Saltillo patio restoration - should a pro do it?

[THX1965]

This is a great forum for a total newbie in tile restoration like myself.

I want to restore our 300 sqft. saltillo tile patio that was installed and sealed 4 years ago, but not very professionally as I know now. (We trusted a contractor who was a friend at that time...)

Now the tiles look discolored, worn, patchy with some dark spots on most of the tiles.

Then, a water-based sealer was used (AFM Safecoat MexeSeal http://www.afmsafecoat.com/products.html).

I just started stripping a few tiles with Aldon's Premium Stripper (http://www.aldonchem.com/pr-premium-stripper.htm) when I realized how tough a job that is. The sealer does come off with some scrubbing etc., but the tiles still look totally uneven in color when wet. Also, most of the dark stains/patches (they seem to come from within the tile) are still there after stripping.

But what's really concerning me at this point is the totally patchy, uneven look of the stripped saltillo tiles when wet. Will a sealer bring out that patchy look too? I really don't want to stripp the whole floor only to find out that it looks worse than it used to.

The Aldon people say on their web page that all floors can be redone, but maybe with some saltillo floors (that are outside and were never that well sealed in the first place) it's a waste of time and money.

I'd love to get some input from people who have worked with saltillos before. Also, if someone knows of a company specializing in saltillo tile restauration in the Greater Los Angeles area, I'd really appreciate it. Maybe a job like that is best left to the pros...

Thank you very much in advance. This forum is my last hope. As I said, I am located in Woodland Hills, CA (Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley).

--- Markus ---

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[John Bridge]

Howdy, Markus. ;)

I don't do a lot of Saltillo anymore, but I used to do it all the time. And we never applied a top finish to tiles installed outdoors. A typical patio would be sealed with a penetrating sealer. Nothing that you could see on the surface.

If you got a pro restoration person to strip your patio, and you then let it dry out a couple weeks, your tiles would look pretty much like new.

The "stripes" are in the clay. They are the shadows caused by the wood racks that the tiles are placed on to air dry after they are formed. The stripes are a trademark, as it were, of real Saltillo pavers. ;)

[Jim Cuviello]

The pattchy dark areas are were there is finish still in the tile. You just need to go over it until you get all the finish out. It will take time and patients. Your best bet us to get a rotary machine with scrub brush and use a good stripper.

[THX1965]

...the AFM sealer that was used is a penetrating one, not a top one.

So the Sealer did penetrate into the tile. Doesn't that mean you'll never be able to get it all off and doesn't that cause the color difference?

I just talked to one contractor who claims that they do a whole 300 sqft patio in one day (for 1,500 - 1,700) including stripping, sealing and finishing. That doesn't seem very doable to me. Doesn't the whole thing need to dry after stripping? I mean, we are in Southern California, but still.

--- Markus ---

[mhegge1954]

One person in S. Cal you might contact is: Al Spaet aspaet@socal.rr.com. His company is "The Ground Floor" phone: 818-887-6413

[Jim Cuviello]

penatrating sealers do come out and will break down when exposed to the right chemicals. The variation in color is due to the fact there is still some penetrating sealer still in the Saltillo ehhancing it's color. There should be no problem cleaning the patio in a day but it should be bone dry before applying any impregnator. Applying impregnator to a wet surface is changing the chemical make up in a way it was not designed to work. The best way to clean Saltillo is with a machine and brush with the right chemical or a high pressure cleaning system that puts out 1500 PSI. This system cleans and captures the cleaning water.

Call Aqua Clean Tile and Grout. They are in San Juan Capistrano CA 949-429-2589. Let them know I sent you.