New travertine shower- what to do now?

[Kdiamond]

Hello all- Great site.

We just re-did our bathroom with travertine floors, and travertine shower. The shower has 1x1 "rough" marble floor, and there is a decorative border about 4 feet up with rough tumbled (unfilled) pencil travertine and 1x1 travertine.

Our installer is wanting to acid wash everything, then seal with an enhancer of unknown origin and a tile-labs sealer from home depot.

I am a big fan of over-doing things, so I would like to have the shower as sealed as it can possibly be, mainly the floor for obvious reasons.

He is grouting today and wants to acid-wash and seal tomorrow.

Is this too soon? Is "tile-labs" any good for my beautiful new shower? Should I wait and seal it myself so I now it gets done perfectly?

Thanks-
Keith

[Sponsored Links]

[Davestone]

No way would i acid wash tumbled travertine,let alone,a day after you grout, and seal it the next day.The acid will continue to eat at the calcium, and the sealer won't penetrate,cause the water in the grout and stone will form a repellant.I would use a stone cleaner, at least three days,after grouting, then wait at least three days to seal.You can order quality sealers and cleaners from TYW above, or use Aquamix products,if you don't want to wait,which is one of the best, in my opinion. :)

[GraniteGirl]

Hey Keith

Do you have polished travertine for the balance of your install? An acid wash is not a good idea with a polished stone surface. It will do damage to any calciferous stone, but on a honed or tumbled finish you will not be able to see the acid etches. Polished material will be left dull because the acid will literally dissolve or eat away the top layer of stone.

If he uses a high grade enhancer, a sealer will be redundant. Most enhancers are sealers anyway. I would not trust the quality of most of the stone stuff you can buy at the Home Depot (do a forum search for tile lab). Get some from a reputable tile and stone speciality store (like the tywstore for instance :D ) Do not use a topical enhancer or sealer in a wet environment. You will be inviting trouble if you do.

Apply whatever sealer you choose according to the directions on the bottle. Be patient. Wait for at least a day befor re-applying if required.

Clean your shower with a stone specific cleaner. Don't do anything harsh or abrasive like Tilex or scrubbing bubbles on the stone.

POST PICTURES :D

[Kdiamond]

Thank you for the great help.

Yes, the remainder of the travertine is the honed and filled type. I don't think it would be called polished, cause it's not shiny, but it is definitely not tumbled. The only tumbled is in the decorative border, the sink backsplash, and the chair rail around the toilet area.

The shower floor is called marble but it has a rough sheen to it, not like a polished marble. I don't know if that is tumbled or not. It does not have many voids and holes in it which is why we chose it for the shower floor.

I am looking at the TYW products, but I am a tad confused about the cleaners.

1. What is the difference between grout haze remover and stone cleaner?
2. should a clean and sela the tumbled stone different than the honed and filled and if so how?
3. If I go with the TYW products, which should I buy for a start to finish clean and seal?

Thanks to all-

Keith

[doitright]

Hi Keith :)

Can you post a picture?

Grout haze removers are usually acidic, and stone cleaners are not.

Do you like the look of the stone how it is now, or how it looks when you wet it?

With the abudance of products available, and not being present at your project, we need more details to best help you. :nod:

[Kdiamond]

OK- here are some pics. The border that you see is of tumbled travertine, and the floor piece that you can is marble.
http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=11724&stc=1
http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=11725&stc=1

[doitright]

Hi Keith :)

Good looking work! :nod:

If you want the natural look, use either Stone Tech's Heavy Duty Stone Sealer, or Stone Tech's Bulletproof. If you want to bring out a little more color, seal with ST's Enhancer Pro. Maintain with ST's All Purpose Tile & Stone Cleaner. ST's Revitalizer may also be used about once a week.

[Kdiamond]

Great- thank you. I am leaning towards the ST bulletproof.

What should I use to clean up the grout haze? Just the cleaners you mentioned?

How long should I wait to clean, then to seal?

The shower is about 190 sq ft of tile. I would like to double coat the sealer. How much do you think I should buy?

Thank you very much for your advice- :bow:

Keith