How to restore balcony tiles?

[477bus]

These balcony tiles are around 25 years old and I have 2 areas that scrubbing with sugar soap won't fix.

The first is where I spilt some Acetone I was using. I mopped it up quickly but it has left large marks.

The second is oval shapes which appeared from nowhere over time in 3 or 4 tiles.

Nothing has covered the tiles at any time, the oval shapes get  a lot of direct sunlight.

Pressure washing, washing up liquid or sugar soap hasn't made an iota of difference.

I have occasionally used Davco Tile & Grout Cleaner from Bunnings to clean the tiles and have a bottle ready to go.

I thought I'd get some proper advice first as these problems aren't general cleaning issues.

What do you think?AcetoneWeird

[MitchellMc]

That's great to hear @477bus! Many thanks for the update.

Mitchell

[477bus]

Quick question: I initially spilt Acetone on the tiles causing a couple of nasty streaks and cloudy patches when washed with water.

Could I have simply recoated over the top with fresh sealer instead of using Acetone first to remove all the sealer on the affected tiles and then re-sealing?

[EricL]

Hi @477bus 

Ideally the sealer should be removed first before you put on a new sealer. Luckily the acetone you used is compatible with the sealer that was used on your tiles. It could have resulted in a much different scenario if the acetone melted the sealer into the tile, then it would have been impossible to remove.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[477bus]

Me again. The silver lining is that after each conversation I trot off to Bunnings to buy stuff.

Yesterday I noticed aerosol overspray on the sliding doors to the balcony being worked on as above.

Nitrocellulose guitar paint tiny spots which would only come off with Acetone.

Stupidly, I washed the doors down and swept very diluted Acetone all over the tiles causing white clouds.

After your (Eric's) last post, I stayed away from Acetone and bought Crommelin Sealer Remover.

I'd used the Davco Tile & Grout Cleaner to no effect.

You recommended Chemtech Concrete & Tile which made a difference.

Still a blackness to the tiles, a bit like aged brass but after the Crommelin Sealer it looked fine (see photo in previous post).

I anticipated 8-9 tiles to be redone but after the Crommelin Sealer remover the tiles were 'orange' in comparison.

So I'm having to do the whole balcony now but the results so far are so much better.

This is feedback really, to thank you for your invaluable help and to tell you how much better the Crommelin product is.

I already know the sealer is good but the remover works like Acetone but washes away with water. Brilliant!

[EricL]

Hello @477bus 

Thank you for your feedback. I'm sure the information you've shared will come in handy to our members who are in a similar situation.

If you need a hand with any other projects, please let us know.

Eric