Saltillo emergency

[culk]

I contracted someone to clean/strip and reseal my saltillo tile flooring. The floor now looks worse than ever. It is very streaky and many areas look glossy and wet even though it has been drying for 4 days already. The product they used was Tesco Clear Seal. Yesterday I had another company come in to see if it can be salvaged. They are attempting to contact Tesco for more information. They told me the problem is that the original contractor applied a penetrating sealant over an already sealed floor and the streaky/shiny/wetlook areas are because the sealer couldn't penetrate. They have told me that it may (not sure yet) be necessary to completely strip the tiles down to their bare surface then refinish them. I have approximately 2000 sq' of saltillo and am obviously freaked out by this whole mess.

Any ideas, opinions?

Thanks,

Dave

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[az]

Dave I would agree with the folks who are telling you that there is sealer causing a problem. It may also be a solvent based product that does not like the water based that was applied over it or visa versa. There are many products that are not compatible with each other, the only way to fix it is to strip it completely, then do a "water" test. Once the saltillo is stripped, drop some water on it and see if it penetrates quickly, or if it stays on top. If it stays on top, there is still an unseen sealer in the tile. You then must find a top coat that is compatible with the existent sealer. In this case most of the time it is going to be solvent based, such as Mexi-glaze.

Feel free to keep us posted.

az

[Davestone]

I would agree, and suggest they find out what Tesco recommends as a stripper,hopefully it won't mean a Methylene Chloride nightmare(been there done that)and you can get a decent sealer job afterward,also typically a water based top gloss coat is used after a solvent based sealer for ultimate shine.Here's a link for some good info....http://www.aldonchem.com/mt-mexican-tile.htm

[culk]

Thanks AZ and Davestone for the responses and for the informative link. The new contractor is communicating with Tesco to see what is recommended. They should be returning soon to perform a test. I don't know if it is relevant but I thought I'd mention that these are presealed tiles. I know this because of the extra tiles left in the garage when I moved in. Obviously, because of the amount of tile (+/- 2000sq') I hope to avoid stripping down to bare clay. Can you give me an idea of what I should expect to pay per sq'. I know this will vary regionally so I am only looking for a ballpark figure. I live in the SF bay area.

Thanks again

Dave

[az]

Prices are exremely dependant on what is needed to accomplish the job. I charge anywhere from 2 per foot up to 7 per foot, if it needs meth. chloride strip.

Good luck.