New Terrazo problem

[Fon Johnson]

Mikey, I can't really tell from the pics what the problem is. Is there a dull area where the terrazzo meets the granite where they just did not get coverage?

 

[Mikey P]

dull and too light

 

[Ron Lippold]

what about a enhancer on the dull stuff

 

[Fon Johnson]

OK

With one coat of floor finish on it, it probably just needs more. It takes several coats to make terrazzo pop. What often happens is the cement needs more coats because it soaks it up. You may notice that the aggregate has more shine than what it is set in. You could try applying 3 or 4 more coats to a small area and see if that does it. This is just part of the problem of putting finish on it instead of polishing it. I see a lot of that here because most people here don't want to pay for polishing.

 

[hogjowl]

And over here, we don't even lay the stuff in the first place.

 

[Mikey P]

The aggregate in this case is chunks of glass.

 

[Fon Johnson]

The aggregate in this case is chunks of glass.

Ahhhhh. Do they stand out with a much higher shine?

Marty, how do you lay a terrazzo floor? I mean I have seen a few that were 12" terrazzo tiles, but most around here are poured..

 

[Jeremy]

You could polish it... Or you could finish it... Or both.

 

[David Gelinas]

Mikey
I think you’re always going to have a color variation if the edges don’t get worked by hand. It’s apples to oranges; you’ve got two different textures and there is always going to be at least some measure of variation unless they are both brought to the same “texture” – same grit sequence.
David Gelinas
Marbleguy

 

[Tile Nerd]

Sounds like it's been over-sealed. Polished stones don't need to be presealed to begin with. Most pre-sealers are designed with large polymers to seal highly porous stones by preventing the grout from impregnated and bonding with the stone. The more polished the stone, the tighter the pores and the less porous. This is why they don't need to be pre-sealed.

You could test what I'm saying with a drop of acid in one of the areas with the problem. If it's over-sealed the acid won't react very quickly. If it's not over-sealed the acid will have a strong and immediate reaction.

Let us know what happens.

 

[Mikey P]

Going out next friday