Acid Gel Archives - Merseyside Tile Doctor

Limescale Stained Micro-Porous Porcelain Tiled Shower Renovated in Aughton

This enquiry came from a customer in the village of Aughton which is located between Maghull and Ormskirk. They had a large walk-in shower cubicle which had ten years of limescale build-up on the shower tiles which were Micro-Porous Porcelain. This type of Porcelain tile is as its name suggests is slightly porous and needs to be sealed to protect it from ingrained dirt. Sealers do wear off over time though and once that happens the appearance of the tile will degrade as dirt becomes trapped there.

Limescale Stained Micro-Porcelain Tiled Shower Before Cleaning Aughton

Limescale can be removed with acidic cleaning products however you have to be careful as some surfaces such as stone are acid sensitive and can cause etching. In this case I didn’t foresee any problems of that nature and was happy to quote for deep cleaning the tiles and then resealing.

Limescale Stained Micro-Porcelain Tiled Shower Before Cleaning Aughton

I worked out a quote which was accepted and the work booked in.

Removing Limescale from Micro-Porous Porcelain Shower Tiles

To remove the thick limescale Tile Doctor Acid Gel was applied to the tiles and then covered in cling film. Being a gel the product sticks to the wall tiles easily and the film stops it from evaporating and ensures a long contact time giving the product maximum opportunity to soak in and breakdown the dirt and limescale.

Limescale Stained Micro-Porcelain Tiled Shower During Cleaning Aughton

After one hour the film was removed and the limescale was scrubbed with a six-inch 1500-grit Burnishing pad fitted to a handheld buffer. These pads are made from industrial diamonds and was run over each tile four or five times. A similar process was applied to the grout lines and then a wet vacuum was used to remove the resultant slurry from the walls. The tiles were then rinsed with water and speed dried with fans.

Sealing Micro-Porous Porcelain Shower Tiles

Once dry the tiles were sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which is an impregnating sealer that soaks into the Porcelain occupying the pores. This prevents anything else from becoming ingrained there and ensures that water simply falls off the tile.

The last step was to strip out the silicone sealant around the base of the wall tiles and replace with new. This really completed the renovation and left the shower looking fresh and inviting.

Limescale Stained Micro-Porcelain Tiled Shower After Renovation Aughton

For aftercare I recommend they use a neutral shower tile cleaner called Tile Doctor Aqua-Pro and suggested they consider asking us back every 12 months to give the cubicle a quick clean and re-seal. We offer a maintenance program like this to all our customers as it keeps the tiles in their best state and avoids getting a large renovation bill in the future.

Professional Renovation of Stained Micro-Porous Porcelain Tiled Shower in Merseyside

Granite Patio Renovated in Mawdesley Ormskirk

Removing Cement Residue from an Amazing Granite Patio in Mawdesley

1 Comment / Grout Cleaning, Maghull Tile Cleaning, St Helens Tile Cleaning / Andrew Robb

We were contacted by a business owner in Mawdesley near Ormskirk who had recently had a large Granite Patio installed. Unfortunately, the installer had left the patio covered in cement grouting stains and residue and as you can imagine he was not happy about it.

Granite Patio Before Renovation Mawdesley Ormskirk

This is something we often get asked to resolve and you may here it referred to as Hazing or Smearing. The solution depends on the surface material and can normally be removed using an acidic cleaner such as Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up or Acid Gel. However, in this case the surface of the stone looked really dull and marked with lines and what appeared to be boot marks. I decided the best solution would be to use a set of diamond pads to grind off the top layer of stone to reveal a new surface and then to polish it.

Resurfacing a Large Granite Patio in Mawdesley

To resurface the Granite, I used a weighted buffing machine and a set of coarse stone resurfacing pads. The extra weight was needed to ensure a good contact with the stone and the process commenced with a very coarse 100 grit pad to remove the damage using only water for lubrication.

The pad was run each Granite slab around three times generating a lot of residues in the process. A wet vacuum was used to remove the residue and with it being such a large patio it took some time before that was completed and we could move onto the next pad.

Granite Patio During Renovation Mawdesley Ormskirk

Once done the process was repeated with a 200-grit to renovate the surface after using the coarse pad. Again, only water was used and the whole area was rinsed and extracted to remove the residue. This action removed all the damaged surface material and was followed by the application of a very fine 3000-grit burnishing pad to give the patio a nice sheen.

Sealing a Large Granite Patio in Mawdesley

Fortunately, I had picked a good window in which to do the work (thanks to the BBC and Carol Kirkwood) and the weather remained dry. This was important as I was able to return the next day and prepare the Granite for sealing.

First, I applied a product called Tile Doctor Stone Oil to the Granite, this seeps into the pores of the stone giving it a rich dark colour improving the overall appearance and integrity. This was then locked in with an application of sealer which for this patio I used Tile Doctor Colour Grow. There are a few reasons I chose this product including the fact that its breathable which is important when dealing with external stone and it contains a colour enhancer which brings out the natural colours in the Granite.

Granite Patio After Renovation Mawdesley Ormskirk

My client was very impressed with the transformation and relieved we had managed to put the life back in what was a very expensive patio. I’m please to say we subsequently asked to work on two more patios and different stone floors at the same property.

High Quality Transformation of a Large Granite Patio Near Ormskirk

Removing Cement Residue from an Amazing Granite Patio in Mawdesley Read More »