Sealing Natural Stone Patio to enhance color, etc.

[LAhrary]

We just finished laying 300 square feet of slate style 12x12 tiles on our outdoor patio. We are about to grout it with "natural gray" sanded grout. We are looking into sealers. We want the most effective sealer that will also enhance the colors in the stone. :drool2:

We've heard that the shinier it is the more colorful the tile will be, but it may be dangerously slippery. Is there any "wet-looking" sealers that aren't going to be slippery but will protect the stone pretty well?

Thanks for the info!

[Sponsored Links]

[Davestone]

Enhancing sealers are generally impregnating, meaning they soak into, and don't lay on the stone, they don't add that much to the slippery effect, but they will somewhat, especially if applied heavily.Aquamix is a good one, Stonetech doesn't enhance as much.

[LAhrary]

We've used an impregnating sealer on our natural stone tile in our kitchen and it's not very shiny. In fact, you can barely tell it's been sealed. We've seen "wet-look" sealers at hardware stores, but I don't know if there is a difference. Where can I get the sealers that you recommend? :crazy:

[jvcstone]

What you want is called a "color enhansing" impregnator. Stuff is not cheap, and will need to be periodically reapplied out side. Most of the sealer manufactures have a version of it. Please stay away from anything that is a topical (sit on top of the stone) sealer Some of the high gloss products are essentially a laquer coating, and they are generally bad news for both you and your stone in the long run.

JVC