Hi guys. I'm a new member here, so if I contravene the protocol just let me know .... gently. Not my real mugshot by the way, so no need to reply in short sentences with monosyllable words I have tiled and grouted the areas or my kitchen that I wanted tiled, but I'm now wondering about how to stop splashes of spaghetti bolognese, chicken tikka chasni, etc, from soaking into and permanently staining the white grout. The tiles are fairly large format (400 x 248mm) gloss ceramic used in portrait mode two tiles high, so there aren't that many grout lines to seal. For my bathroom, which had smaller tiles floor to ceiling on 3 walls, I used an aerosol grout sealer (branded but possibly own brand from the other DIY warehouse beginning with B). It was expensive at something like £17 for one tin, and the high grade solvent fumes nearly choked me to death even with the windows open, the extractor fan on full blast, and a fairly thick but ordinary mask. (Yes, I know, but I don't have a proper respirator mask). I have a 5 litre tin of Screwfix Clear No Nonsense Water Repellent Seal (code 57474) left from a previous project, and I was wondering what your thoughts were on its suitability as a paint-on impregnating sealer for the grout lines. I tested it out on some tile scraps grouted together, and although it initially leaves a slight "watermark" like the aerosol spray I used in the bathroom did, this buffs off easily with a cloth and water beads nicely on the grout. It is turpentine / white spirit based and soaks in very quickly on porous surfaces like cement, brick, and concrete. Although it leaves a fairly strong gloss paint type of smell for a few days, it doesn't wet the grout too much before starting to dry. What are your thoughts? Have any of you improvised with this type of sealer like this before? Cheers
It'll surely work. You'll need 2 coats(the first one will soak in and still leave it porous). Your main problem 'may' be, because it is oil based, it may yellow prematurely(especially in a kitchen). Mr. HandyAndy - Really
Good point HandyAndy, and one that I hadn't really considered. I have no idea how this stuff ages, and I suppose when used on cement and brick as intended, yellowing wouldn't really matter anyway. I used it to coat the portions of tile backer cement board below the tub level in my bathroom and panels on my prefab garage, but that was only a year ago and it's pretty much impossible to guage yellowing on grey cement. It could show up badly on white grout. Thanks.
As a diy'er I've used grout sealer on all my tiling, 2 shower cubicles and 2 splash backs Used the liquid type and a small brush to paint onto grout when first grouted The sealer looked a bit yellow when first applied but dries to a clear finish, this was on white grout The sealer I used was branded HG Hagesan Has it worked ? Well both the showers get used daily and we do give them a regular spray with a bleach type cleaner so find that the grout has stayed nice and white (one of the showers is tiled in 100mm tiles so plenty of grout lines) Splashbacks look fine as well, splashes do seem to wipe away Would say for a few quid its worth buying the right product and using it, seem to remember 2 coats was recommended on the M I
Thank you for that suggestion Dave. I think that a paint-on product is far less wasteful than the compressed aerosol can idea, because no matter how closely you aim the nozzle you always get wasted overspray onto the gloss tiles where it isn't needed and has to be buffed off. It looks like you probably used the first one of the two products here: HG super protector for wall and floor grout HG stain protector for both porous and non-porous ceramic tiles and natural stone floors The Super Protecter is sold by HG Hagesan in their Amazon Outlet for £14.38 for a quarter litre and is in This YouTube Video I'm pretty sure that a lot of these paint-on protectors that impregnate the grout are much the same in terms of application and results, but your (Dave's) recommendation and also the Amazon review that states "I used this product on kitchen tiles. The groutlines behind the cooker resisted food stains caused by splashes eg tomato" are just what I wanted to hear and I will buy this product. Thank you HandyAndy and DIYDave.
Hi there Yep that first product you've linked is the one I used Used a small art brush and applied two coats with some drying time in-between If your tiles are glazed, as mine all are, any over-brushing then simply wipes off with a damp cloth You have to be a bit more precise with unglazed tiles as the sealer can lightly stain the surface of the tile Its gotta be worth it for a few quid and that bottle goes a long way. I've used it on 2 showers, 2 splash backs and still have some left
Anyone else have any recommendations for a decent grout sealer? Once I finish grouting my kitchen, think it makes sense to seal the grout.
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