Really Messed Up Marble Sealer

[Deb R.]

We had a polished marble tile floor installed in a room & tonight I tried sealing it & it looks terrible with a capital T. First it went on bubbly, then very, very streaky, then it started to dry before I was finished & the streaks got much worse.
I used Tile Star Polished Tile Sealer, the bottle says simply 'apply with a lambs wool applicator or sponge mop, at least 2 light coats' which I thought I had done..What could I have done wrong? Is it me or the product? BTW the marble is that Red Jade & Brown Imperedor stuff from Home Depot. Looked fine til I sealed it. Grrrr! It's all gonna have to come off, I know it.

Deb R.

[Sponsored Links]

[Deb R.]

I just decided the sooner the better removing this sealer, figured why let it dry to the point where the nasty streaks have cured? So I mopped on a 1-5 part mix of Heavy Duty Cleaner & Stripper & went at it with a scrubby pad for like 1+ hour. Seems to be all off, in fact the marble looks even better now, with a serious mirror finish. Now I think I have to wait 48 hours to reseal it again right?..SO back to what exactly went wrong w/this sealer: Is it possible I don't even have to seal the polished marble tile? Isn't there a wet test for that? Maybe it came out all streaky like that b/c it wasn't absorbing into it? I was told both that I had to & didn't have to seal it..Figured sealing wouldn't hurt but boy was I wrong..that's 3 hours out of my life I'll never get back..That stuff was so difficult to work with like I was spreading clear nail polish onto the tile.
Please help! Need advise..

[GraniteGirl]

Before re-applying the sealer - see if your tile needs sealing first.

Drip water on the tile - leave it sit for a while and blot the drops up. If it left dark spots the tile needs sealer. If nothing happened, don't even bother.

Chances are with polished Emperador type marble, sealer will be totally unneccesary. The only job a sealer has is to prevent absorption of liquids. It will not prevent wear and tear, scuff marks or acid etches.

You might need to seal the grout, and when you do that, be sure to buff all excess sealer off the tiles to prevent what happened with the last attempt at sealing the tiles.

:goodluck:

[Deb R.]

I dripped a puddle of water on 1 of each of the marble tiles..I blotted it after 10 minutes & there was no darkening whatsoever on either. The grout got darker tho. Thinking back, I was scrubbing that floor on my hands & knees for like 2 hours last nite & I remember it was impossible to tell which tiles I had already scrubbed & which needed to be scrubbed because the color didn't change at all on the wet ones, even after being wet for hours. So do I still have to wait 48 hours to seal the grout since I removed all the nasty sealer from the marble? Can I use the same grout sealer I used for my ceramic tile grout?
Ya know using that wet rule, I have a speckled b/w granite vanity top in another bathroom gets dark right away when it's wet. DOH! Does that mean I need to seal that now? Supposedly, it was factory sealed before installation...it's a Pegasus vanity tops from Expo center. I don't think I like this Tile Star Sealer at all. I tried a little test patch on the granite & again it went on streaky, like lines in it from the sponge..What is a good stone sealer that does not go on streaky?
Boy this natural stone is starting to annoy me. So many variables. Well at least the floor itself doesn't need any sealing..

[doitright]

Hi Deb :)

Go ahead and seal the grout on your marble floor, making sure you buff dry any sealer that gets on your marble as you go.

Your granite top definitely needs sealing.

Get a quality sealer, such as Stone Tech HD Sealer (available from our online store), or Aqua Mix Sealers Choice Gold (from one of your local retailers). You can use the same sealer on both surfaces.

[Steven Hauser]

Hi Deb,

What are you applying the the product with? The answer to streaking may simply be the application method.

:)

[Deb R.]

I bought a lambswool pad thing at Lowe's for finishing HW flooring, the kind that you can screw a pole into the top making it into a mop applicator, specifically for water based finish. On the counter I did a test patch using a household yellow foam sponge. Both were recommend on the bottle. What else could I have used?

How long do I have to wait on the grout seal? The product I used to remove the sealer on Sat night says 'wait 48-72 hours to seal'-do I wait the full 72 hrs?

Re: the countertop, what should I do? It's gotta be cleaned first, that's our family's only bathroom right now so it gets used a lot. Once I clean it, isn't there the same 48 hour wait until I can seal it? It will just get dirty again in 48 hours..We could try REAL hard to not get stuff on it but chances are some water will splash onto it.

Hey John K. where is that poetic quote from about poor quality & low price?
Love that!

[doitright]

Hi Deb :)

The lambswool is ok. I don't like foam sponges, but there are other natural and synthetic sponges that work better (IMHO). Some sealers react differently with various methods of application. We always recommend TESTing first to see what will give the most satisfactory results.

48 hours should be more than enough waiting time to seal. If it was fresh grout, I'd wait the full 72 hours.

As long as you don't use too much water when cleaning your bath countertop, you should be able to seal the same day. Make there aren't any dark areas indicating that it's still wet (as you don't want to trap in any moisture).

As for the quote, I'm not sure. My dad used to have a sign in his office with that on it. I've been getting hammered lately with my pricing, so I thought I needed a reminder why I charge what I do. (Plus I stand behind my work, and answer the phone, and even sometimes return calls! :D )

[Deb R.]

No I wouldn't use the 5 cent foam sponge that was just for the impromptu test of that poor quality sealer.
So I have to go get some Aquamix at the tile store.
The grout should be good to go tomorrow. Yay.
Now if I clean this granite countertop with the "special granite cleaner" & dry it off after, I can seal it the same day in say 2-3 hours or should I wait more that that? I think the sealer dispapeared the first time I cleaned it b/c I used Windex on it at first which might have taken off the sealer. I just figured it's so shiny it had to be sealed but should have suspected it wasn't when it got rust stained within the first 2 weeks I had it. Now I'm sure the rust is imbedded in the stone, still really mad about that. I read a poultice with Iron Out powder might take it out but I think it's there to stay. I cover it w/a soap dish.
Lisa

According to Google that quote is credited to a guy named Seymour Jaron, the CEO of a big clothing company in SF. He is mentioned as the author whenever that quote is listed. He has a site featuring his pic w/the quote underneath:
www.sjprivatelabel.com/text/contact.html

But you say your dad had a sign with that? Was that pre 1978? That's when that Seymour guy's company was founded. Maybe it was a popular saying in those days? Maybe Seymour stole the quote?

[doitright]

Hi Deb ;)

I know it was pre 1974, cause that's when I enlisted in the Marines. :nod: