Sealer for natural slate floor

[KathyH]

Hi, everyone. This is my first post here, so hope I get the conventions right.

My husband and I are laying slate in a new house. We bought it at Lowe's - beautiful stone, uniform 1 ft. squares. The sealer we were sold is Aqua Mix Ultraseal, and we were told it would give the floor a "wet" look, but not be too shiny. We pre-sealed about 80 tiles today, but once they dried they look just like unsealed slate. I tried a second coat on half of one slate just to see what happened, and it darkened it just a little, but nowhere near how it looks wet. Is there a sealer that will give the slate the rich color it has when wet without it being highly reflective? (We're tiling a large area and are concerned about sun reflection being blinding at certain times of day.)

[Sponsored Links]

[ceramictec]

If you want the wet look you need to get the Aqua Mix - High Gloss Sealer (http://www.aquamix.com/products/pg_detail.asp?pdid=2732&pgid=37155)

[KathyH]

So, there's no way to have the rich color and a low reflective finish?

[KathyH]

Ceramictec, I checked out the link you posted and saw a product from Aqua Mix called "Stone Enhancer" that looks like it may be just what I want. Any experience with this product?

Also, can I use the Enhancer on top of the Ultraseal? Or do I need to start over with new slates? Or clean the 80 I've done? (You may have noticed we're real amatures here.)

[cx]

Welcome, Kathy. :)

I'll move you to the forum where the sealer gurus hang out more regularly.
Hang on for more discussion.

But I'm wondering if y'all have given sufficient thought to the other aspects of your installation. My curiosity was piqued by your comment:(We're tiling a large area and are concerned about sun reflection being blinding at certain times of day.)You've considered your subflooring and tiling substrate and the need for expansion joints and all that sorta thing for this installation?

[KathyH]

The floor is slab concrete on the lower level & gypcrete (sp?) on the upper because of radiant floor heat. We know about needing expansion joints and not tiling over the joints in the slab, filling them first, etc. Not sure what else we've not thought of, but I'm sure there will be lots of things that come up as we go. Lucky we found your site!

[ceramictec]

yes the "stone enhancer" will work well.
I read your post as you wanted a "wet look" and to me thats shiny.

my favorite sealers are the AquaMix - Sealers Choice Gold (http://www.aquamix.com/products/pg_detail.asp?pdid=37174&pgid=37155)
and Stonetech Pro - Bulletproof (http://www.stonetechpro.com/products/protect/bps/) ....but both are low sheen natural look.

[KathyH]

How about my question on putting Enhancer on top of Ultraseal? Advisable or not?

[GeorgeT]

Kathy -
To be on the safe side I would say you should talk to the manufacturer and get their advice.
Any time you put an Enhancing type sealer on a floor that has already been sealed you run the risk of the enhancer not penetrating evenly. The potential for a blotchy and uneven appearance becomes greater than usual. You may need to remove the product you have down before you can switch to an enhancing product...