Best way to refinish Saltillo tile?

[Shane]

Dishwasher overflowed last month and turned the finish on our Saltillo tile white. We need to refinish it. What's the best stripper to use? What is the best (read EASIEST to apply) finish to use? Is there a finish product that would only require putting on one coat instead of several coats?

[Brett C]

I will be watching this, ours needs it too. Last time , about 10 years ago we had it done by a pro, but it lasted a long time.

[Cam-Mac]

I'm not positive what stripper you would use to get the white stain up. You might call a tile guy or the flooring company that sells saltillo- they usually know quite a bit about it.

As far as resealing- i dont think you have too many options. I could be wrong, but the place i bought my tile said there's only one way to do it...

Here are the steps from putting saltillo in a bathroom last month...
1) Wash with 40% water/60% muriatic acid solution
2) Dry 24 hrs
3) Wash with water
4) Dry 24 hrs
5) Vacuum with soft bristle brush attachment
6) Soak with Mex-Seal
7) Dry 24 hrs
8) Soak with Stone Glamour
9) Dry 24 hrs
10) Apply topcoat/seal

This is pretty labor intensive, but the tile looks great after. Maybe someone will chime in with a way to remove the white on your tiles, and a way to reseal that is easier than above...

Good luck...

[Snakelover]

I'll preface by saying I don't know anything about saltillo. But do you have a surface wax on the floor? Is it possible that the white is only the wax blushing from the water exposure? If so, you can go to a janitorial supply and get a stripper. I think they'll need to know what kind of wax (water-based or otherwise) to give you the best stripper for the job. If it's a surface wax issue, hopefully you can avoid getting down into the finish. If you want to experiment, you might take a little windex to a small spot and just see what it does. Windex has ammonia and will somewhat dissolve wax. It might give you a clue as to whether it's a wax issue or something else.

[Shane]

Thanks, guys. Cam, that's pretty similar to how I've done it before. I was hoping that in recent years somebody has come up with some kind of sealer that only required one coat.

David, we don't have any wax on it. But we might go back with a wax sealer if that is easier than all the multiple coats of the other stuff.

[Shane]

bump. Any tile guys?