Do You Have a Hazy or Cloudy Effect on Your Porcelain Tiles?
By Ian Taylor on Jun 20, 2008 in Cleaning, Porcelain, Problem Solving, Stain Removal, Tiles
I said I would be back talking about problems and issues with porcelain tiles and here I am. This won’t be the final chapter either. Having had yet another call today on ‘cloudy marks’ on newly laid porcelain floor tiles I thought should bring it up as a blog topic.So, what is the problem? An increasing number of porcelain manufacturers are applying coatings to their tiles at the factory. This practice is predominant (but not restricted to) manufacturers in China and some other Eastern countries. Basically there are several types of coating that can be applied, from easy to remove waxes, to much more stubborn wax-type coatings and now even new ‘nano’ sealers.
The reason that these coatings are applied is two-fold; firstly, it is applied to the face of the tiles to help prevent damage caused during transit; (with the tiles being stacked against each other, they can scratch). Secondly, it is intended to provide a small degree of protection on site.
The problem is that the coatings need to be removed before or after grouting, but certainly upon completion (depends on the coating). This is where the problem arises, as it is not always easy to remove, and, furthermore if it is not removed it will leave the tile looking, dull, patchy, cloudy or hazy. Sometimes it is so bad it looks like grout staining.
Some large retailers have had so many issues that they now (finally) tell their customers that there is a wax and that it should be removed, although they do not seem to be too proficient at telling them how to remove the coatings.
In general terms, most of these coatings are a wax and typically they need removing before grouting. Some professionals prefer to leave the wax on whilst grouting but I have seen many problems with this, although the wax can help, it does not always prevent staining from grout. The grouting process itself can partially remove the wax and this does two things:
1. It leaves a patchy, partial wax coating and,
2. It means some grouts, especially the pigmented ones, can now stain the unprotected areas of the tile. So, my preferred system would be as follows:
1. Lay tiles
2. Remove wax
3. Apply a good quality impregnating sealer such as Ultra-Solv
4. Grout
5. When completely cured, apply final coat of the same sealer (this way you make sure the tile is properly sealed, and chances are, if it was waxed, it is the type of porcelain that needs sealing – plus, you also seal the grout.)
Next time I’ll talk about ways to remove the wax and also about Nano sealer residue.
Pina Killaly | Feb 6, 2009 | Reply
I have laid porcelain tiles. They came with a plastic on them like glad wrap. I removed the plastic and cleaned the tiles with a tile cleaner and then we sealed the tiles. The tiles have left marks on my floor from the trolley when we moved in three days after we sealed the tiles. We have since had the tiles we thought stripped and sealed again but the problem has come back. My tiles look terrible they always look dirty and dull nothing like they should. This has upset me i just don;t know what to do. I need help. These tiles have been such a problem that i sometimes reget not putting in polished floors instead, but i can;t do this now so I have to find a solution to my big problem. Please help me
Rudy | Feb 4, 2010 | Reply
I Also had tiles with a glad rap type after grouting I had the tiles polished and then sealed. My tiles now also have a haze which looks terrible. Can anything be done to remove the haze or has the sealer locked in the haze? Any advice or help would be much appriciated. Thanks rudy
Ian Taylor | Feb 16, 2010 | Reply
I think that these problems whilst not exactly the same as the haze in the article, they are basically the same problem: – a deposit of somekind becoming trapped in the tiny micro pores.
I would try some nanoscrub to see if you can remove the offending marks. If there are any resinous marks from the wrap material, you may need a combination of naonscrub and Sealer and Coating Remover (put the SCR down first, neat, leave for 30 minutes minimum, then add some nanoscrub and scrub well. Mop up the dirty solution then rinse. Come back and let us know how you get on.
Ian
Moti | Sep 4, 2010 | Reply
Dear Sirs,
I would like to ask the following about Nano :
1. please expalin the system it is laid in the factory :
is it added during the production procees (+fire) ?
is it added after the completion of the production process ?
2. Should i leave the Nano on the tile or remove it ?
3. if i have to remove it – should i use another sealer ? does it mean that the Nano is
meant to be used temporarily ?
4. if i do not have to remove it – what is the
validity of the material ? should i renew it from time to time ? whith what material ?
Thanks in advance.
Moti
Ian Taylor | Sep 6, 2010 | Reply
Hi Moti,
This is an interesting question; I am assuming you are referring to the ‘nano sealers’ that are sometimes mentioned by porcelain manufactures. Unfortunately, the word ‘nano’ is a very over used word as marketers seem to think that just by sticking it into a product name it somehow makes it the product sound fantastic but often it can be misleading.
Many sealers contain parts that could be described as nano-size – but is this nano-technology? – The answer is of course no but some companies may choose to make this claim for obvious marketing reasons. The real use of nanotechnology in most cases – is it’s affect on surface tension. For example Aqua Mix’s nano-scrub – most people automatically assume the nano refers to the size of the scrubbing particles – but this is not the case, the nanotechnology is evident in how the product is designed to get into smaller places, this is brought about through the use of nanotechnology to affect the surface tension. What this means is, the cleaner itself, or any cleaner it is added to is effectively ‘thinned’ by the nanoparticles – so it has the same kind of effect as a surfactant in a detergent. – It basically helps a liquid product to penetrate dense surfaces more easily.
In a product like Nanoscrub – this is a real benefit and it adds a great boost to the product’s cleaning potential. But what is the use of nanotechnology in sealers? – Actually it is exactly the same – to help the liquid (in this case a sealer) penetrate the dense surface (in this case the porcelain). Getting a sealer into dense polished porcelain is one area where solvent based sealer’s still have a slight edge over water based ones (but this is changing as I speak) which is why Aqua Mix, a predominantly water based company, have a product called Ultra Solv. However when pre sealing at a factory, solvents are not welcome so they have to use a water base. As I have indicated, water based sealers find it harder generally to penetrate the porcelain, so the nanotechnology is added to help get over this.
So in the case of sealers, the nanotechnology is only there to facilitate the application of the sealer – it does not affect the quality of the sealer in terms of its performance, so if it is a good sealer it will work well, if it is a not so good sealer, then the nano stuff just helps it get into the tile, it will still be a poor sealer.
So, to your questions:
1. The sealing is done at the factory so they can sell them to the customer with some sealer already in the tile.
2. The sealing is not added before or during the firing process as this would simply burn it away. After the tile is made, but before it is packed the tile is coated with the sealer, then buffed and packed. So it is is just like a customer or tiler sealing it before it is installed.
3. Should you leave it? – depends on how good your particular sealer is – some are better than others. Do a test; use some of the grout you are going to use, put it on the tile and leave it overnight, clean it off the next day, does it stain? Try a marker pen – does it leave a trace inside the tile? If the answer to either of those questions is yes then the sealer you have on your tile may not be that great. If it does seem to protect the tile then go ahead and install and grout. You can top up the sealer (especially for the benefit of the grout) after the grout has cured.
4. Treat it like any other sealer, check it for stain resistance ever year and top it up if necessary.
However, if you find it is not so great, then it can be a problem, the nanotechnology might actually work against you as it can be very hard to fully extract the sealer, this means it can be virtually impossible to get a better sealer in, in it’s place.
Hope that helps
Ian
Patti | Sep 30, 2010 | Reply
To get rid of the cloudy/haze look,I put a Gloss/Sealer over porceline floor tile. The floor looked good, but it scratched easily. So, I tried many of the suggestions to remove it, ammonia, etc. w/out success. I had the floor professionally stripped. It returned the floor to it’s natural state! Absolutely no damage.
Kim | Nov 21, 2010 | Reply
I am looking to buy some black polished porcelain tiles for my kitchen floor, but I am so confused with all this sealing. One company i had a quote from said I dont have to seal there porcelain. Some say that it has already been done in the factory, others simply say I have to do it. Which tile is best to go for?
Ian Taylor | Nov 26, 2010 | Reply
Hi Kim, guess what; they are all correct. What I mean is there is no straightforward answer, here is a guide though:
In the ‘early days’ of porcelain it was most likely true to say that porcelain did not require sealing but since then:
Production has spread all over the world
Competition has increased
Quality has slipped
More and more porcelain, of various qualities is supplied ‘polished’
Polishing can open up micro pores that hold grout/dirt and other contaminants
in an attempt to get over this, some (but by no means most) factories are now coating their porcelain with wax or new so-called nanosealers at the factory
The problem is not all these sealers prevent staining and some create issues of their own. So these days it is not possible to state categorically that ‘porcelain needs to be sealed’ or ‘porcelain does not need to be sealed’ – in reality it depends on the particular porcelain.
So ask the supplier of the particular porcelain you are considering buying for their manufacturers recommendations, get them to show you this in writing if they can, better still get a sample, take it home and try to stain it with red wine, a marker pen etc. See also if it feels waxy, use an alkaline detergent to clean a section and see if it is different as a result (showing that you have removed some wax).
This way yo can determine if you need to seal it, and if you first need to strip it
hope that helps
Ian
stan shawe | Dec 15, 2011 | Reply
We have nano polished porcelain tiles which do not look as good as we originally anticipated and expected. We have washed them time and time again with Easy Clean which is a general cleaner, degreaser and neutraliser but unfortunately there’s no improvement. Now we’re really desperate. What do you suggest.
Your early response would be much appreciated.
Thank you
Stan Shawe
Ian Taylor | Dec 15, 2011 | Reply
HiStan,
you don’t describe why they don’t look great (stains, dirty, dull, patchy etc) so it is a little hard to advise. By ‘nano porcelain’ I am assuming a polished porcelain that is presealed with a ‘nano’ sealer. This does not mean much, only that the tiles are sealed with a thin sealer that could penetrate the tiny micropores of the tile.
We have seen plenty of this type of factory presealed porcelain that has a kind of coating on them (not transit wax, but sealer residue) and it can be pretty difficult or even impossible to remove. you could try an abrasive cleaner like Microscrub, or a solvent (like a stripper). Do yo have any photos?
Hope this helps
Ian