I'm Stumped

[Tiletim]

Anyone run into this ??

Here is what I have: 450 ft/2 of very badly gauged slate.

Let me say right off the bat , I DID NOT set this tile, wow is it bad !!!

Entry way to a high end salon, The previous owner waxed the slate, yes waxed! 3 years worth.

So I stripped the whole floor with Stonetech Klenzall mixed 2 to 1 and a power scrubber @ 200 rpm.

Stripped again with a 4 to 1 Klenzall and rinsed 3 more times

I did not want to use a heavier stipper as this is a very open tile.

Let the floor sit for 24 hours with fans on it and then sealed with 3 qrts. / 2 layers Stonetech Hi-Gloss finish sealant.

The floor was extremely dry before I started to seal (ran a dehumidifier also)

I am now seeing ghosting or clouding.

Normally I would wait 48 hrs to seal so I backed down the amount of water used to strip the floor. maybe total of 8 gallons for stripping then rinsed with 12 gallons of straight water until I got a clean pickup on the scrubber vacuum.

Here is what I ended up with, any thoughts???

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[koihito]

I had a lacquer finish on slate that turned almost 100% milky white last year. The home owner wanted to wait to fix it until they were back from a three week cruise, by the time they got back, it was clear again, and it never came back.

[Tiletim]

I am hoping that scenario plays out as you state but the difference is I used a water based sealer.

That was my initial thought - moisture still in the tile.

Thought I was safe - the dehumidifier was nearly empty.

We'll have to wait and see I guess.

Appreciate the reply

[cx]

I'll move this to the more appropriate forum, Tim. :)

[MudGuy]

Hey Tim - I think 24 hours was rushing things a bit by several days (even here in the desert) and you’ve got some trapped moisture. If turnaround time was a consideration to seal within 24 hours, I think I would have opted to allow traffic/business on the raw floor for a few days. Risky, yeah, but I guess I wouldn’t be too concerned with staining on a multi-colored slate floor. :D

[GeorgeT]

Hey Tim -
I think Jonathan is on the right track about there being trapped moisture in the floor. As the moisture continues to try to evaporate it builds up behind the coating and cause white areas.
I have one other direction to go with a possible cause. The floor had been waxed for several years and you used several rounds of KlenzAll scrubbing and rinsing to remove the wax....I'm wondering if all the wax came up...
Residues of previous products or cleaners can also cause the same whiteness to occur. In the case of residues, they act as bond breakers, preventing the acrylics from grabbing the stone surface properly... and leaving whiteness as a telltale sign.
I bring this idea up because KlenzAll, although it is a strong alkaline cleaner, is not formulated exactly the same as high strength floor finish strippers... its closer to degreasing formulas. It may have not removed all of the wax thus leaving open the possibility of a whiteness problem when the finish is applied.

Does the whiteness seem to be expanding?
If the white areas grow any more it could mean moisture is still trying to escape.

[Tiletim]

Thanks for the quick response George

I just spoke with the owner and he said it looks like it is dissipating.

What was unusual is that immediately after I applied the sealer I could see the clouding which would lead me to believe that I did not get all the wax up.

But I did inspect very closely before applying the sealer and saw no signs of existing wax.

This is the highest traffic part of the room, in front of the appointment desk.

Should I let it cure for 48hrs. then strip the area with the heavy duty stripper?
Let dry for 48 hrs. then re-apply sealer?

The store location tool on the Stonetech website may not be working and my supplier doesn't carry the HD stripper.

Have made several calls to local tile houses and no luck finding a distributor.

I am in the 55371 area code - Princeton, MN

I am up against the wall time wise, Their grand opening is 9am this Monday

any help finding a distributor from your company directory would be great.

Thanks again

[cx]

Your quickest method of obtaining a specific StoneTech Professional product may be from our friends at Tile Experts.com (http://www.tile-experts.com), Tim, if you can't find anyone local who stocks it. I'm sure David Taylor would arrange expedited shipping for you. Tell'im we sent you. :)

Not gonna be inexpensive maybe, but looks like you got you some rock/hard place there.

Or maybe all the blushing will be gone before you even hafta worry about any of this stripper problem?

My opinion; worth price charged.

[GeorgeT]

Tim -

If it is dissipating that could be a good thing...

So your wanting to strip off the coating, try cleaning the stone again and then reseal?

That would probably be the best method....but if the whiteness dissipates you could just recoat....

cx has got a good idea and I will PM info as we also have distributors in Waite Park and Plymouth....

[JTG]

Tim
What happens if you take a heat gun and blow on it? Don't use the highest setting but get them bad boys hot and see see if the white goes away.
Will tell you a lot about what you need to be doing.
Good Luck
JTG

[Davestone]

Yeah, i would keep a floor fan on it to speed drying,also.Since it's a beauty salon i wonder what chance there is of a chemical having been spilled and wiped up in those spots. Maybe a 50% hydrogen peroxide or something, adding to the whiteness,but as said it's probably moisture and or wax,maybe even a simple floor wax remover from H.D would work for times sake.

[Tiletim]

Happy to say all the clouding is gone.

Thanks for all the help George and the pro's CX, Jerry & Dave.

I am brand loyal to dupont because I know they have excellent cust. reps and I am comfortable using there products. (do I sound like a commercial)

Jerry, thanks for the heat gun trick. Worked like a charm. and saved my work week.

I guess I got worked up thinking I was working the weekend, that would not make the little lady and the kiddies already at the cabin very happy.

[Davestone]

Turned out nice. :bow:

[william35453]

hey tim, i thought that stone tech high gloss was a lacquer topical coat? did you say you found a ST water-base product? i do know that any humidity can cloud clear lacquer of any kind.

[Marge]

Wow Tim! Looks great!!

[cx]

Check with our friends at Tile Experts.com (http://www.tile-experts.com), William. StoneTech Professional makes both a high-gloss and a semi-gloss water-based sealer now.

I will admit knowing nothing at all about the use of either one. They're relatively new and I've not tried either. Aughta git me some samples to play with one of these days. :shades:

[Tiletim]

Thanks for compliments on the floor.

CX is correct on the new hi-gloss sealer being water based but I believe they still have the lacquer stuff too.

I had to use a low VOC product because this salon shares a wall with a food establishment and I could not risk any air borne contaminants.

Have to say I am very pleased with the results and ease of use.

The first coat goes on looking kinda of milky white with a shade of blue.

Waited and hour and put on second coat, this is where the shade of blue helps you see what you have already covered. Then it all dries clear and glossy. (except for the water left in the tile because I rushed it :) )

Thanks to Jerry I got to add a new tool to the truck.

[GeorgeT]

We came out with the water based formulations late last year. High Gloss came out first and then the Semi Gloss a little later. They are intended to offer a water based alternative to the the High Gloss Lacquer, which is a solvent based product.
We no longer offer the High Gloss Lacquer in the the VOC compliant States. It is still available in many other States but as more areas of the Country enact air quality legislation the availability of this or any of the solvent formulations will be affected.