I'm not sure, to be honest. In either case if it's absorbant where the surface coat has worn off then you need to seal it so that stains are absorbed. Check out the link below - the Miracle products are what I used on my (softer) slate floor and I'm really happy with them. Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle sealants use chart

I was suprised the first couple of times that I grouted, too. I find the clean up tedious, but well worth it. Doing an alcohol wash, a vinegar rinse and sealing with glossy grout sealer really makes a difference!

Hi All, I have been reading these flooring issues and feeling your pain. Truly. I have spent HOURS reading about how to get the film off of my dark laminate flooring. So pretty when it's clean but oh so not pretty once anyone walks on it or the dogs leave paw prints when they come in front outside (I have two shih tzu's so we are not talking large dogs here). It was to the point where I wanted no one on the floors after they were cleaned so they would look nice. Ummmm... not very realistic or practical. Trust me when I tell you that I have tried everything, and purchased everything, that worked for others. I will tell you what finally worked for me- FINALLY. I bought some Windex with vinegar in it. I sprayed it on the floor and let it sit for five minutes. You have to do this in small sections so it takes a long time to complete. Once it's been on that section for five minutes you need to get down on your hands and knees and clean it with a soft rag (I used a flour dishtowel) with as much pressure you have in you. Then you need to dry it immediately. It seriously did remove the film. You might have to do this more than once if you have thicker film on your floors from products you have used. I was so nervous to walk on it after about a half hour of doing this, but guess what? No prints! Nothing. It looked just like it did before it was installed and before I used multiple products on it. I have the same flooring in the lower level and tried to take a shortcut, so I sprayed the Windex with vinegar on it, let it sit for five minutes, and mopped it off. I mean- this takes a lot less time and elbow grease. But, it didn't work. Shucks. I still have the lower level floor to do so I will take a before and after picture of it and post it. It worked on my family room floor beautifully. This lower level floors gets a lot more traffic so this should be interesting. However, getting that film off is key. That is what is leaving all of the footprints and dog prints and everything else. I could literally draw on my floors through the film. It was disgusting. Try it- you have nothing to lose but about $3.50 for the bottle of Windex with vinegar and some time and effort. I'm so happy it worked on at least one of the floors!! From now on I plan to clean these floors with a clean fiber cloth mop and the Windex and vinegar spray. This will not leave a film. If I have problems with that (I haven't tried it yet) I will use plain water. No more products on the floors- lesson learned (the hard way!). Patricia

@dostk did you ever resolve this? We had a white and gray honed marble mosaic installed and after grouting, the whole area looks completely different. The stone doesn't look anything like the uninstalled mosaic, now it has almost a dull/frosted glass (not shiny) look to it ... is the best way I can try to describe it. Basically it doesn't even read as marble to me anymore. As far as I know, our contractor's installer did not seal it before hand (it was still in the boxes and packing sleeves) and used a sanded grout. The option of sanded or unsanded was never mentioned to us and as newbies we didn't know to ask. Is there anything that can be done to bring the original look back or is this just expected and we should have done a mock up as someone mentioned before?