Back in the 1980’s there was a bit of a craze for using terracotta. It was everywhere, in magazines, on TV, and it was soon being used extensively in homes and also in commercial properties like pubs and wine bars. After a few years it seemed to disappear almost as fast. This is due in part to the over-exposure and the ever changing fashions for interior design, but I also suspect that more than a few people experienced a number of headaches in terms of sealing, cleaning and maintaining it.However, all things work in circles right? Well not exactly, but I do see that Terracotta is making a little bit of a come back, not like the last time, but people are it seems one again being swayed by the rustic charms and warm tones and using it in selected areas.
So, I though it timely to do a little article on the methods for sealing terracotta. There are basically two systems (and lots of variations for both) :
1. The traditional oil & wax treatment, or,
2. The modern, synthetic approach.
1. Traditional Oil & Wax.
Many Tilers still prefer this method, largely I think because this is the method they were taught. One of the most popular methods for sealing terracotta is to use a combination of boiled linseed oil and then polish with a neutral Beeswax.
First the tile is treated with several coats of boiled linseed oil; the oil is spread with a cloth or sponge as evenly as possible over the terracotta, before grouting. The first coat is the hardest as the oil is pulled into the extremely porous tile very quickly, so it takes a bit of skill and practice to get an even coat. Subsequent coats are a little easier, until the tile approaches saturation. Care must be taken not to over-apply the oil, making sure any surplus is not left to dry, as this would become sticky and require scraping off. Once the tile is sufficiently sealed (it will take several coats) it will also be considerably darker. It is the oil that gives terracotta that characteristic amber shade that many people like. Once dry, they can be grouted. When the grouting is completely dry, the tiles can be finished off with a coat or two of wax polish – there are many to choose from, some in paste form that require thinning with white spirits (a messy job) and others that come ready to use as a ‘floor wax’.
The advantage of this system is really just aesthetic, if you like that ‘warm look’ then go for this. However, there are several drawbacks: It is a much more involved process in the beginning; ongoing maintenance is also more arduous, the wax will quickly dull through traffic and cleaning, thus it will require frequent re-polishing and this is a hands and knees job, unless you are prepared to purchase a buffing machine. After a while, the wax will build up in layers and will start to actually attract and hold dirt, becoming darker and even tacky to the touch. At this point it needs stripping off, right back to the tile surface using solvent stripers (the oil will not be removed) and the whole polishing process starts again.
2. The Modern, Synthetic Approach
While possibly not offering quite the same depth of colour as oil and wax (it should be pointed out that not everyone likes that artificially darkened colour anyway) is much simpler and far easier to maintain. Again there are several propriety products available. Water-based, acrylic type coatings sealers are safe and relatively easy to use, offering both a surface seal and a degree of shine or gloss in one operation. This saves both time and money. Typically several coats of this type of product can be applied to the tile, depending on its porosity and the degree of sheen you are after. After grouting another coat may be applied. And that is it, job done. As it is a surface coating, just like wax it will of course wear, but it is more resilient and will not dull quite so quickly. With proper care, using neutral cleaners it can actually last for up to 3 years, but typically will not require any topping up before 12 months (this is dependent on many things of course). When it does start to dull down, there is no need to strip; instead a fresh coat can be applied right over what is already there.
If a very glossy finish is required, like a highly buffed wax, then adding a coat or two of a sacrificial acrylic polish on top of your coating sealer will add that high-gloss look. In addition to this, as it is also a sacrificial layer, it helps to protect and prolonging the life of the sealer beneath.
Copyright Ian Taylor and The Tile and Stone Blog.co.uk, 2013. See copyright notice above.
Hi David,
I am not familiar with that brand but it looks reasonable enough. Typically, very porous material such as terracotta is one area where actually, water-based products often out perform solvent ones (in basic terms, solvents are thin, so they go deep into porous materials- hence more coats – takes longer to ‘fill up the tile’). I would persevere – no point switching now but, make sure to leave a good time between coats – maybe overnight so that the coat really cures and allows the subsequent coat to truly sit on top. It may take several more coats, it is not unusual for a terracotta to take 6 or 8 coats of impregnator.
I would also look at their range, they appear to have a top coat wax – when you are satisfied you have sufficient impregnator in the tile, you may want to look into adding this as a coating on the top (I know their information suggests the product you have used is also a finish – but it may be a bit of a compromise and you may get better results with a combination of impregnator and top coat, then the maintenance becomes a matter of maintaining the top coat only).
Hope that helps
Ian
Thanks Ian
Really appreciate the quick response and advice on this.
Best regards,
David
Hi Ian
First of all, what a fantastic blog! I only wish I’d found it before we laid our terracotta tiles in the conservatory! That said, we didn’t do a bad job of sealing them, as everyday dirt tracked in from the garden washes off with no problem.
My only problem, which I’m really hoping you’d be kind enough to help with, is that our tiler’s boots have left black scuff marks in a couple of places. The tiles are quite light in colour (Mexican saltillos) so it’s really noticeable, especially as it’s in the shape of a large boot! I have scrubbed them with various detergents and even tried some other remedies such as white pencil eraser (doesn’t work) and toothpaste (actually does work to a certain extent and smells great!) but I was hoping you’d be able to recommend a product which will remove them altogether.
Many thanks in advance.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for the kinds words, we do try!
I guess the first question I would ask is are the scuff marks on top of the sealer or below?
if they are on top then:
Try some nanoscrub if you can get hold of any, it will be like toothpaste, but on steroids – not a great analogy I know but it is a powerful, safe abrasive cleaner – it will not scratch the tiles – it may dull the sealer also but that is not the end of the world as it should be easy to top up.
Failing that you may need a stripper – like a paint stripper, try a nice safer one like Sealer & Coating Remover, needs to be left on for a while (that could mean 15 minutes up to an our) keep it wet all the time with more solution, then scrub – it should dissolve the boot mark – and the sealer so will necessitate re sealing – but on ly the local area you are working on.
If the marks are below the stripper, then of course you will need to use the same stripper, remove the sealer first, then work on the boot marks as described above.
Hope this helps
Ian
Need of professional advice….I am helping my Uncle who is very old n still lives on his own. he recently brought a home in hawaii with an estimate of 600 sq ft of terra cotta flooring throughout the home. it was so bad the seal was pealing and had cracks everywhere and the surface was brown. I clean homes for a living and have stripped floors before but never terra cotta. trying to help my uncle with not incurring more cost i stripped and sealed his for. it took FOREVER, there must have been 12 layers on that floor. I stripped with a stripper machine it couldn’t get all the surface so tile by tile hand scrubbed until all seal was removed. it looked so beautiful clean bright and rich. however it was wet, wet , wet from all the scrubbing. I sealed the next day and it pealed. i seeked professional advice n products for sealing terra cotta. long story short I stripped again was told let it completely dry for 2 weeks. i sealed again with a terra cotta water base sealer 4 coats with a day of drying in between coats. my problem is now its been about a week and the floor is tacky….Someone PLEASE HELP ME….I am wiped out…. Aloha N Mahalo, Candy
PLEASE HELP ME. long story short I am helping a elder for free with his terra cotta floor. it was in very bad shape. stripped and hand scrubbed every floor tile 600 sq ft. let dry for 2 weeks looked bright and beautiful. sealed 5 coats with a day in between seals for drying and now its been almost 2 week later and his floor has a tacky feeling when walking on it. what do i do? I am wiped out……. followed all directions and then some. used a water base sealer satin finish. Help, Candy
Hi Candy, sorry you are having so much trouble. You have done all the right things. So the only thing now wrong, would appear to be the tackiness of the surface coating? In my experience modern acrylic water based coatings do not tend to stay tacky (older oil/solvent/wax based ones can) so I am just wondering if you put too much down, left it to pool on the surface perhaps? – it would then be more likely to skin but stay wet underneath for longer and that could cause it to become sticky or tacky. This means that when you walk in it, it will break up and attract dirt so will not eventually dry out to a nice finish.
Or, despite all the stripping you did, you only managed to break through the surface coatings but not remove any of whatever was in the tile itself (a pre sealer, linseed oil for example). Most surface coatings require some porosity to get a good bond, if the sealer you used could not ‘soak in’ due to previous sealer/oil/impregnator remnants then it would pool on the surface no matter how careful you were being.
Can I suggest that you test a small area buy stripping again (should be a walk in the park compared to stripping 12 layers of old sealer and grunge) – just use the stripper you had – in your neck of the woods, something like sealer and coating remover by aqua mix should be readily available – it should take your newly applied sealer off easy and fast.
Then rinse it down and rub it dry, then allow it to dry out thoroughly. At this point, test the porosity; drop some water on the tile, what happens? – does it soak-in real quick like blotting paper? – does it linger and only slowly make a darker shadow? – does it not soak in at all?
If the water struggles to go in, then the tile is still pretty full of ‘something’ and this will not help you apply a coating sealer.. If there appears to be some absorbency, (and I would be looking for water getting in after a few minutes, leaving a noticeable dark patch – I would not expect it to behave like a new, unsealed terracotta), then let it dry out fully once again (a day or so should be fine this time).
Now try re-applying the coating sealer, in very thin layers, using say a paint pad. Hang around and watch it for 10 to 15 minutes or so, if there are pools of whitish looking liquid still hanging around on the surface with no sign of the product soaking in or being absorbed, or drying, then while it is still wet, move it onto another tile, or remove the surplus. You cannot do this much after about 15 minutes as the sealer may start to skin and then you will create streaks.
If you get this test to work, try a second coat, in the same way – then a third etc. If you are happy with the results, then I’m afraid you will have to scale it up and adopt that whole procedure across the entire floor. Which means stripping again, and yes, allowing the floor to dry thoroughly.
If it does not work, (the test that is) go back and strip again (to remove your test sealer) then strip again, maybe twice more, possibly using a stronger stripper, to try to open up a bit more porosity in the tile).
If you have a cleaning machine (rotary scrubber ) with a brush head, and a wet vac, they will help make light work of the job, and the removal of the cleaning/stripping solution and subsequent rinsing water by the wet vac will help to speed the drying time after.
Hope that was of some help
Ian
I have a beautiful set of dishes from mexico that are partly glazed and then terracotta on the undersides. Is there a way I can glaze or seal them so they can be washed in the dishwasher?
Hi Peggy,
I fear I will not be able to help here. In theory, yes, for sure there are sealers that could help keep the unglazed underside clean, and they would reduce the amount of moisture getting in (so would help with hand washing) any good impregnator, especially the premium-brand water-based ones will help here.
However, none of them are meant as water-proofers and I can think of none that are designed to withstand the extremes of temperature and the extremely harsh chemical environment inside a typical dishwasher (I have to ask, are such delicate dishes dishwasher safe in any case?).
I you really want to do this, and you are certain that the existing clay and glaze is OK to be put in a dishwasher ( I have my doubts) then think you would be better off seeking out a pottery crafts person – the type of person who operates out of a craft centre and offers pottery classes, they would have small kiln and would be able to advise if the undersides could be glazed with a clear glaze, they would know what temperature the dishes could cope with and whether it whould affect the existing glaze etc – I think this would be a better way to go.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian, I have just finished stripping red tile paint from a reclaimed terra cotta tile floor in a kitchen, working tile-by-tile, using Nitromors (the only substance I found that would do the job). I am proposing to treat the floor with an acid product to remove any efflorescence, then finish. The question is, what next? The linseed oil/wax treatment sounds very hard work to me!
Years ago, I watched a Spanish house restoration project on tv, where the same unglazed terra cotta tiles were used throughout, both inside and out. The tiles were soaked overnight in a pva solution (to seal inside, and to make them frostproof outside. Have you come across this method? Do you think it would work on my kitchen floor?
Reading the blog so far, there are many pitfalls to be aware of, so I’d really appreciate some advice,
Kind regards,
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
Where are you based? is it France? I am just wondering because of your ip address. If the builing is very old then we do not know what was on the terracotta before the paint. It could have had oils and waxes and who knows what else. So, I also do not know how much you have stipped off. It may be that all you need to do is apply a modern synthetic coating sealer.
I have not heard of the pva method you describe, I can only assume it was felt necessary as the tiles in question were so porous and were being used outside, but to be honest, the percieved wisdon used to be do not seal atall if going outside – yes, this means dirty tiles of course but that is the view most people used to take. Certainly not necessary for your tiles inside.
Hope that helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
Thanks so much for your very prompt reply! – and yes, I am in France. To explain, all the old tiles were lifted, concrete floors laid, and the unbroken tiles reused.
I have just been to have another look at the kitchen floor and whilst most of the tiles have a ‘raw’ look now and are certainly very porous, a few of them have a slight sheen which could well be linseed oil from the past.
Would it be safe to apply a modern synthetic coating sealer over the ones with a sheen?
Thanks again,
Elaine
Hi Elaine,
I would try a little harder to remove the sheen, a syntheic coat may take over it but it will not give an even finish in my opinion, it is better to start with a uniform as possible surface, so that the layers of coating sealer build up evenly. So try a little additional localized stripping on those sealed bits first.
Ian
Hi Ian,
I’ve taken you advice, and I’m glad to say, it worked!
Many thanks,
elaine
Excellent, glad it is being sorted!
Hi Ian
A costumer has called me to clean his terracotta tiles, they have been sealed with ‘Momar insurance’it’s a blend of acrylic co-polymer resin, non.slip waxes, cleaning and hardening agents!!!(never heard of it before) but it is bobbling and peeling, I have tried HG limex but not strong enough, takes 80-90% off, but not the last layer directly on the surface of the tile.
Any suggestions please ?
Thanks
John
Hi John,
I am familiar with this ‘type’ of product, if not the brand. They are designed really for commercial situations, pirmarily they are formulated for vinyl and resilient floors but they are sold for any hard floor. The reason they are used is some commercial floors are so heavily used, and so frequently cleaned with harsh methods that normal sealers may not last any time at all certain finishes (like polished marble) won’t last 5 minutes either. So the solution is to sacrifice a bit of the natural look by encasing the floor in a tough ‘plastic’ for want of a better word, coating. it does work, but does also not look that great – artificially shiny, if you like. It is horses for courses but for a domestic terracotta floor? – I would not have used this type of product; they do need to be maintained, even though some claim that they don’t. Their tough nature also means that they are not as breathable or not breathable at all and as you have found out they can blister.
The cleaner you have been using is an acid based product. It is designed for removal of cement and other mineral contaminants, I suspect a large part of the effect you have had so far has been down to the mechanical scrubbing and, there are bound to be other cleaning agents in the product, but it is the wrong type of product for this.
You need a stripper. This can be (depending on the nature of the coating sealer) either a very high alkaline or a solvent type product. I used to promote a similar product and it was easily removed with a high-strength alkaline degreaser. I did a little research and that sealer is part of a ‘set’ of products which they call their ‘system’ (as is typical for this type of product) and in their system they have a stripper, which I assume is perfectly formulated to strip back their product – a quick google will find it.
Failing that try to get some Sealer and Coating Remover (click the all for stone link on the blog) apply this to the floor, leave it to dwell for 30 minutes to 1 hour, keeping it wet with more solution, then scrub, extract, rinse (with scrubber action, better if you add a neutral cleaner, to help pick up all the stripper) and extract, rinse again with clean water, extract and allow to dry thoroughly – this may be several days.
Then consider a sealing system like 2-4 coats of Seal & Finish Low Sheen (water based, breathable acrylic surface sealer) and if the customer wants a higher level of gloss, then add 2 – 3 coats of floor shine & hardener (acrylic polish that is a sacrificial coating) – they will need maintaining (as would any alternative) but it is easy.
Hope this helps
Ian
hi, i have had to dig half my conservatory floor up which i have terracotta tiles laid ,but ihave laid new ones and they are a lot cleaner than the old ones how can i get them to look a bit more aged to match the ones that are already down? thanks
hi will boiling raw linseed oil be the same as buying boiled linseed oil?
thanks
Hi Tony,
I would steer clear of that idea. I am no expert but to my knowledge, the boiled linseed oil you by is not simply raw oil that has been boiled for a bit. There are several types, and treatments, some involve heating the oil for days at a time in the abscence of oygen to make a thick cross-linked polymer, but most off the shelf boiled linseed oils have other things added like solvents to make them penetrate better and dry faster.
Also you should be aware that linseed oil, can spontaeously combust – usually when rags impregnated with the oil are left for a while – the oil oxidizes, this gives off heat, this speeds up the oxidization process, gives off more heat and then it can start to smoulder and then ignite – I have seen it happen, so personally, given the nature of this stuff I would just go buy a bottle rather than mess about with it.
Ian
Hi Tony, not easy this one, aging happens over time, obviously, so trying to accellerate the process is not easy. Some people have found that using an enhanching sealer can darken the terracotta down quite nicely, but it will not be the same colour and as they age they will age differently. Sometimes it just happens to darken the new tile donw to an almost perfect match but this cannot be guaranteed, if you have any spare tiles left over you could take a piece to a shop/store and see if they will dab some Enhancing sealer on the tile so you get an idea of the tone it creates (because this type of product is expensive and it’s results are irrevocable).
If you had an oil and wax floor to begin with, I would strip the old ones right back, (see my article on stripping old sealers off terracotta). Then I would build up a few coats of boiled linseed oil on the new ones until you get them as dark as you can, or until you cannot get any more oil in.
Let it soak in and dry before trying perhaps one more coat, but this time over the whole floor, wipe off the excess which could be a lot given the number of coats. When it is completely dry, start to re-apply the wax. I am sure you will still see the difference but it may not be as bad as if you just try to treat the new tiles only.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
I’ve had terracotta tiles laid in the backyard about 5 years ago. They’ve never been sealed. Initially, there was a white cloudy smearing on the tiles (possibly efflorescence) but through time, it had worn away. I’ve now decided to seal the tiles as I am fed up with cleaning a great deal of dirt and mildew on them. What would you recommend for a natural look that is not shiny, and does not require constant reapplication?
Thanks,
Joshua
Hi Joshua, you are in Australia right?
I would go with Aqua Seal STC’s Aqua Seal Gold – clear water based impregnating sealer – no colour, no shine, long lasting. Or you could go for a no shine but darkened, enhanced look using Enhance’N’Seal. Suggest you contact A’nge at Aqua Seal STC – They are very helpful and know a lot about terracotta – Aqua-Seal STC
hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
I have read thru everything you and your readers have written above and find all the information invaluable; thank you for being so generous with your time and expertise..
We are trying to get our terracotta tiling settled for our living room floor in Singapore at the moment. It has been a nightmare even though we aren’t the ones actually handling it. Our contractor/designer has been in charge and although he accepts responsibility which we appreciate, he denies that the nightmare is due to workmanship and is instead due to perhaps a defective batch of tiles.
When the tiles were first laid and sealed, we noticed massive mopping streaks in several places that appeared to be under the sealant. The designer said he would apply a few more coats if sealant to see if it would help but of course it didn’t and he has since hacked a fair number of tiles to rid of the streaks. Then to clean up cement smudges and paint flecks they used sand paper and a little hand held machine with a round disc to ‘sand’ it off. After mopping with water and leaving it to dry they then applied more sealant only to discover the ‘sanding’ marks carved into the tile, as well as drastic colour differences where the tile has been sanded and thus increased porosity.
Now we have noticed also strangely, raised concentric bumps appearing in every tile in a sort of uniform pattern. It is really ugly and the bumps are or relatively the same size about an inch in diameter.
Our contractor doesn’t seem to be very knowledgable and, we feel, neither are his floor people. There are sealant drip marks in places, and prior to the sanding, footprints as well. I have no idea what chemicals he is using apart from what is called here an acid wash, and the sealant is really shiny and according to them doesnt require maintenance, stripping or reapplication of any sort, just normal mopping (I’m not even sure what that means anymore!)
My husband and I know absolutely nothing about terracotta and tiling or really anything to do with refurbishing so we cant figure out what is wrong in this whole thing, is it the tile or the workmanship or the treatment being used. Te contractor’s suggestion is now to hack everything and start over with the same processes used as before but with ,hopefully, a non-defective batch of tile!!
Ian, if you have anything to suggest, or can tell us what is wrong here, we would be so better able to deal with this situation! It has been giving us sleepless nights.. Also, Singapore is in the tropics and we have been having torrential downpours everyday these past two weeks, so humidity is really high.
Thank you for any help, and sorry this is sooo long!! And apologies for any typos I’m doing this quite desperately from my iPhone!!
Safira
One more thing Ian, he said the acid wash is used to dissolve tiny cement particles on the tiles and without it, we risk ending up with grey patches permanently stuck to the tile after sealant is applied. Is this true?? And as far as I can tell there is no grouting involved it’s all cement under and between the tiles….
Safira
Hi Safira,
OK, this is a bit of a sad story and while I feel for the contractor, as he clearly has no intention of running away and leaving the problem for you I think he is perhaps not expert enough to know what he is doing here. Let me explain:
The first problems you mention, namely mopping streaks ‘under’ the sealer. This can be a couple of things, first it could be that they washed the floor prior to sealing but used a less than clean mop, did not rinse the floor properly, let it dry unevenly, any of these things can disperse dirt to parts of the tile, if there was any detergent residue left on the mop, that can be a problem etc. – lots of possibilities but, this should have been evident and spotted before going ahead with the sealer. Unsealed terracotta (or raw if you like) can be literally like clay blotting paper and they are so easy to stain that incredible care must be taken not to leave hand/foot prints, adhesive marks etc. And, as may be the case here, mopping the floor without due care and attention can just create dirty streaks – can you imagine mopping a big sheet of paper? – How clean would the mop and water have to be not to make it worse than before you mopped it (assuming it was a kind of paper that could stand wetting of course – I am just making an illustration).
Secondly it could be poor execution of the sealer application – The type of sealer you describe sounds like a synthetic high gloss type. Although relatively easy to apply, it is also quite easy for the inexperienced to make a bit of a mess of it. Uneven applications can leave a streaky appearance; often subsequent coats can even this out (as per your designer’s suggestions) but not always. Having said this, if this was your only issue then stripping it back to raw and deep cleaning, before re sealing may have been possible, but the other issues make the situation a bit more complicated.
Sanding the tiles to remove cement is as you have realised, not the thing to do with this type of tile. The tile is relatively soft and has, for want of a better expression, a kind of crust, this crust (being nearer the source of heat in the kiln) is just like the crust on a loaf of bread – harder, smoother, darker in colour etc. – your guys have [unwittingly] rubbed through this exposing the softer, lighter, more porous, less durable ‘bread’ underneath, this sub layer is also going to deteriorate at a faster rate than the proper surface of the tiles also. The damage here is irreversible and permanent and you are right to replace those tiles.
The drips and foot prints – well this is just poor application of the sealer and poor site cleanliness before during and after installation. It may be rectifiable (Strip, clean and reseal) but the damage due to sanding won’t be.
The concentric bumps worry me a little; especially as you say they are in a kind of pattern. This is the first of the issues that hints at ‘faulty’ tiles. I put faulty in inverted commas because it is debatable as to what is a fault and what is a naturally expected characteristic. For example it is common in some terracotta to see lime pops – small balls of unmixed lime under the surface that can swell with wetting and blow the top surface off – a small lime spot of say 5 mm diameter could create a crater of 5 cm at the surface – this is normal (in the same way that holes are normal in travertine), and the usual answer is to replace the worst ones and grout the not so bad ones). Often, just before they ‘pop’ these lime pops start to swell and the soon-to-be crater can appear like a round shadow even bump at the surface. While the acid wash they applied may not have harmed the tiles, all the water they must have used could in theory be a catalyst in setting off potential lime pops.
However you description of concentric bumps in a pattern does not ring quite true to me – a picture or two if you had them may shed some light on this.
I think that with all that has gone on, your most likely best solution is indeed to rip them up and start again. I am not convinced that there is any fault with the tiles, or the sealers used, just sadly a poor installation by contractors who in fairness, sound perfectly willing and reliable, just sadly lacking in sufficient ability for this task
I Hope I have helped a bit. I am going to send you a private message with the name of a good guy in Singapore who may be able to offer some local advice.
Best of luck
Ian
It is common practice [but not always neccessary] to use a acid wash for this.
However, it should not be required, there should be no cement rtesidue left in the first place, a truly great terracotta installer would leve it clean and not in need of this. It is just a matter of sealing properly prior to grouting (and yes you can grout using just sand and cement) then washing off and rinsing properly with plenty of water changes. Sadly though your situation arises all too often. A mild acid cleaner can certainly be used to remove fine cement haze, but it sould be very dilute and it should be used after about 5 to 10 days stricky speaking, allowing the grout in the joints time to cure.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian
I was very interested to read your blog. Thank you for all the useful information.
Can you advise me on our floor, which has been laid and grouted without being sealed? I’d like to use a traditional sealing method with linseed oil but I guess it will be very messy as it won’t be absorbed into the grout.
Also, I’m in France and the linseed oil i’ve seen in shops says nothing about being boiled. I suppose that wouldn’t do.
Thank you for your comments
Anna
would have been better if I’d spelt my name right!
Hi Anna (I spelt it correctly 🙂 )
OK, I am assuming youa re talking about a terracotta type floor. If grouted with NO sealer then there is going to be some serious grout staining and you may not get all of it out. However, you may get most of it out and the linseed oil treatment may well mask what you don’t remove. The main thing will be to test, and yo uneed to see if you can get the oil dee enough into the tile to bond etc.
You are going to need to use a acidic cleaner designed for removing grout haze, and you will need to use it several times:
First, pre-wet the floor, then apply your proprietory acid based cleaner (not brick acid, or HCL) and scrub with a scrub pad, brush or similar.
Now pick up the solution and then rinse with clean water, repeat.
If you can beg/borrow/hire a wet vac and a rotary brush machine it will save you hours of back-ache.
You may need to do this a number of times, each time making the grout haze less noticelable.
Remember, rinsing is KEY as each time you could also bring out more grout from the joints (not enough to damage the joints, but enough to deposit another fine haze on your tiles).
Remeber also that you are adding a lot of water (another reason why a wet vac is helpful) and this could kick off an attack of efflorescence if there is a potential fo that with your particular tile. If you get this, then you will have to treat that also, with more of the above. You can get in to a bit of a vicious circle with this, you just have to keep going until it is clear.
When you are happy ou have got the best reult you can, allow it to dry throroughly – this may take a week or more depenging on conditions.
All of the above assumes your grout is sand and cement based, or at least not heavily polymer modified.
Now to the oil and wax:
Again, if your grout is not heavily modified, then the oil will penetrate that just as much as the tiles. If it is, then ok, hardly any oil will get in but that is not an issue, just wipe up the surplus and don’t allow it to dry on the top.
Make sure you do a test on an inconspicuous area, this will help you see if the oil can penetrate, and if it can, how many coats you need.
The difference between boiled and raw linseed oil is [very basically] that the so-called ‘boiled’ oil will dry quickly, where as raw will take a month or more to dry naturally – in practice, on a floor like this, with the number of coats needed it may appear to never dry and stay permanently sticky.
there is a great article I read here that goes into the chemsitry if you want to read it: but the bottom line is that you need ‘boiled’ (it is not actually boiled but contains some catalysts to speed up the drying process)
Hope that helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
I was hoping you could advise with my dilemma!
I have bought and laid saltillo tiles, and before laying them I painted linseed oil on each tile (2 or 3 coats) so any adhesive spilt wouldnt stain.I was hoping to seal the whole lot after grouting with a synthetic sealant as the area they are in will take a bit of ‘stick’, the dog will live in there and it is the utility etc. Wax is not feasible given my time constraints!
I have been experimenting on tiles under where the washing machine will go….
I got supplied with HG golvpolish and have painted that on 2 tiles and linseed oiled 2 others and the golvpolish is a more ‘resisting’ seal on the tile than the ones I put more oil on, but I tried a wet trainer on both and neither seemed completely resistant – although I guess with sealants I need several layers?
I wonder if you can answer my queries
a) Can I use a modern sealant now – after initially oiling – The golvpolish seems to have ‘taken’….. and if so,
b)what product should I use, Im happy to buy another, I just got supplied with the golvpolish so have been experimenting!!
I hope you can advise,
Many Thanks, John.
Hi John,
As you have gathered yourself, you are mixing up old and new methods. Sure the Golvpolish is going to be better at resisting teh surface contamination as it is a coating, whereas the oil is acting like an impregnator of sorts.
As you have found the Golvpolish to bond, I would be inclined to stick with that, it is not the most effective coating sealer on the market but, the better ones (because of what makes them better, if you see what I mean) would find it harder to stick over the oil. So I would go with several coats of the Golvpoilsh
Hope that helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
Thankyou for your prompt reply, That is very helpful, im more confident to go on with the floor like that if you think it is ok!
I take it your meaning that better sealants that are available wont bond/stick over the oil is because they are designed for new methods, and not to be used alongside oil??
Many Thanks again, John
Hi John,
Many ‘better’ coating sealants are designed to be both a sealer and a coating at the same time, thus they also provide a degree of sealing, as well as a top coat ‘finish’ In order to do this, they need to be able to get into the surface of the tile, and a tile full of oil will prevent that from happening
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
I understand what you are saying, Many Thanks for taking the time to help.
I have one more question that may be difficult but thought worth a try as you seem able to advise on so many tile subjects…..
Of the tiles I have laid around half of them are showing small spots (ranging in size from a 5 pence piece to bigger then a 2 pound coin) it is darker than the rest of the tile and I wonder if you may know what it is and if it will go or not!?
As I said they have been oiled with Linseed oil.
Thanks, John
I have a 30 year old terracotta floor in my kitchen and bathroom. I scrubbed and cleaned the groat for the very first time, perhaps, 5 washings, let it dry and added a water based seal last night. It looks awful. It looks like it is a bit wet with puddle marks and as if i used a washcloth unevenly throughout the process. My take on it is that the patina prevented obsorbtion. I am going to strip it this evening.
Once done, what should I use to finish it? Can I use the boiled linseed oil to give it some color and protection without the wax? Would you please send me a recipe if so. I am afraid to use a sealer at this point again.
Hi John, hard to say what the spots are but sometimes you can get spots if, when applying sealers or oils etc, you drip the liquid onto the tile. The correct way is to use a pad or other applicator, dip that in a paint tray or other shallow dish, make sure thre is no surplus of sealer/oil on the the applicator – so it does not drip off the pad.
Sometimes if the sealer is dripped on, you can get intense spots, which are really areas that have been super-saturated witht he oil/sealer. If this has happened then it could be very difficult, to remove. Otherwise there could have been some oil/grease staining prior to sealing, again that would prove hard to remove at this stage. can you send me some pictures?
Cheeers
Ian
Hi Nansu, you could be right, the 5 washes have not stripped whatever ‘patina’ was on the tiles, only cleaned the surface, so if there is oil/wax/other sealers or years of built up mdirt, any new sealer will not get in evenly.
Problem is, same will go for oil. Unless all you want to do is re-wax or add a coatiung sealer, then you will probably have to do a proper strip – with a solvent stripper first. Then, you would have to do a test area with your chosen impregnator (whether synthetic or oil) and see if it will penetrate evenly and easily.
Hope that helps
Ian
Hello Ian
i have read all your posts with interest but would just like to know if there are any alternatives to finishing off after soaking with linseed other than beeswax and if so are what are the advantages/disadvantages of alternatives, i am only concerned that with heavy traffic, dogs and children the beeswax may become a headache to maintain. I have tested various impregnating sealers but prefer the tones of the linseed. Look forward to your reply…
Gary
Hi Gary,
OK, I understand what you are asking, basically if you have used linseed oil – then that is taking the part of both a stain (as in a desirable colour tint) and an impregnating sealer, but it leaves the top surface exposed.
You could leave it like this (as you may do with a synthetic impregnator) – advantage would be no top coat to maintain, disadvantage is tile still subject to some staining, and harder to keep clean – also, no gloss/sheen which most people seem to prefer.
if you do not want to embark upon the sometimes tedious maintnenance of a wax polish (and I understand this perfectly) you could TRY a coating sealer on top – such as Seal & Finish Low Sheen – I say try becuase these sealers typically need a bit of texture and porososity, which the linseed treatment may have reduced/eliminated to some degree. If you find that the surface coating will not lie flat, but instead beads up (as water on a freshely waxed car) then stop, remove the little bit of sealer, make sure the linseed is a few weeks old and fully set, then use an alkaline degreaser, diluted with water, on the surface. Leave it to dwell for a few minutes and lightly aggitate with a scrubbing brush or pad. Remove the water, rinse with fresh water, then dry thoroughly. leave overnight at least, then try sealer again, if it now lies down much flatter and leaves an even, streak-free finish, proceed with 2 to 3 coats. This will not add any more colour (unlike some waxes) but will be easier to maintain, it will need topping up from time to time, but not the cycle of build-up, regularly polish and strip-back to start again, that you have with wax.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian,
I’ve just had a terracotta floor laid in my kitchen. The tiler ‘overdid’ the boiled linseed oil final coat. He had left it with quite a bit on the surface. I called him next morning to say it wasn’t drying and between us we have wiped off the excess and used some white spirit (I saw this advised online).
Anyway it still has patches on the tiles which are shiny. I assume this is linseed oil which was ‘set’ before we had chance to take it off. The shiny areas are tacky still after 24 hours. I would think that these shiny areas need to be somehow ‘stripped’ back so that all the tiles have a matt finish. Then we’ll apply the beeswax.
Please could you advise whether this is the right approach and what I can use to strip off the excess linseed oil. Or do you think the shiny / tacky areas will eventually dry so I can just wax over them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Lesley
Hi Lesley,
Yes you are correct in that you need to strip back the high spots. If you have some clear nail varnish remover to hand (the old fashioned acetone type), try dabbing a little onto one of the spots and see if it removes the shiny parts (ideally you only want to remove the surplus oil form the srface, not strip any out of the body of the tile).
If it does then a solvent stripper will work. If the spots are small, and few and far between,and you have a enough NVR, then suggest you carry on like that. However if there are a few significant ones, you will need to buy a stripper, white spirits may well do the job, just do little bits at a time and have some water and a sponge near by to rinse with imediately after.
Once you have got all the surplus off and allowed the floor to dry, then go ahead with your wax.
hope this hleps
Ian
Hi Ian
Great questions and answers have learnt alot. Wondering if you can help.
A couple of months ago I stripped a terracotta floor with lithofin wexa, then was advised to use HG impregnator, I applied 4 coats the tile was still porous then used HG cotto seal and polish (like a wax) and applied 3-4 coats. I’ve noticed that still the tile is porous after 2 months and around the cooker grease stains have appeared.
My questions are -:
– what should I use to remove grease stains?
– should I strip floor again and put more impregnator down?
– or is it a case of putting more cotto seal and polish to reduce porosity?
Many thanks
Adam
Oh and also, can you put a rubbed in traffic wax over a synthetic liquid wax
Thanks.
Alan
Hi Adam,
OK you may improve the seal with more coats but I suspect that the impregnator is not quite up to the job, not having a go at the brand, it is just that some products work better on some materials and not so ogood on others, also there are two distint ‘markets’ for sealer these days, standard selaers and premium sealers (you can usually tell which is which as the premium are about twice the price).
For a very porouos material like this, a water based impregnator is often the best bet – the solvent ones dive too deep – and the polymers they use are small, so they effectively go in too far to do any good – you need the sealer to stay near the top, to provide a good base layer for the top finish. Sometimes leaving much longer drying times between coats can really help – like over night for example (gives the last coat much longer to form strong bonds and then the subsequent coat is more likely to sit on top and build up, rather than just merge with the previous one.
You say that it was still lettting in water before you applied the top coat, I would not have applied the top coat until I was happy that I had got the sealer right.You are going to have to strip back I fear, take off the top coat (which should be fine in itself as it is designed for the tile), you will need a stripper again for this like the one you used. Then rinse and dry. when really dry, do a water absorption test, if still very porous then you are going to need more sealer – either, try additional coats of the same sealer, leaving a good time betweeen coats, or, if water soaks in readily, try a coat of a premium water based sealer instead.
You will probably find that the stains come out during the stripping, any stubborn ones may need some additional help with a poultice.
hope this helps
Ian
Hi Adam,
Short answer no, probably not.
It is usually one or the other I’m afraid, the synthic ‘wax’ will try to precent the real wax from sticking
Hope this helps
Ian
Big thanks.
Certainly helps me.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Ian,
I am just having some terracotta tiles laid and plan to seal them with boiled linseed oil followed by a coat of litho-fin classic wax. What I am not sure about is how long I need to leave the tiles after laying before I should oil them, how many coats of linseed oil I should plan to apply and how long I need to leave between coats, between the final coat and applying the wax, and between waxing and grouting.
I would be grateful if you could point me in the right direction
Thanks
David
A lot of questions there David, and I am sure if you ask 10 experienced tilers you will get 10 different answers but, if you use some common sense, bear in mind that every tile is different, and so too are the specific circumstances in which they are being laid – hot room, cold, damp/dry, time of year etc.
First of all, as for how long to leave after tiling, you want the tiles to be dry, the amount of moisture from tiling is minimal and because the tiles are so porous they will allow the adhseive to dry quite quickly. Most standard adhesives will set in around 24 hours, maybe a bit longer to lose all their moisture. Rapid set adhesives set in a matter of a few hours, locking much of the moisture into the systemt in any case.
In most situations 1 to 3 days after tiling would be plenty. Only caveat to that is if you had to wash the tiles with a lot of water, then you will have to wait for that water to dry out, place a new, un-fixed, dry tile on the floor as a reference – the nice thing about terracotta is they are so easy to see when they look dry.
Between coats? – you want to allow time for each coat to start to set/cure – otherwise you are simply going to use much more oil. the more time each coat has to set, the more the next coat will build up on top of it, instead of just blending with it. So allow a few hours at least, do a test spot, each successive coat should sit ‘higher’ in the tile and take longer to soak in.
How many coats? – again it varies, but I would say minium of 2 to 3, possibly more. When the oil simply will not go in any more and does not appear to be darkening/wetting-out the tile, or it sits for long periods (over 15 minutes) on the tile – then it has had enough, it has become saturated and will not take any more in – WIPE away any remaining oil at this point and leave the tiles DRY to the touch. Again, the longer you can afford to leave between coats the better, and the fewer coats you will need (over night between coats is great, not many tilers can afford the time for this, but if you are doing it yourself then you ought to be able to).
At this point the floor is oiled and most tilers would leave that over night at least, and the then grout – I would not wax before grouting, the wax is a top coat so the grout would mix with it, and also the abrasive nature of grout will bring some of it off in any case.
So grout, clean up – really well wit several rinses (the oil should protect the terracotta from grout staining no problem) and let it dry for about 3 days – there is a lot of moisture in the grout.
Now you can eaither go ahead with wax, or, one more coat of oil. The benefit of the oil is that you will be oiling the grout, and so darkening it and sealing it, just remember the terracotta may not take any more in (it might take a bit as a result of abraiding the surface during grouting) so don’t leave it to linger, remove any surplus and work it into the grout joints.
Let the oil dry out over night at least then wax as per the wax instructions.
Hope this helps
Ian
Hi Ian
Can you help with a self induced problem?
Our polished terracotta floor was originally sealed with linseed oil and wax polished and has been regularly polished since – still looks great after 20 years.
Yesterday I splilt heating oil (kerosene) on a few individual tiles – white marks which won’t clean or polish out.
I would like to clean the affected tiles and re-seal and polish. Would you apply heating oil to the whole tile first to get a uniform effect? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
David