Travertine Mosaic Tiles

[AJ]

Hello All

I have some travertine mosaic tiles on my bathroom floor (Honed and Filled) but some of them are appear to be disintegrating in that the polished top of the tile has disappeared leaving a chalky abrasive tile. Is this due to the fact that the tiler didn't seal them properly and water ingress into the stone? Based on this should I clean them down and seal again, including the good ones with an impregnator or will the damaged ones just get worse??

Also is it possible to get a nice polished finish using impregnator, I have some large travertine tiles on the wall too and would like to get a polished finish.

Thanks for any advice

AJ

[Andy Hall]

The procedure would be to clean them thoroughly - Lithofin Wexa is good for this - allow to dry thoroughly for at least 24 hrs. Then apply a good quality sealer (e.g. Lithofin MN Stainstop) and leave that for 24hrs as well. Fill with the same shade of grout as has been already used and allowed to go off for at least 24hrs. Finally apply two further coats of MN Stainstop.

If it was honed then it will remain honed unless it's mechanically polished by going through a series of polishings with ever finer grades of abrasive. Normally that is done in the factory before shipping and would be difficult to do in situ.

The sealer products are deliberately designed not to impart a different finish to the nice honed original which is also why excess is wiped off to avoid patches. You could try a colour enhancer product. Lithofin do one of these as well and it should go on after the washing stage. It will raise the colours and appearance, but won't make something look polished that isn't.

[AJ]

For clarification when you say fill with the same shade of grout used previously do you mean the grout that has been used on the tile itself and not grout that has been used between the tiles?

Also I bought some heavy duty tile cleaner a while back which contains phosphoric acid (Plasplugs) will that do instead of the lithofin Wexa you mention?

So after the washing prior to the sealing?

Great, thanks for your help

AJ

[Andy Hall]

I meant the one that is used on the tile itself if that's different to the one used between them

I would be careful with anything acid on travertine etc. Ultimately it dissolves in acid. Wexa is more of a detergent/degreaser and won't harm the tiles themselves.

Exactly. If the travertiine is really pale it won't have much of an effect. There is more on more highly coloured stone such as slate. If the travertine is more yellow then you may see more effect. You can think of it being roughly like what the stone looks like when wet but not with water puddled on it.

[AJ]

OK I will take your advice regarding the cleaner and give it a shot. Thanks

[Andy Hall]

As with all these things, you might want to try a small area first.