New grout, too light (gray), can I 'dye' it charcoal/black?
fishfacenj
15 years ago
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bill_vincent
15 years agoRelated Discussions
should my Charcoal grout be charcoal?
Comments (10)Well, I couldn't get him to come back, but my GC said that what the tile guy was referring to was a dilute sulfamic acid solution. I looked into that and did it myself. The first time, it was too dilute, so I ended up going over it three times, with a thorough rinse in between. The color evened out, but it is still lighter than I'd like. It doesn't look bad as it is, but when it gets water drops on it, it looks just right. Now I'm trying to figure out if I should seal it (with 511 or something else? that's what I used on the walls and it didn't change the color) or if I should go whole hog and use a grout colorant? I understand that if I seal it and don't like that look, I'd have to remove the sealer in order to apply the colorant. I've looked into Aqua Mix, I looked at the bottle of Polyblend Grout Renew at Home Depot. I understand Mapei has their own product as well. How on earth do I decide? All I want is a dark gray. It's a very small room, so whatever I do, even if very tedious, won't take that long. We are not living in the house yet, and have another bathroom, but I'd really like to be done with this! Thanks for any insights....See MoreIs my grout too light? Can I get it darker?
Comments (17)I asked my tiler which he would rather do: remove the old grout and re-grout, or use the colorant. He said re-grouting would be easier for him (remember, he's doing this for free). We saw him do it, and it wasn't as difficult as I had thought. They just took it out with a utility knife. They did about 50% of the floor, since we still had stuff on it that was too hard to move at the time. I bought a $400 Fein oscillating tool for the job, and I plan to remove the rest myself. The other argument is that you could apply the colorant yourself, one section at a time, without paying for more labor. When I do stuff myself, I take forever, but I do it about a million times more carefully than any worker seems to care to do. Grout seems to be the black hole of flooring knowledge. Daltile is a very good high-line supplier, but another tile supplier was able to solve most of our problems (mainly, finding the Hydroment grout samples there). At first we had a lot of effluorescence, but they had the product that removes it effectively there as well. Good luck!...See MoreCalin's last 2 - and grout question (black or grey)
Comments (18)BLACK ??? hahaha.... r u sure guys? well, ok... will have to trust you on this one! will go right on my yellow kitchen wall... until i find a buyer...hehehe running out of tiles and stuff. so if i wanna keep it going... i need funds! LOL ok... today will give it the black grout! TRY LINKS IN SECOND MESSAGE! CALIN...See MoreWrong grout color!! Delorean gray too dark :'-(
Comments (6)It might dry lighter, so I'd wait till it's fully dried, but I had to paint grout once and it's not that difficult, it also acts as a sealer, so don't seal you grout, it will prevent the paint from adhering well. Do a small sample and wait for it to dry, it dries lighter. Another option is to mix white grout paint with water and "white wash" the grout until you get the color you want. Whatever you do, wait till the grout has had time to cure. I always recommend doing a sample board up with you choice of grout before you commit. Grout isn't that expensive and sometimes the coloring samples aren't very accurate. I just hot glue some tile to cardboard and mixed a little water with the grout and it gave me a much better idea, what the finished product would look like....See Morebill_vincent
15 years agofishfacenj
15 years agobill_vincent
15 years agofishfacenj
15 years agobill_vincent
15 years ago
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