Grout sealing?

[Kitchenboy]

What suggestions does anyone have for putting on grout sealer on the floor and in the shower area. I have been putting it off for months now, because I'm afraid of making a mess. I bought the sealer from this site it's the Dupont heavy duty sealer. Just looking for some advice. Thanks for any help.

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[Dave U.K.]

what make is it..?

[Kitchenboy]

The bottle just says DuPont Stonetech Professional, Heavy Duty Grout Sealer. By the way the grout lines are 3/8 and its a sanded grout.

[Dave U.K.]

Hi mark......

Here is the pdf for that product....all the instructions are there for you.....

http://www2.dupont.com/Products_and_Services/en_AU/assets/downloads/dcse%20msds/Heavy_Duty_Grout_Sealer.pdf


good luck..

[cx]

Not sure I understand the question, Mark. I know those StoneTech bottles have installation instructions on'em. If the bottle's not readable, you can see the label or instructions on their website. (http://www.stonetechprofessional.com/showitem.cfm?itemnum=309&catnum=147&pcatnum=0)

Pay special attention to the part where they tell you to TEST the product on an inconspicuous area before applying it to your whole floor, eh? :)

[Kitchenboy]

I read the directions, I thought there might be some tricks as to what kind of applicator to use?

[Davy]

Hi Mark, I use a paint pad (Home Depot) if the whole surface needs to be covered like on stone. If I need to seal the joints only, I use a cheap paint brush. Either way, wipe off the excess sealer with a clean rag.:)

[Kitchenboy]

Thanks Davy, yeah its not a natural stone tile, so I just have to do the joints. I saw someone talking about a bottle with a brush head built in the end also. Do you wipe off the excess right away or wait a little while?

[duneslider]

Let it dwell on the joints for a few minutes. It might say on the bottle around 5-10 minutes. After that time wipe up any excess with a rag, especially any that got on the tile.

The grout might need two coats.

[SABoyt]

If you have been putting it off for months now, i think you might want to make sure the grout is clean before sealing. Even if you can't see any residue, it can be there. It's a shower! Get an acidic cleaner, the miracle grout haze remover at home depot will do. Clean the grout well. This will also etch the grout and open the microscopic pores and prepare it to accept more sealer. Rinse the floor really well after the acid wash to help neutralize the acid. While at the depot, pick up a plastic bottle with the wheel on the top. Put your sealer in the bottle and roll it down the lines. This gets plenty of sealer in the grout line without getting a lot on the tiles. Be sure to put enough in the lines to let it look like a river. It will then absorb. After 5 minutes, wipe the tiles and whatever sealer remains. If it all soaks in quickly, put on a second application.

If you have any white haze appear after you are finished, just put a little sealer on a cotton cloth and wipe the haze.

I buy that specific sealer by the cases. It works well and is easy to apply and clean up.

[Kitchenboy]

Steve, Ive been putting it off for months, but we haven't even used the shower yet. Its a spare bath. Im assuming thats why you said to clean it first. When you say put in on like a river, are you talking the floor, not the walls? Thanks, Mark

[GeorgeT]

Mark -

The key is saturating the grout... getting enough sealer to soak in so it will be effective once it cures... Flooding the grout lines (I think thats where Steve's going) is one way to get a lot of material in the grout...
Shower walls (or any vertical sealer work) are difficult to apply enough sealer on. I always just went back over the wall several times, applying more sealer each time and wiping the tile off as I finished half a wall or so.