Terracotta Restoration, Terracotta Sealing, Terracotta Cleaning
Terracotta is quite simply “baked clay” and it is the production process that transforms one of nature’s most basic elements into a product which is rich and warm in appearance and; one of the main reasons this popular tile flooring is chosen for kitchens, conservatories and family rooms.
It’s a very practical stone, which, if correctly treated from day one and maintained regularly, will provide many years of service and pleasure.
However if terracotta is abused and sealed incorrectly, over the years it can become very challenging to restore.
Above is a short movie of a recent terracotta restoration project, the challenges included removal of heavy wax/seal build-up & discoloration of the tiles.
The restoration process consisted of first removing the old wax / seal using powerful specialized restoration equipment and Wax & Residue Remover. Due to the numerous amounts of wax and seal used over the years, this proved to be quite a challenging and time consuming process.
Wax & Residue remover was meticulously applied three times to ensure all the old stubborn contaminants had been removed. The area was then neutralized the floor allowed to dry.
The process was completed with an application of Terracotta Sealer & Terracotta Hi-Gloss Liquid Wax
I’m sure you’ll agree, the patience and techniques used, ensured a fantastic result and of course, one very happy and delighted client.
For stone cleaning products visit www.stonecareuk.co.uk & for Nu-Life’s restoration services visit www.nulifefloorcare.co.uk
Thanks and keep watchin
Mike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuTaJ-Kv5gM
Checkout another one of my videos @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nc9acpds3w
Porcelain Sealing, – Episode 6 Mike Talks Porcelain
Welcome to episode 6 of stonecare.tv today mike discusses porcelain, sealing porcelain and cleaning porcelain. sealing porcelain, seal porcelain, sealing porcelain tile, sealing porcelain tiles, seal porcelain tile, sealing porcelain tile grout,
Quarry Tile Restoration
Quarry Tile Restoration
Today’s post is a quick movie of one of the recent quarry tile restoration projects undertaken using Stonecareuk products.
It’s always a wonderful experience when you unearth a hidden gem of a stone floor, unseen for decades, just waiting for someone to discover and for them to make the decision to lovingly and carefully restore it, to it’s former glory.
The Challenge was to revitalise a Victorian quarry tiled floor which has been covered by carpeting for the last few decades.
As you can imagine there were all kinds of challenges, including; glue residues, carpet gripper rods stuck to the floor, tiles missing and of course tiles discoloration.
Preparation is always important with any tile restoration programme and the first job was to protect all neighbouring walls, doors & surrounding areas.
The cleaning process commenced by firstly using Wax & Residue Remover to break down the glue, surface residues and any previous surface treatments. As you’ll see, the process cleaned the quarry tiles to an excellent standard.
The whole of the tiled area was rinsed cleaned and neutralized using Natural Stone Cleaner in readiness for sealing.
Once the quarry tiles had completely dried the complete area was professionally and carefully sealed with three thinly coated applications of Natural Stone Sealer allowing adequate drying time between each coat.
Natural Stone Sealer was applied to ensure the stone received a deep protection. This also acted as an excellent base coat for Natural Stone Gloss (the client requested a high shine) which is the treatment used to create a beautiful hi-gloss finish.
Once the base coats of Natural Stone Sealer were completely dry this was followed by applying three thin coats of Natural Stone Gloss.
The quarry tiles were allowed to totally dry for 24 hours and the process was completed by burnished with our ultra high speed machine, as you can see this gave instant and amazing results.
Mike
www.stonecareuk.co.uk
www.nulifestonecare.co.uk
www.nulifefloorcare.co.uk
www.stonecare.tv
Sealing Porcelain, seal porcelain
A question i get asked all the time is “should you seal porcelain tiles”.
Well, porcelain is becoming a very popular stone for both domestic and commercial clients. It looks great, has a long life and is relatively easy to maintain. Whether it is polished or honed porcelain, its a fantastic and very practical stone to have on a floor.
However, recently i have been called out to view more and more problems on porcelain floors and there seems to be some confusion as to whether to impregnate / seal porcelain tiles or not.
In my opinion you can’t take chances. Sealing/impregnating of porcelain is absolutely vital. Sealing porcelain should be undertaken with a solvent based impregnator, specifically formulated for use on less porous stones such as ceramic & porcelain.
I recommend this to be applied prior to, and after grouting. Why? because I have seen numerous porcelain floors where the grout has bled into this so called “non-porous stone”, causing permanent damage. Look out for my upcoming episode on Stonecare.tv. regarding grout bleeding on polished porcelain (Grout Residue Removers).
So, in answer to the question “Do porcelain tiles need sealing” its a massive YES from me.
The impregnator you chose, should ideally be specifically formulated for low porosity stones and you may need to a apply very thin coats, removing any surface residues as you go (details can be found at www.stonecareuk.co.uk)
Thanks for reading and keep watchin Mike 
Natural Stone – Mike Interviews Nu-Life’s Latest Franshisee
Mike Interviews Ray Pullen from StonecareTV on Vimeo.
Ray Pullen in the latest addition to the Nu-Life Stone Care franchise network, Ray has taken on the Surrey areas where he will be undertaking all types of natural stone restoration, natural stone cleaning and natural stone maintenance. Ray,s services will include, marble polishing, limestone polishing, travertine cleaning, travertine polishing, limestomne sealing, marble sealing, and much more contact ray at www.nulifestonecare-surrey.co.uk
