[Cliff Hartle]

Sealer is for grout, unglazed tile(like qury tile) and stone.

Sealer on glazed tile just sits on the surface. Any tile that was previously glazed and is so worn than sealer would would actually soak in probally has to be replaced.

BTW The installer only sealed the grout. Not the tile.

[PipeDown]

Ceramic tile may or may not be glazed

[PipeDown]

I use that on my slate foyer it looks fine but is not invisible. As long as you have porous ceramic tile, it should work fine.

[dadiOH]

I know. That's why I restricted what I said to "glazed surface".

dadiOH _______________