Do I need to seal my Marble tiles or grout?

[paulf]

Hello,

I recently installed dark brown/black Polished Marble tiles in my kitchen and we are finishing the grouting (dark charcoal color) tonight.

Do I need to seal the marble tiles with something? I have read on this site that polished Marble does not need a seal because the seal does not soak into the tile is that correct? What about micro cracks in the tiles?

Is there a coating that would help to prevent scratching of the tiles?

Do I need to seal the grout? Is the seal only to protect the color?

- Paul

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[Davestone]

Long story short,basically most polished marbles won't soak up a sealer due to the polishing process,which is different from the process of polishing granite.But black marble is for the most part limestone,here,and may be soft,or may not even be limestone.It wouldn't hurt to seal it,with an impregnating sealer,i wouldn't use a topical sealer,it will only wear, and won't protect the stone anyway...now for the bad news, your stone on a countertop is gonna get wrecked if you spill any citric juices,or tomato sauce, or alcohol, wines,or harsh cleaning substances..in other words you'll have to be veryyyy careful,it's not the best choice for a countertop material.

[paulf]

Thanks for the information. The tile is actually on my kitchen floor. What do you mean that citric juices will wreck the tile? Will the tiles break apart, stain, or something else?

With the grout being a charcoal color discoloration may not be that much of a worry. Is the grout sealer important to protect the grout from breaking up or only for discoloration?

[Trask]

Polished marble is simply acid sensitive...Acids (like lemon juice) will "etch" the polished finish on the stone leaving a dull spot. Sealers for the most part,(There is one out now that claims to stop etching :shades: ) will do little or nothing to stop this. It can be polished out..but that person will have to really know there stuff to do it correctly. Top polishing of marble / Natural stone takes considerable skill and expirience.

Sealers will aid in lessening absorbtion of oils and water into grout and stones/tiles. It's not 100% but it buys you some wiggle room most of the time.

Also be cautious of general purpose tile cleaners. Marble will easily etch with many non PH nuetral cleaners Acidic or Akline. Make sure you clean your marble with a PH nuetral formula.

[doitright]

Hi Paul, Welcome! :)

Bottom line is your marble is acid sensitive, as well as a material that will easily scratch under foot traffic. I recommend sealing the grout joints, and buffing the excess material off over the face of the stone.

When you floor develops traffic patterns, and possible etching to a point that you consider unacceptable appearance, I would consider having the floor professionally honed. I would then follow up with a enhancer (to help gain some color back into the stone). You'll find a honed marble much more forgiving, and easier to maintain.

[sarina]

I have solid black polished marble on my kitchen backsplash. (looks fabulous but is tricky to care for) I sealed it with Stonetech, but it still etches if any cleaner, tomato juice, etc isn't cleaned off immediately. The last time I visited this site, someone mentioned that there would soon be a new sealing product that may prevent acid etching. Is there something new on the market? Thanks. Sarina

[doitright]

Hi Sarina :)

That may have been me. The last Dry Treat seminar I attended presented a product called Acid Proof. This is a topical coating only for honed marble & limestone. They were still fine tuning the version for polished stone. As far as I know, it's still not available.

Whenever these "topical coatings" are applied to natural stone, they don't look "natural" anymore. :(

[sarina]

Thanks, John. I guess I'll just have to be super careful until they find a sealer for the polished marble. Sarina