Grout Quick Dry Methods

[bob@surface-renew.com]

Hi! New to the forum. I'm on the fringes of tile work... my company does refinishing or reglazing of tubs and tile. One area we're working on I thought some people in here can help with is re-grouting before we complete refinishing. The problem... we need quick dry times!! Any products or processes anyone has seen?

These are a few of our city websites, we'd also love to partner with anyone in these areas!!! We often run into customers who want tile floors installed or a space heater taken out and tiled over before we refinish. I apologize. The links don't work. I'm not a huge forum person so not very techie, but here are our main cities:

Little Rock, AR
Tulsa, OK
Plano, TX
Lubbock, TX

Thank you!!

[John Bridge]

Hi Bob.

We'll help you if you help us, but you've got to participate. If you're just here to announce your business, well . . .

[bob@surface-renew.com]

Hey John... Hoping to do a little of both! Ideally find a tile expert in one of my areas but I'm open to suggestions from anyone. Grout drying time is an issue in refinishing because so many times old tile is missing grout or the application is very uneven. We've tried different things for years but haven't found a good solution.

I came across this forum and hoped I might get a few suggestions. The grout HAS to be completely dry before we spray our coating or there can be issues with trapped water. We're experimenting right now with a light skim coat and with a lacquer thinner wipe down. Hoping to find something more reliable!

Thanks!
Bob

[John Bridge]

Mapei for one has fast drying grouts.

[bob@surface-renew.com]

Will give it a try. Thanks!

[cx]

Welcome, Bob.

I'm wondering how the "lacquer thinner wipe down" would alleviate the moisture problem in less than fully dried grout. You can share y'all's thinking on that?

[bob@surface-renew.com]

The solvents help the water evaporate. It works, but can suck too much moisture out and cause cracking.

[Davy]

Grout needs a certain amount of time to cure. Trying to rush it could cause issues. Instead I would do the grout repair and come back to spray the coating after the grout has cured.

[cx]

Interesting. I could certainly see alcohol working that way, but I guess I'm not chemist enough to understand how lacquer thinner would help with that.

I agree, Davy. I'm not at all sure what Bob's "refinishing" consists of, but I'm thinking adding another trip to the job might make it financially unworkable.

The industry has so much trouble with grout in normal use, I think I wouldn't be willing to get into still another potential problem area with it. But if somebody else can make it work...........

[Davy]

I was on a remodel job a few years ago and they were recoating the tub. Seems like they also recoated the tile that was around the tub too. They had large A/C ducts running out the window for ventilation because the smell was so strong. I have no idea what chemical they were using, I didn't stick around long enough to find out. The coating looked good when they were done, I don't know how well it holds up, Bob can probably tell us if he's doing the same thing.

[CaliGrown]

Have you tried Epoxy Grout, could even mix it up before prepping the joints and let it firm up before applying it. Would set up quick IMO. If not that try Prism or Mapei’s Ultracolor FA with hot water.
Davy brings up a good point about ventilation, Landberg Tile on YT uses a dehumidifier setting on his portable ac system in his bathrooms to speed things up.

[John Bridge]

I'm pretty much a mud man. I know back in the day we would sometimes sprinkle baking soda in the mud on a mud board to set it up quicker. I know it weakens the mortar.

[bob@surface-renew.com]

Great ideas and input from all... thank you so much! To answer Davy's question: today's coatings hold up GREAT; 10 to 15 years in residential homes (owner occupied) and 5 -7 for rentals. We love do the tub and tile but one flaw is that the coating is VERY fine so if any grout is missing, an ugly black line appears. A guy out of Chicago came down to train my techs on a new coating and he talked about (and showed us) how he grouted before spraying and the results were amazing. I'm just a little worried about moisture getting trapped and our business model is not set up for 2 trips to allow dry time. Gonna try a few of these tips out.