Sanding Terracotta Floor Tiles
Without proper sealing this can lead.
Sanding terracotta floor tiles. Because terra cotta is a soft material it sands down easily. This style is truly hand made and tiles are shaped and poured in wooden molds and set to dry on sand. Test your terracotta tiles for porosity by placing water in the middle of a tile. Sanding these terracotta tile destroys the hard surface of the clay and digs into the integrity of the tile and somewhat ruins the natural color on the surface.
Tiles are then set to dry under natural sun for several days. Terracotta tiles cleaning and sealing. 2 sand the scratch lightly using 1000 grit sandpaper and a palm sander. Vacuum up as much of the water as possible then allow the floor to dry.
Allow the grout and tile cleaner to be absorbed by the terracotta tiles for about five minutes. With the grout cleaning brush scrub vigorously over all the grout lines until you remove all the dirt and stains you can get off. As these tiles have been laid on top of a damp proof membrane it s safe to apply a floor sealer that will merely require sweeping or vacuuming to. Step 5 sand the terracotta floor lightly.
Sweep or vacuum away all dirt and debris from the tiles. If after 15 minutes the water has soaked into the floor the tiles will need to be impregnated with boiled linseed oil. The ancient romans used a variety of terracotta tiles in their villas and palaces for many centuries. This will darken the tiles a little so to get an idea of the finished colour wet the tiles to assess the effect.
How to seal terracotta tiles.