Color Enhancing Newly Installed Tumbled Honey Onyx

maria · 06-19-2008, 04:24 PM

HI,

I am very confused right now. I just had a TUMBLED HONEY ONYX BACK SPLASH INSTALLED THE GROUT IS NOT IN AS OF YET. I would like to know what product to use on it to color enhance it and to seal it if at all it can be sealed. I contacted Stonetech's Technicians and they told me to use their water base sealer not the Pro sealer that it wouldn't be necessary and that all I needed was the water base enhancer. I mentioned to him that I heard that you really can not seal tumbled onyx and he agreed but he said the enhancer has a little bit of a sealer but after I color enhance before the grout is in if I did not want to darken the grout that I still could put the stonetech impregnator sealer which would seal the tumbled onyx somewhat and also the grout. All of what he said is exactly what I have been told by the literature I have read on the subject. What is confusing is when I contacted the people who supply MB stone enhancer they told me that the MB-6 which is a color enhancer with some sealer in it also. I was told that it is better at protecting the tumbled onyx from acidic spills better than the stonetech water base color enhancer that will peel off the stone everytime there is a acidic spill or splatter on the stone. So I am asking please which product should I use to color enhance my tumbled honey onyx and why? Are they both the same and should I use a sealer like stonetech impregnator after I color enhance to give it extra protection?

Maria
New to your site and my very first ?

Huligar · 06-19-2008, 04:58 PM

Hi Maria

First off go a head and grout your back splash with an epoxy grout. once that is done, seal the stone with ager tiger, It will give you deep in color as well as add protection to the stone.

cheesedog · 06-19-2008, 08:06 PM

i am curious as to who you talked to about the MB6 and MB products, because the information youve just given us is completely false

most of the onyx stones will NOT absorb a sealer when they are POLISHED. still, when they are tumbled, they are not very porous, but will allow enough penetration on the surface to use a color enhancer. MB6, as well as stonetech bulletproof, impregnator or enhance pro, or any other impregnating sealer on the market for that matter, will NOT protect against any type of acidic etching. the ONLY thing these sealers are going to protect against is penetration and absorption. since it is a backsplash, you dont have a whole lot to worry about.

to break it down, it does not really matter what sealer you use, it should work just fine for sealing purposes. if you are looking to have the color enhanced, then i would recommend a color enhancer with a sealer in it, which is pretty much all of them. the color enhancer WILL NOT put a finish, or a shine on the stone, it will only bring out the full color while leaving it in a tumbled finish.

the guy from Stonetech was right about color enhancing before grouting, this makes it very simple, and you dont have to worry about darkening your grout. as far as epoxy grout, i wouldnt go that far, it may be a little overboard. if you want to go the epoxy route, that will work too.

some good color enhancing sealers i have used that i would recommend;
1 Aquamix's Enrich N' Seal
2 Stone Tech's Enhancer Pro
3 MB6

Huligar · 06-19-2008, 08:56 PM

dog, this is the stone in question.

which is absorbent, and if it goes in an area that has water or oil you better seal it, and seal it correctly.

If you seal your stone before you grout, it will not have the best bond and cause for cracking of the grout.

You may feel that epoxy may be a bit much, but it is just what is needed if you are looking for the best job, and this person is in the best position to make make sure she gets the best job for her money.

Aquamix's Enrich N' Seal, and Stone Tech's Enhancer Pro may be too thick and do not give her the best protection possible. Ager is still the best choice for this application.

cheesedog · 06-19-2008, 11:31 PM

i dont agree, but if we agreed all the time we wouldnt have any fun would we. 9 out of 10 of our backsplashes are tumbled stones, and we have not had any issues with cracked grout. like you said, if it is done correctly, there shouldnt be a problem.

im not saying you are incorrect in what you are suggesting, but that either way would be sufficient. ive had success with all of the mentioned color enhancers in numerous conditions and cannot honestly say any of them posed a problem.

maria · 06-20-2008, 04:02 PM

Thanks Cheesedog for the good advice. I am going with the stonetech water based color enhancer instead of the pro because George the Stonetech technician said the only difference between the Stonetech Pro and the water based one is that one has a solvent and one doesn't. So the Pro helps with sun protection for outside. He said it would be a waste to buy it for inside and that it would not color enhance any better or protect any better than the Pro,except that I would be using a solvent. As much as I wanted to color enhance before the grouting; being I am doing this myself, I decided to have it grouted first and than color enhance. I do not want to take a chance in getting a lot of the color enhancer where the grout needs to be applied and not having the grout adhere properly. So to be on the safe side I chickened out. I might have the grout color enhanced and sealed by a company Sir Grout. There are several different companies online that you can purchase the product from and do it yourself. It colors the grout and seals it at the same time so that it will stay the same color no matter how many times you clean it. It never darkens at least for several years. I had it done to the grout on the tile on my floor and the grout always looks new. Like I said after maybe 4 or 5 years it may have to be applied again but it is very easy to do. I just have to make sure that the Stonetech on the grout will be compatiable with the color sealer Sir Grout will use.

cheesedog · 06-21-2008, 01:41 PM

Maria, please be carefull with the grout coloring. i do grout coloring as well to porcelain and ceramic tiles, but it is not designed for porous materials like travertine or tumbled marbles. what can happen is the color is absorbed by the grout and into the sides of the tiles, coloring the edges of the tiles and leaving you wil dark lines on either sides of the grout joints. im not saying this will happen, but it is a good possibility. i honestly would stay away from the coloring, and just seal the grout with the stonetech sealer, and you should be fine. i RARELY see any discoloration on vertical splash areas, and when i do they are very minor.

ALSO, the regular enhancer that the ST guy is recommending is an "economical" sealer, so it is very inexpensive, and also i feel they do not work anywhere near as well as the pro sealers. considering that once it is sealed properly, you wont have to bother with it for at least 5 years, i would spend the extra money for the great protection it offers. you wont need more than one quart, and even then you'll have plenty left over.

deted1 · 06-21-2008, 04:18 PM

If you are going to color seal, do not get any of the Stone Tech on the grout. It will not adhere properly. Watch out for the Enhancer on the grout as well. If it's not applied evenly, you can get areas where the grout is darker than others. I've used the water based enhancer from Stone Tech and like it. It's for indoor use only, but a good product. But as Cheese says, it's definitely not the same as the Enhancer Pro.

maria · 06-23-2008, 04:01 PM

Hello Everyone,
Thanks for all the good advice. I was wondering if I could color seal the grout before I color enhance the tumbled honey onyx stone? I spoke to the owner of sir grout and he said he did not hear of any success with using color enhancer's but to try it anyway. He said that after I color enhanced or just sealed the backsplash with stonetech that he would steam clean the grout only to get any stonetech product off the grout and than COLOR SEAL the grout. I was wondering if that would make a difference in protecting the grout and the stone. So I would still be able to get my grout a lighter color after it darkens from the enhancer. Is there a possibility that steaming the grout to get the stonetech off the grout also remove it from the stone? And after he color seals the grout will I still be able to apply a stonetech color enhancer or just stonetech sealer for extra protection several years down the road over the colorsealed grout? And will I be able to clean with a stonetech cleaner? I apologize for so many questions but I would rather know before hand than after the fact when it is too late. Thank you so much for all your help this is an awesome site. Maria

cheesedog · 06-24-2008, 01:02 AM

this is becoming more difficult then it needs to be. its very simple; color enhance the stone before it is grouted. then grout. then colorseal the grout. then enjoy.

we've done hundreds of backsplashes this way with no known issues of the grout not staying in or cracking or whatever, not to mention fireplaces, walls, showers and whatever else you can think of. its up to you, but in my opinion the grout looks better when it is not color enhanced. you dont eve need to color seal the gruot, its a backsplash, it doesnt get a fraction of the abuse the counter gets. ever seen an old tile countertop where the grout is disgusting? look at the back splash, its perfectly clean 9 times out of 10.