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The Knowledge of Spray Buffing

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Avoid stepping on or placing anything onto the final coat for 8 full hours to ensure a perfect finish. Wash all tools immediately. If you allow the wax to dry it will be extremely difficult to remove. Scrub it off of any tools you plan on using again using soap and hot water.


Flip or change the buffing pad if it gets clogged or dirty. Stop and check the buffing pad every few minutes to see if it looks dirty or clogged. Additionally, you’ll know the pad needs to be changed if the floor isn’t getting as shiny as it was previously. Most buffing pads can be flipped once during cleaning. If your pad looks soaked through, just switch to a new one.


Follow spray buffing with a pass of dry buffing, for best results. Switch out your red buffing pad for a gray or beige one. Then, start buffing your floor in the far corner. Slowly work your way toward the other side of the room. Your buffing pad likely won’t need changing on this pass. However, continue to check on it regularly to make sure it’s not clogged or dirty.


It’s best to wait until your floor is dry before you start your dry buffing. You may want to apply a finish to the floor to reduce slipperiness and increase the shine. Use a clean dust mop to remove any dust created by the buffing process. Once your floor is dry, return to the corner of the room and begin making short, even passes with your dust mop.

Continue working your way over the entire surface of the floor until you reach the other side of the room. This helps get your floor as clean and shiny as possible. Using a floor buffer can stir dust up into the air, which will then fall back down onto your freshly buffed floor. A clean dust mop can remove this debris.

Wall Preparation Before Tile a Wall

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Prepare the area around your walls. Place drop cloths on the floor to catch dust and tile pieces. Wear protective clothing. You should use safety goggles, long shirts, long pants and gloves. Broken wall tile can be sharp and dangerous.

Remove the old tile, if necessary. It is inadvisable to try to tile over old tile, because your surface will not be even. Use a chisel and a hammer to crack existing tiles. Once cracked, remove the cloud tile in pieces, if it does not fall off automatically. Chisel off remaining pieces. Beware not to gouge the wall too deeply, or you may create an uneven surface.

If the resulting wall is very uneven, you may want to re-plaster it. It is best to hire a professional to plaster the walls. If you are installing wall tile in a bathroom or other wet area, use cement fiberboard on the surface before you adhere tile. Sand the wall with medium-grit sandpaper to create an even surface. If you are not removing previous tile, you will still want to scuff up glossy surfaces with a fine-grit sandpaper to help the adhesive stick.

Buy your tiles. Porcelain tiles are available through the Internet, home improvement stores and decorators. Buy extra tile for your project, since tiles will break in the process. Take your tile to the home improvement store to try out glue. Different ceramic tiles require different types of glue. You do not want your glue to discolor the wood tile. Apply a wall sealant. This mild adhesive product will keep the glue moist while you complete your project. It is available at home improvement stores.

Cure grout. Allow grout to cure for 24 to 48 hours before stepping on it to ensure its stability and to make sure that it is completely dry. Finish expansion joints. Caulk the expansion joints using a grout caulk in a color that matches your grout. Completely fill these expansion joints then smooth and concave using your finger. You can find grout caulk at large home improvement stores.

How Replacing a Small Tile?

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If your wall tile is smaller than 3 in × 3 in (7.6 cm × 7.6 cm) and you don’t want to damage the ones surrounding it, drill 5 holes in an X-shape through the tile with a carbide masonry drill bit. Use a hammer and a chisel on the holes to chip the tile out.

Pry up the edge of the tile with a chisel. Slide the end blade of your chisel underneath the tile and pull up on the handle to lift it. If the tile is still stuck, hit the end of the chisel’s handle with your hammer to break apart your tile. Work slowly so you don’t accidentally chip any of the tiles next to the one you’re trying to remove.

If you don’t have a chisel, use the back of a claw hammer to lift and pry the tile off of the surface. Use your chisel to scrape off the mortar. Set the chisel blade on the surface next to the adhesive mortar. Apply a firm amount of pressure to the chisel, working in short back and forth motions to scrape the mortar off. Once you’ve removed it all, use a vacuum to get rid of the residue.

Make sure the surface is completely smooth or else you won’t be able to lay another wall tile in flat. Smooth the floor using a floor scraper. Floor scrapers have a wider edge than a hand maul or chisel, as well as a longer handle, making it easier to scrape the floor.

Use a floor scraper to smooth out any rough patches resulting from the tile or grout removal, pushing the edge of the scraper against the floor in precise, forward motions. You can find a floor scraper at a home improvement store or online.

How to Remove Wall Tiles?

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Removing wall tiles is different, and more difficult, than removing floor tiles because wall tiles are typically set very close together, with minimal grout lines. This means that it takes more care to remove a wall tile without damaging the surrounding tiles.

Try to locate a loose tile. If you plan to remove a whole wall of tiles, try tapping the edge of each one with a chisel for signs of looseness. The first Rustic tile is much harder to remove than the rest, so it’s worth taking some extra time to see if you can get lucky. If you locate one, use either of the methods below to remove it. Your best bet is in areas where you’ve removed the grout, and areas with signs of water damage.

Chisel tiles away from the wall. This approach should let you save more of your cement tiles for reuse, unless the tiles are unusually well-adhered or a relatively recent installation. Give it a try by inserting a chisel, putty knife, or other flat tool in between the spots tile and the wall, almost parallel to the wall. Tap the handle of the tool with a hammer until the ceramic tile comes away from the wall. You may need to pry it off in two or three places if firmly attached.

If the wood marble tiles break instead of coming away, try an air chisel instead. Have an assistant wearing leather gloves catch the tiles as they come away, before they fall. The first wood tile is generally much harder than the rest. Take your time to tap out the first one, then attack the exposed edge of the next tile. Make sure to be very careful near the edges because the tile price will chip easily.

 

Break the tile if necessary. If your wall tiles design are set directly into the mortar, you’ll probably need to give up on saving it and crack it into pieces. Start by using a hammer and chisel to make a hole in the center of the wood marble tile, then chisel the cracked tile pieces away, being careful not to damage the surrounding tiles.

Eye protection is especially important for this method. Porcelain tiles will break into extremely sharp, glass-like shards. If this happens, consider breaking them from the side with a hammer and chisel instead, to reduce the number of fragments. Clear the area of any remaining setting material. Use a cold chisel to chip away the setting material until the exposed wall surface is fairly even. You may not be able to remove all of the adhesive and grout, but you want to ensure that a new wall tile will sit flush with the surrounding wall tiles once it is installed.

Get rid of spacer lugs before attempting to install a replacement tile. These are metal objects that may be left behind during removal. You can remove spacer lugs by snipping them off with utility clippers, breaking them off with pliers, cutting them with a utility knife or sanding them down with sandpaper.

How to Finishing up the Job of Tiled a Shower?

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A tiled shower adds beauty and durability and value to your home, and you can choose tiles for your shower all by yourself. There are several things you need to do to properly prepare a leak-proof shower. If you are tiling a shower tile for the first time, consult with a general contractor before starting the job.

Grout the tile. Mix up a batch of grout and let wall tile rest for 5 to 7 minutes. Lightly wet the tile area you’ll be grouting with a damp sponge and dump a bit of grout onto the tile area. Use a rubber float to smooth it into the joints, attacking each joint at a diagonal angle. After 30-40 minutes (check the directions on the bag of grout) you want to wipe the excess grout with a damp sponge and a circular motion. Keep wiping with a clean sponge until the shower tile is clear.

The tiles may look a bit hazy even after wiping, so you may have to buff small tile with a clean sponge to get rid of this haze. Let the grout cure for approximately 3 days before sealing. Then, seal the grout. Run a thin bead of liquid grout or aerosol grout sealer onto the grout line and wipe away. Let dry and then test its water resistance by dropping water onto the sealed grout. Correctly sealed grout will cause the water to bead up on top of it.

Caulk any needed tile size areas. Make sure to use a grout caulk to match the colors. As you caulk tile design, remember to pull the caulk gun relatively quickly across the joint. Most amateurs caulk too slow and end up dropping too much caulk down on the joint.

Other things to remember: Keep the tip angled as you run the bead along the joint. Match the speed with which you pull the caulk gun trigger with the rate at which you pull the gun along the joint. You don’t want to be pulling the gun fast but triggering slowly, or vice versa.

After applying the bead of caulk tile, “bed” it by running a damp finger across the bead with light pressure. Make sure that your grout chalk matches the grout. Let the caulk dry and redo it if you are not happy with the results.

How to Quickly Repair Bathroom Shower Tiles?

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Ceramic shower tiles may be damaged or broken over a period of years. This may include damage to the grout joints, or even individual only tiles may crack, causing water to leak into the walls or floor space, where it can damage subfloors or lower level spaces. This guide will help you to repair these problems.

 

Remove damaged tiles together with small tile adhesive (cement under tiles). You may have to break the wall tile into small pieces and remove it. The biggest problem with this is that you can easily break some of the adjoining tiles. Using a grout saw or other tool, remove the grout from the tile joints surrounding the damaged tiles design. Be careful not to cut through any membrane waterproofing underneath or behind the tiles.

Using a masonry bit, drill a hole through the middle of the tiles you need to remove. For large wall tiles design you may need to drill several holes so the tile can be broken up to remove it. Again, be careful not to drill too deep, or the substrate and/or any waterproofing membrane may be damaged. Use a chisel to break out the marble tiles in small pieces.

Remove the thinset mortar or tile adhesive behind the wall marble tile you have removed. You will need a smooth, clean surface to install the replacement tiles on. Make sure any waterproof membrane is undamaged before proceeding. You may have to repair rubber or vinyl membranes to assure there isn’t a leak underneath the bathroom tiles you are replacing, and the methods for doing so vary depending on the membrane used.

Get some ceramic tile adhesive, or thinset tile cement and apply it to the substrate with a notched trowel. For small repairs, you may have to use a putty knife to apply this material. Replace the tile by pushing it into the adhesive or thinset firmly so it is bedded in the material. Make sure the joints around the tile are uniform, and the surface of the newly installed shower tiles are flush with the surrounding tiles.

Wait for the tile adhesive to dry and then grout the joints surrounding any new tiles you have installed. Use a sponge and plenty of water to clean excess grout off the tile’s surface. Once this material has dried and cured, it is difficult to remove. Use a good, waterproof bathroom sealant or caulk to repair any joints that do not lend themselves to grouting, such as metal trim or fixture penetrations.