Burnishing Pads Archives - South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

Modern Encaustic WC Floor Tile Renovation Marlow

Modern Encaustic Floor Tiles Renovated in Marlow

The pictures below were taken at a property in the old town of Marlow which had modern Encaustic tiles installed in the downstairs WC. Although they may appear on first appearance to be perfectly fine the owner had called us in to deal with the staining around sink area around toilet.

The tiles had only been installed six months earlier and after surveying the floor it was clear to me that the tiler hadn’t applied enough protective sealant following installation. I quoted for deep cleaning the floor with diamond burnishing pads and then re-sealing with a stronger sealer which given the small size of the floor should be completed in a day.

Modern Encaustic WC Floor Tiles Before Renovation Marlow

Deep Cleaning an Encaustic Tiled WC Floor

To remove the original sealer and deep clean the encaustic tiles I started with a 200-grit burnishing pad lubricated with water. The floor was too small for a buffer machine so I used 6-inch pads fitted to a hand buffer. This action cuts back the tiles removing the stains in the process.

After rinsing and extracting the soiling that was generated, I checked the floor to confirm the staining was gone. I could see that the 200-grit pad had done the job and there was no need to apply a coarser 100-grit so I followed up with finer 400 and 800 grit pads. Again, water was used to lubricate the process and the floor was rinsed and extracted after each pad. I went over the floor slowly to ensure each tile had a deep clean and to avoid creating any swirl marks.

Once the 400 & 800 grit pads had been applied, I buffed the tiles with a White rag to remove any excess water and get it ready for the next pad which would enhance the deep blue colours in the floor. Once the floor was dry a very fine 1500-grit pad was applied to compete the burnishing and add a slight shine to the tiles, this also leaves the floor nice and dry and ready for sealing.

Modern Encaustic WC Floor Tiles Before Renovation Marlow

Modern Encaustic WC Floor Tiles After Renovation Marlow

Sealing an Encaustic Tiled WC Floor

To seal the floor, I used an oil-based sealer called Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal, which is rated for internal and external use. I allowed it to soak into the encaustic tiles which would allow the colours to really darken after the use of the burnishing pads.

After about thirty minutes I rubbed off the excess with a White cloth and then proceeded to apply a 3000-grit buffing pad to leave a smooth surface and an even shine all over the floor. I finished off with a further coat of X-Tra Seal and left for 30 minutes and repeated the same process giving a deep colour finish and leaving the floor well protected.

Modern Encaustic WC Floor Tiles After Renovation Marlow

The customer where very happy with the result and recommended us to friends of theirs who had the same tiled floor. Before leaving I spent a few minutes to discuss aftercare cleaning, which for this floor I recommend Neutral Tile Cleaner.

Professional Renovation of Stained Encaustic Tiles in Buckinghamshire

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Victorian Porch Tiles Renovated in Chesham

Cracked Victorian Hallway and Porch floor tiles Restored in Chesham

This client from Chesham got in touch due to cracked and chipped Victorian tiles in their hallway. The Victorian floor tiles in both the hall and the outside porch were over 150 years old and many of them needed replacing and relaying, they also wanted the floor to be cleaned and sealed.

Victorian Tiled Porch Floor Before Restoration Chesham

They were keen to spruce up the entrance area to the property and ensure it retained its original appearance in keeping with the age of the property. I visited site to check what needed to be done and gave them a quote for the work which they were happy to accept.

Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway and Porch Floor

Arriving on day one of a four-day job I marked out which tiles would need replacing as the client wanted to only do this kind of job once so any tiles with a chip or crack in had to be replaced. Fortunately, we were able to source a good range of reclamation and reproduction tiles so finding replacements to match is not too difficult. In total 90 tiles need replacing and work began by cutting out the grout lines around the broken tiles then drilling through the middle to stop any other tiles breaking around it and carefully removing them.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor During Restoration Chesham

We were able to remove all the damaged tiles on day one so the morning of day two began with measuring, cutting, and placing in the replacement tiles to be fixed in later that day using a flexible Mapie adhesive. With the repairs out of the way and the replacements now firmly fixed in place we would be able to start the cleaning on day three.

Deep Cleaning a Victorian Tiled Hallway and Porch Floor

To deep clean the Victorian tiles a high alkaline cleaner called Tile Doctor Pro-Clean was sprayed onto the floor, left to soak in for ten minutes and then scrubbed in with a rotary floor buffer fitted with a Black pad. A wet vacuum was then used to hoover up the slurry.

Next step was to treat the tiles to an acid rinse to neutralise any latent alkaline salts in the floor that might lead to efflorescence later and further clean up the tiles by removing grout hazing. I used Tile Doctors Acid Gel for this and worked it in this time with a coarse 200-grit diamond pad. After another rinse and extraction using the wet vacuum.

To further improve the appearance of the tiles and blend the replacement tiles in with the original I continued the cleaning with finer grades of diamond burnishing pads until satisfied the floor was as good as it could be. Afterwards the floor was given a light mop with Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to remove any dust etc and left it to dry off for a couple of hours. At the end of day 3 it was dry enough to accept a single base coat of Tile Doctors Colour Grow, this is a colour enhancing sealer that will help blend the new and old tiles and give a uniformed look.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway and Porch Floor

Day 4 the final day of the job I arrived and buffed over the floor with a White pad to get rid of any wet patches from putting the sealer down the day before. Then I applied two coats of using Tile Doctors X-Tra Seal onto the floor leaving a good hour in between each coat for the seal to soak into the pores of the tile and create a nice hard layer to protect them. Once both coats had dried, I went over the floor with a 3000-grit pad to give the floor a slight shine.

Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor After Restoration Chesham

The client was very happy with the finished result and before leaving I took time to recommend the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner for on-going cleaning. It’s a neutral pH cleaner that’s ideal for the regular cleaning of sealed tiles, supermarket cleaning products are generally too strong for this job and will erode the sealer.

Victorian Tiled Porch Floor After Restoration Chesham

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway and Porch in Buckinghamshire

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Smooth Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor Renovation Gerard's Cross

Smooth Indian Sandstone Kitchen Floor Transformed in Gerrards Cross

1 Comment / Gerrards Cross Tile Cleaning, Sandstone Tile Cleaning / Jack Day

This client in Gerrard’s Cross wanted to be able to see the different colours and features in their Sandstone Kitchen floor and to remove the ring marks which you can see in the photograph. They had just moved into the house in and loved the Stone floor but soon realised the previous owners hadn’t taken much care of it. They tried a selection of supermarket products to clean the floor but none of them made much of difference.

Smooth Indian Sandstone Floor Before Cleaning Gerrards Cross

I carried out a site visit and it was clear to me that what was once a light Sandstone have literally darkened with all the dirt it had absorbed. I was confident that the dark stone could be deep cleaned and lightened to give them what they wanted, and then protected with a fresh sealer to ensure it remained that way. I worked out a quotation which they agreed to, and we arranged a date for the work to start.

Deep Cleaning a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

Day one of the work started by deep cleaning the Indian Sandstone tiles and removing as much of the dirt that become stuck in the pores of the stone as possible. To do this the floor was wetted with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is our go to tile and grout cleaning product.

After leaving it to soak in for ten minutes the solution was scrubbed int the stone and grout using a rotary floor buffer which was setup with a black scrubbing pad. This action drew the dirt and any remaining old sealer out to the surface where the soiling could be extracted with a wet vacuum.

The next step was to refinish the surface of the stone using a set of Tile Doctor’s Diamond Burnishing Pads. Starting with a 400-grit pad to remove the ring marks in the floor created from plant pots and then continuing through the different grits from 800 to 1500 grit which gave the floor a natural sheen and then a 3000-grit pad to finish. The floor is rinsed with water between pads and the slurry generated extracted with the wet vacuum as before.

The lower grit pads are applied with water to help lubricate the process however the last pad is applied almost dry with only a little water sprayed onto the floor so by the time the process in completed its well on its way to being dry.

Sealing a Sandstone Tiled Kitchen Floor

I left the floor to fully dry off overnight and came back the next day to apply the sealer. Before starting thought I gave the floor another run over with the 3,000-grit pad just to tighten the pores before sealing.

To seal two coats of Tile Doctors Ultra-Seal were applied, this is an almost invisible product recommended for use in food preparation areas that leaves the stone in a natural finish which was the effect my client had requested. They had long French patio doors leading onto the garden and wanted to allow as much light in as possible because before the floor was cleaned the room was quite dark.

After allowing the seal to soak into the Indian sandstone I gave the floor one last buff with a fresh 3000 grit pad to burnish more of a natural sheen onto the floor and to bring out the colour definition.

Smooth Indian Sandstone Floor After Cleaning Gerrards Cross

Once complete the floor was transformed from dark to light and looked so much cleaner. My client was very impressed by the work and surprised at how different the floor looked with the colours coming through and said she would recommend me to her friends and family in the area.

For after care I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which is a gentle cleaner that won’t degrade the sealer and will help keep the patina on the stone. Most supermarket tile cleaning products are simply too strong for a sealed floor so it’s always worth checking the label in detail before buying.

Professional Renovation of an Indian Sandstone Tiled Sandstone floor in South Buckinghamshire

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Dirty Travertine Kitchen Floor Renovated in Amersham

20-Year-Old Travertine Kitchen Floor Give Deep Clean and Seal in Amersham

1 Comment / Amersham Tile Cleaning, Travertine Tile Cleaning, Work by Category, Work by Location, Work History / Jack Day

This client from Amersham contacted us regarding their Travertine Kitchen floor which they were simply not able to keep clean. Frustratingly any spillage went straight into the floor and stained the tiles. I called them to discuss the problem and offered to come round and survey the floor which is a free service we offer.

I can provide a quote over the phone, but my preference is to visit and test different cleaning products and techniques on the floor before quoting. Doing it this way allows me to work out an accurate quote and gives the customer the confidence I can resolve their problems.

After agreeing a suitable time to call I visited the property and could instantly see that their main problem was the sealer protecting their Kitchen tiles had failed and as described dirt was becoming stuck in the pores of the stone. Natural stone like Travertine is porous and without a sealer in place dirt becomes lodged in its pores where is becomes very difficult to shift.

Travertine Kitchen Floor Before Deep Cleaning Amersham

The kitchen was stunning but let down by the dirty floor which had been installed around twenty years ago when a new extension has been added to the property. Typically, a sealer should last between three and five years depending on use and what cleaning products are used to maintain it, so it wasn’t surprising that the original sealer had worn off.

I quoted for deep cleaning the floor including the removal of the old sealer and then applying a robust impregnating sealer which is recommended for Travertine. Happy with the price we scheduled a date for the work to be done.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On the first day the floor was given a thorough deep clean using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, this product is our go to Tile and Grout Cleaner and when used in a strong dilution is strong enough to remove sealers. You find with sealers that they wear down first in the busiest sections of the floor so its important to remove all the sealer from across the floor or you end up with layering.

Pro-Clean is a strong alkaline cleaning product and it’s sprayed onto the tile and grout and then left for ten minutes before working it in, this allows it time to soak into the pores and start breaking down the dirt.

The floor is then scrubbed using a Rocky floor machine fitted with a series of diamond burnishing pads of increasing grits. This process generates a lot of soiling, and this is hoovered up with a wet vacuum after each pad.

The work begins with a coarse 400-grit burnishing pad which strips the Travertine and I work up to a 3000-grit pad which really brings up the finish of the stone to a slight sheen as the client requested. The floor was then left overnight to dry.

Sealing a Travertine Tiled Kitchen Floor

On day two I started on the sealing process first checking that the floor had dried sufficiently to accept the sealer. After discussing sealer options with the client earlier they had expressed a preference for a natural look, so I chose to apply a sealer called Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which doesn’t colour the stone in any way and is almost undetectable.

Ultra-Seal is an impregnating sealer that works by soaking into the pores of the stone occupying the space and thereby preventing dirt from becoming ingrained there. Two coats were applied with a microfibre cloth allowing it to soak into the tile for a few hours before walking on it.

Once the seal had dried, I went over the tiles again with the 3000-grit pad which buffs of any excess sealant and brings up the sheen. Now with the floor being completely protected with Tile Doctor Ultra Seal the client shouldn’t have any problem with spillages which can be simply wiped away.

Travertine Kitchen Floor After Deep Cleaning Sealing Amersham

Once finished the deep pitted dirt was gone and the floor looked much lighter and cleaner. My client was very impressed with the transformation and has recommended us to her friend who also lives in Amersham and has a similar stone floor.

I mentioned earlier that a sealer’s life can be impacted by the product you use for regular cleaning, it’s a fact that most supermarket tile cleaners are simply too strong and can damage the sealer so before leaving I took time to discuss aftercare cleaning and for Travertine, I recommend the use of Tile Doctor Stone Soap which as well as gently cleaning the stone also helps maintain the patina.

Professional Restoration of a Travertine Tiled Kitchen in South Buckinghamshire

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