Master

Hi Member, Have you try buying from Pharmacy Store, if no sucess you can call Vince @ 97222250, probably he can sell you small amount ( 100ml), it will not cost much. Best regards T S TAN

Hi Member, Cigarette Stain, you can use Hydrogen Peroxide, only few drops. ( wear rubber gloves) let it set for few minutes, you will see it lighten. repeat process and rinse with water. You can buy from most Pharmacy or drugs store, very dilute content. Best regards T S TAN

Hi Member, Black Polish Homogenous tiles are very reflective to Dust and Foot / shoes mark. Appreciate if you could post your pics, then I will be able to look into it. (White line here and there, happen only after you mop or is already there?) Maintain this tiles. 1. Use a dry flat mop or use a dry cotton cloth, collect all the dust. 2. Use a good neutral cleaner (rinse with plain water till no chemical residue) suspected line? 1. Solvent Polymer wax used in factory, after installation some of this wax is very obvious. 2. Chemical residue ( dilution ratio 1: 128 or 30ml per half pail of water) If Bacteria, can be seen by our naked eye? it must be very bad? Think about it. You can build a surface tension on the tiles surface, it will definitely ease your maintenance. Done by Applicator only. Best regards T S TAN

Hi Member, I'm answer this 2 years old forum, I believe till today is still a myth. the easiest way to tell between Homogeneous tiles & Natural stone, Take any sharp metal or key, scratch on surface, if black line, is homogeneous or Porcelain tiles, if white line is a natural stones or compress stone. Polishing this tiles is possible to its original surface. Best regards T S TAN

Hi Member, Natural Marble Restoration method. normal practice. 1. Lippage removal using metal disc grade #1.#2 (depending which supplier they purchase from.) 2. Grinding& Honing (Resin disc from #50, 100,200,400 and 800) 3. Marble Polishing Powder ( subjected to supplier, prices varies from country and margin) What type of warranty? surface will not etch? Prices subjected to Experience and workmanship. Marble is sensitive to chemical & abrasion, use a Good Neutral Cleaner, your floor will be in top condition. Best Regards T S TAN

hi member Porcelain: Porosity and Pores As manufacturing of unglazed porcelain moves out of the traditional strongholds of Italy and Spain and into the greater world economy, porcelain from other regions (such as Asia and South America ) is being branded inferior. The main yardstick used to measure this inferiority is porosity. Problems such as staining and difficulty in maintenance are attributed to these inferior products because they are more porous. BUT ARE THEY? It is this general view that poor quality in porcelain is due to low porosity that needs to be scrutinized and clarified because it is in many cases simply confusion between porosity and pores. Porosity So what is the difference between porosity and pores? Porosity is by definition the ratio of voids to solids in a tile. It is measured by the amount of water a tile can hold expressed as a percentage of it’s own weight. The test in simplified form is carried out by firstly weighing a dry piece of tile, soaking it for 24 hours in water – drying the surface water – and then weighing the wet piece. The tiles porosity is the difference in weight between the dry and wet piece. It is expressed as a percentage gain over the dry weight and indicates how much water or moisture a tile can absorb. Pores A pore is something different. A pore by definition is a hole or opening on the outer surface of an animate or inanimate object. Surface pores are not measured in a quantifiable manner and hence are not part of the ceramic or porcelain standard. However they do have a large influence on how porcelain will perform. Moreover it is a tile’s pores rather than just porosity in isolation that create many of the cleaning problems and hence should be scrutinized when deciding if a product is high or low quality. Cleaning & Staining of Porcelain The problems most associated with “poor quality” porcelain are most always related to cleaning and maintenance. Common problems are the porcelain will stain. It will mark (especially from car tyres) and soil easily. It will stain during the grouting installation especially when grouts with high contents of coloured oxide are used. The reason for this sub-standard performance? Porosity. The porcelain has high porosity and hence absorbs these contaminants. It is therefore poor quality. Unfortunately this conclusion is only part of the truth. Porosity is certainly one of the main factors in creating these problems and in determining quality. However it is the surface pores that play an almost equal part. If a porcelain has large surface pores (these are still very small mostly visible through a microscope) then it will suffer from exactly the same cleaning and maintenance problems. The pores do two things. They increase the surface co-efficient of friction thus doing a better job of collecting dirt (cleaning the bottom of your shoe). Secondly they provide below surface reservoirs to hold the dirt. The end result is that the pores create exactly the same problems as porosity and is the reason why so many people confuse the two characteristics. Quality equals Porosity & Pores? The quality of a porcelain product is determined principally by the blend of clay that is used and fired. The higher the content and purity of white Porcelain Clay (China Clay) the better the porcelain. Our two characteristics, porosity and pores, are directly related to the China Clay. With high quality clay the tile has less volatiles and hydrocarbons to burn off during firing. This results in a tile that is denser and hence low porosity. However it also results in a tile that is harder with better vitrification. This means that there are less surface pores. This becomes even more important for the polished porcelain. The polishing process has a habit of creating pores as the grinding/polishing process removes softer particles leaving behind surface holes or pores. The harder the tile and the more even the body composition the less pores are created. So it is both the porosity and the amount and size of surface pores that effects performance and helps to characterize quality. Problem Solving Most problem solving for these “inferior” porcelains is done by way of sealing. A penetrating sealer is applied with the expectation that this will lower the offending porosity. However it will have no positive effect on the surface pores. In other words the traditional diagnosis of porosity as the only cause will lead to the wrong solution in many cases. To protect and ease maintenance of porcelain with excessive porosity a penetrating type sealer is the correct solution. However to effectively protect and maintain a porcelain with excessive pores a combination of a coating pre-grout sealer and a heavy duty cleaner is required. Porcelain with large pores will cause most problems during the grouting process. The grout gets caught in the micro pores, hydrates and bonds making it impossible to clean without using harsh acids. To solve this problem the porcelain should be pre-grout sealed with a water base, water strippable protectant. This will stop the grout filling the pores. Once grouted the pre-grout sealer is removed and sealed with a penetrating sealer if it also has high porosity. If it doesn’t then no sealer needs to be applied. Identifying if porcelain suffers from high porosity or excessive pores is sometimes difficult. However the easiest way is to carry out a simple stain test. Expose a sample for 24 hours to a typical household contaminant such as red wine or cooking oil. Apply (preferably a contrasting colour) a cement grout to a second piece and try to clean. If a tile suffers from high porosity it will be stained by the household contaminant. If the surface pores are the problem then it will be the grout that creates the problem. There will be of course those porcelains that stain from both sources. In these cases a pre-grout coating sealer should be applied during installation and a penetrating type applied after. Conclusion It is understandable that porosity is so often blamed for the cleaning and maintenance issues surrounding some porcelain. Likewise it is equally understandable that it is associated with inferior quality, because high porosity and surface pores both create the same problems. However in many cases the pores create these problems. An understanding of the difference is imperative so that the correct solution can be implemented. It is also important to acknowledge that an inferior porcelain is not one that simply has high porosity. The number and size of surface pores is equally important. Moreover there are many porcelains (mainly polished) that have low porosity but suffer the cleaning problems due to their pore characteristics. Of course there are other factors such as size, selection and kiln contamination etc that help determine quality. However it is the porosity and pores that can most easily be modified after manufacturing to ease problems that makes them perhaps the most important to understand. T S TAN

Hi Member, Why Grout Stain? it is because it is porous. You can purchase Grout deep clean from DIY store, or Builders shop. This chemical clean and lift the dirt up. Use Grout Sealer or any penetrating type sealer, seal the Grout. This will ease the ongoing maintenance. Best Regards T S TAN

Hi member, The common problem of yellowing in marble especially the white varieties such as Carrara . Most of us know that one of the main causes is iron. So I will outline how this mechanism works. However there are many other reasons why a marble can turn yellow and these are not as well known or documented hence I will outline these as well. Iron is the most well known but least understood cause of yellowing. It can be caused by both internal and external sources. External sources include iron bearing minerals in the substrate, installation materials, surrounding fixtures, water supply as well as building rubbish such as abandoned nails etc. Internal sources are the soluble minerals naturally occurring in the stone. It is the internal source that requires explanation. Most of the internal iron occurs as iron sulphide bearing minerals. The most common is Pyrite and also to a lesser extent marcasite. The process starts by exposing the iron to oxygen. The main source of oxygen is water. However other oxidizers include acids as well as bleaches. Although we are all aware of the problems associated with the use of acid on marble and limestone many people do not know why household bleaches are not recommended. Bleach, as an oxidize will set off the iron creating yellowing of the stone. Once the iron has oxidised the iron sulphide oxidises to iron sulphate and then to iron hydroxide (we know it as rust). The release of sulphur as sulphate, in the presence of water, converts to either sulphurous acid or even sulphuric acid. So the result of all this chemistry is that we get a yellow stone and, if the sulphate/sulphuric acid phase occurs, a stone that can etch itself due to it’s own acid production. How about the other less documented causes for turning marbles yellow because the yellowing is not always rust or iron. 1.Incorrect Maintenance: Accumulation of dirt especially oil based in the worn surface of a stone can look yellow. Dirty mops and poor cleaning chemicals will exasperate this. The use of bleach as mentioned above promotes oxidation of any iron. Therefore clean regularly with clean mops and good ph neutral cleaners such as STONE CLEANER. 2.The incorrect polishing of stone can turn it yellow. If the stone is polished using steel wool any particles left on the surface will create rust. This is even worse if the pads are used on very wet stone. If acidic polishing compounds are not correctly neutralised this can crate a yellowing. Crystallization materials can also create the problem if not totally neutralised and are especially problematic if the stone is too wet. 3.Wax build up or other topical sealers such as urethanes can turn yellow. The solution is simple here – use Aqua Mix coatings as they DO NOT YELLOW. Coatings can also appear to turn yellow as they trap dirt in their worn surface. So it is prudent to clean coatings regularly and re-coat when necessary. 4.Wooden substrates can create yellowing. Some timbers used in flooring have natural gums and resins as well as chemicals used in their treatment that can migrate towards the stone’s surface causing discoloration. 5.Dyes from rubber mats or the jute backing of some carpets will turn a marble yellow. Some of the older cutback adhesives used for carpet and vinyl flooring can turn a stone yellow. These types of adhesives should be removed and AQUA MIX SEALER & ADHESIVE REMOVER does a fine job 6.Some epoxies (now used in grouts and ever increasingly as adhesives) can discolour stone. Most are two part and it is the unreactive part that when not mixed completely with the reactive hardener can migrate into the stone in moist conditions causing a yellow-brown stain. 7.Lastly UV in combination with an unstable sealer coating and bleaches and oxygenated water will turn a marble yellow. So as you can see it is not only iron that can turn a marble yellow. When you are next on a problem job investigating yellowing do take into account the other variables, as it is most often a combination of things that create the discoloration. Also as water and oxygen are two of the most important catalysts for iron staining do remember to recommend the use of an Aqua Mix Sealer (as this will reduce water absorption into the stone) and the use of our non-bleach cleaners. T S TAN

QUOTE (seeez @ Aug 20 2007, 12:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>HELP! Sigh....I've use excessive NTUC Tile detergent (blue bottle cheap price) on my homogenous tiles over the weekend. It now becomes matt-looking instead of original glossy feeling. In the past, I've done it before to clean the gap in between and scrub with toothbrush but I only pour along the gap. It will leave the matt effect along the side but after period of time and mopping...it will turn back to original feeling. What should i do now.... pls help.... I need to know... 1) Is the glossy layer of the tile "bitten" away. 2) The only solution is to grind and polish by professional? 3) Is there a cheaper DIY solution? die la.... ming Hi Member, Sorry to hear that you etch the homogenous or Porcelain tiles surface away, Read the back label before use! Hydrochloride Acid is bad and damage most surface, Phosphoric Acid is safe on most tiles except marble, slate. or any calcium based tiles or stone. Now you can re-polish your Porcelain tiles with Crystal Shine System, it will build a Crystal surface on the tiles & Stain or dirt will not able to penetrate. check out www.renotalk.com for Before & After Pictures You can Call Donald Toh mobile 9637**** Best Regards T S TAN