Flooring Tile - Sealing question

With thanks to the tile experts in this forum who have provided advice, I've laid a beautiful ceramic tile bathroom floor over electric radiant heat - woo hoo!

I applied one coat of a silicone sealer as per the label directions, wetting the floor first to provide the best penetration into the grout (unsanded grout fortified with polymers of some kind; tiles are glazed). After wiping the excess and letting dry at least 1 hour (I gave it overnight), the test is to sprinkle water and see if it beads; if it doesn't, apply a second coat. The water soaks in to the grout (I was going to apply a second coat either way, being new construction, I figured). My question: do I wet the floor again before applying the second coat? It might not matter much, but I just want to be sure I attain the best seal.

(I tried calling the manufacturer; haven't called back yet).

Thanks for the time.

Mike
Ithaca, NY

Now I have to respond to my own post with a new fear that I screwed up. The company tech person called back, and informed me that they don't recommend the silicone sealer for floor applications because it makes the tile too slippery; I never considered that. She said to strip the coat I applied off with a sealer stripping chemical and apply another polymer-based product.

Thing is, the tiles don't seem dangerously slippery, even when buffed up to a shine. Might well be worse when wet, though.

I wanted more opinions on this before I take the trouble to strip it. And, if I do, with the stripper damage or otherwise compromise the grout or tile? If I chose not to strip it, will the silicone product perform adequately? Should I get a more suitable product and apply it now over the first?

Thanks tilers,

Mike

Mike don't push any 'panic-buttons' just yet. It is true that sealers containing silicone can make surfaces slippery when wet but since you are now aware of this why not simply proceed with caution and see what happens?

Those Techie characters don't always know what the heck they are talking about when they are reading from a computer screen or a loose leaf binder full of 'company-line-information'.

If it were me I would live with it for a while. Any stripper you would use would obviously find its way into the grout and all strippers MUST BE NEUTRALIZED before the project can move ahead. Herein lies the problem. neutralizing that stripper after it is in the grout may well prove to be difficult if not impossible. THEN, any additional topical applications after that point may or may not "take". Just my opinion based on many years of experience.

Here's something else you should be aware of, if you are not already. Most of todays grout sealers are now "vapor-transmissive". This means that once they are in place and working they will still allow moisture from below to move upward on its natural course towards evaporation. This is a good thing.

But, they also will allow grout to soak water, so, the 'water-bead-test' of old, is no longer an effective means of testing a sealers performance. The sealers still work fine but they no longer forbid the entry of moisture, they simply make the sand grains (grout) more stain resistant.:)

Now, do I have you totally confused?

My guess is that you and your project are in fact in excellent shape and I wouldn't go doing anything that would cost more money and cause more problems at this two minutes.:)

Thank you very much for your time and input, Bud. In fact, in the time since I posted, I'd sorted the issues out a bit more and come to the same conclusion you suggest. Actually applied the second coat of the same stuff, figuring it to cause no additional problem at this point, and wanting of course to get a good application on the grout. Very useful to know about the "breathability" of the sealer. The water bead test after coat # 2 resulted in an initial beading effect, followed by the water slowly sinking in, which did have me wondering whether coat # 3 was in order. After drying time and buffing of coat # 2, the tile really does not seem treacherously slick (again, I know it's different when wet). With just 2 able-bodied adults in the house (no elderly or children), I'm going to just see what happens. I wondered if, since the tile is glazed, and thus the sealer really doesn't "take" on that surface, why won't the sealer gradually wear away with a few routine cleanings?

Thanks again,

Mike

Some of those sealers are pretty tuff stuff but like you, I agree that after a few cleanings the surface sealer will simply go away. Since you buffed it when it was fresh as you should have I doubt there is much sealer remaining on the surface but with silicone it doesn't take much for it to be slick when it gets wet.

There is nothing wrong with a second or even a third application if it makes you feel better. I might suggest you use one of the small roller-applicators that are available for sealer applications. You can roll the sealer right onto the grout line and leave it. This way the buffing won't spread the sealer to the tile surface again.:)