Wrong Grout Color

[ian_jacobsen]

Let me start by saying that I am a newbie at the whole tiling thing. I just finished tiling my first wall, and grouted yesterday. It turns out that the guy in the tile shop put the wrong shade of grey on our order, and now I'm stuck with light grey grout lines instead of a medium grey that matches the tile. What is my best approach to solve this problem?

- I've heard of using a rotary tool (RotoZip or Dremel) with a reinforced cutting attachment to clean out the grout. Since I have a RotoZip, this could be a viable solution, however I'm afraid of damaging the tile in the process.

- I've used a grout saw in the past to replace damaged grout in small areas, but this would take forever on a wall (some 70 sq ft).

- I've also heard of grout colorants, but they kind of sound like a coat of paint that would wear off over time.

I'm open to ideas.

--Ian

[Marilynn or Bruce Pearce]

everything you want to know.

[PipeDown]

Try a color enhancing penetrating sealer. It should darken the grout a little but I don't know if that would be enough for you. If the color looks good when it is wet but not dry, this may work.

Look for a penetrating colorant and do not seal before you apply it or it will not soak in. If the tile is porous, you may stain it too so make sure the tile is compatible with whatever process you choose.

Otherwise, get used to it, dosen't sound all that bad. Removing the grout will take as much time as the whole project did to this point. The roto tool method risks damaging the tiles

[Kyle Boatright]

If there are decent gaps between the tiles, you can dig the grout out with a utilitiy knife.

Unfortunately, there isn't a fast way to remove lots of grout...

[ian_jacobsen]

Thanks for the suggestions. I found an oil based grout stain made by Bostik. I'm going to attempt this in a small area to see if I like it. If it is not to my liking I also purchased a grout sealer/enhancer from Lowes made by AquaMix. I'll give an update on once I try the stuff out.

-- Ian

Bostik CeramaSeal Grout Stain

AquaMix Color Enhancing Sealer