Author: Ian Taylor (Page 2 of 11)

Most weeks I receive calls from people asking how to remove a sealer residue. Sealer residues occur when an impregnating sealer is incorrectly applied. Impregnating sealers (or penetrating sealers as they are sometimes known) are intended to be in or below the surface of the stone rather than ‘on’ it. So, the correct application involves applying the sealer to the surface, allowing a short time for penetration (this might be around 5 minutes, depending on both the sealer being used and the material being sealed) then any surplus sealer, remaining on the surface should be removed with something absorbent, ideally a white paper or cotton towel.All too often though, for various reasons this Continue reading

For the second part of my ‘six-sided sealing’ theme we will look at issues relating to the back of the stone. Take a look at the picture, what do you see? Well, it is a granite facade; quite a porous one in fact, the light grey areas are correct and indeed have the desired appearance. However there are a couple of noticeable issues.Perhaps the most obvious issue is that dark staining. This has come from behind the stone; as you can see, the stone adorns more than just a simple external façade, it is also a planter the staining is mainly due to the presence of water in the soil of the planter, and as such if the water dries out the intensity of the stain will likely reduce. However, water is very rarely Continue reading

When most people think about sealing stone tiles, they are, for the most part thinking about sealing the top surface and nothing else. But as we shall see there are times when it is actually beneficial to seal all 6 sides of the stone; that is the front, the back and the 4 vertical sides.The main reason for applying a sealer to a stone tile is to add a degree of stain resistance to the finished (or visible) surface of that stone. However there are occasions where sealing the back and also the sides can help prevent other issues. Consider a polished stone like Continue reading