limestone tiles Archives - Wiltshire Tile Doctor

Changing the Appearance of Black Limestone Tiles in Fovant

A customer in Fovant, Salisbury got in touch to clean and seal her Black Limestone tiled floor as she wasn’t happy with appearance. She informed me that when they were laid they were a grey colour which she loved but when the tiler sealed them they became jet black in appearance. The sealer obviously didn’t meet her expectations so I conducted a test to see whether I could remedy the situation and she quickly booked me in.

Black Limestone Tiles Fovant Before Cleaning

Cleaning and Stripping the Sealer from Black Limestone Tiles

First I used a mild solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was brushed over the floor and left to dwell for ten minutes. Next using a grout brush I scrubbed out all the dirt from the grout lines and removed the now dirty cleaning solution using a wet vacuum rinsing thoroughly afterwards with clean water.

The floor was now ready to be burnished using a series of diamond encrusted pads which would remove the sealer and bring up the polish on the stone. Starting with the coarse pad attached to a rotary machine and some water I began to cover the area turning the water into white slurry. Once I had passed each tile four times I would then remove the slurry with a wet vacuum and rinse thoroughly with clean water. The process was then repeated with the medium and then fine burnishing pads. Once the floor had been rinsed sufficiently I left to dry for an hour or so before using the last very fine diamond pad to buff the tile to a shine and then left the floor to dry overnight.

Black Limestone Tiles Fovant After Cleaning

Sealing Travertine and Limestone Tiles

I returned the next day and started by conducting a damp test in multiple areas to check the stone was ready for sealing. The test results were fine so I continued by applying two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which will protect from stains and it also brings out the natural colours in the stone. My customer obviously wanted me to keep the tile looking grey so I didn’t use any Stone Oil to darken the tile in this instance.

It’s probably difficult to appreciate from the photographs but my customer was very happy indeed and the tiles now have the desired look.

Black Limestone Tiles Fovant After Sealing

Black Limestone Tiles Cleaned, Burnished and Sealed in Wiltshire

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Polishing Limestone Kitchen Tiles in Pewsey

We recently worked on a Limestone tiled floor in the kitchen of a house in the picturesque village of Pewsey. The Limestone floor tiles were in good condition but had lost their shine and lustre and the grout had some staining.

Cleaning Limestone Floor Tiles

We started by cleaning the grout using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell on the floor for around ten minutes before being scrubbed it into the grout lines with a stiff grout brush. We then removed the dirty cleaning solution with a wet vacuum and rinsed the floor with clean water to remove any surplus product.

The next step was to burnish the Limestone tiles using a set of diamond burnishing pads. You start with pad number 1 in conjunction with a little water, the number 1 pad is a coarse pad designed to remove old sealers and other surface coatings and clean at the same time. Once the clean water turned a milky consistency it was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed. We carried on the same process with the next 2 step pads which are medium and fine grade pads and then gave a final rinse to remove any slurry produced.

Sealing Limestone Floor Tiles

We left the tiles to dry overnight and returned the next day to finish the floor first confirming it was dry by taking multiple readings using a damp meter. The result was positive so we dry buffed the floor using a Green buffing pad fitted to a rotary machine to shine the surface. Next step was to apply two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow with a smooth paint pad leaving it to dry before further buffing the floor with a white pad to bring up the shine. Colour Grow is a versatile sealing product that is designed to bring out the colours in natural stone whilst providing lasting stain protection.

limestone tiles