Sealing Slate tile....

[Michael O'Neill]

I am putting up a new backsplash in the kitchen and it is slate... the guy at the tile store told me that I need to use his special sealer or I wont like the results... He says the stuff from HD wont stick and Ill have to redo it every 6 months.... Hum.... does not sound quite right... by the way the stuff he sells is $ 93.00 a quart...... but he will make me a deal on a gallon..... $320.00..... Any ideas as to alternate products? I hate getting fleeced.... Water based or oil??

Thanks,

Michael

[Joe Angrisani]

I used Tile Lab "SurfaceGard" on the slate in our front entryway and powder room, and have been very pleased with the results. I applied two coats when I put the slate down; it drank up the first coat, and the second soaked in much slower. It was about $90/gal, and that was enough to do two coats on 350 square feet. Again, that first coat soaks in like a sponge. Depending on size, one of the quart spray bottles should be enough for a backsplash.

I know Amazon, Ace and Home Depot sell it.

[Bill Rogers]

I used Waterlox to seal the slate pieces on the top of an outdoor table that I made. I was happy with the results but YMMV. Here is a snippet that I copied off of the Waterlox website:

Great on porous interior surfaces such as slate, brick, stone, tile, linoleum

[Belinda Barfield]

Michael, the sealer you use is dependent on the finished look you wish to achieve. Any non color enhancing penetrating stone sealer will work on slate. It won't change the look of the slate, only help protect it from stains.

If you want to have a slight sheen and deepen the color you need a color enhancing sealer. I think you can still get TileLab color enhancing sealer at Home Depot. If this were a floor situation you would need to reapply every three to six months depending on traffic. For a backsplash you can probably get by with once a year unless the tile is aggressively cleaned/scrubbed.

There is a product named Glaze-N-Seal that really brings out the color and gives an almost wet look. Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.

[Dave Ogren]

I have a lot of slate floors in my home. I sealed the slate before I grouted it. After I was done with the grout I painted the grout lines with another coat, then after that was dry I coated the whole floor. It has been a number of years and it still looks great. Just starting to maybe show a very little wear in the higher traffic areas. After my neighbor say it he did the same thing on an outside patio. He is also very happy. I used the sealer that is normally used on fresh poured concrete. The one I used contained 30% solids.

Good Luck,

Dave