How Sealants Work
Tile sealants are designed to cover porous tile floors and remove the possibility of discoloration or damage by covering the floor with a protective barrier. Sealants are sold in liquid form, and are comprised of materials designed to reach deep into the pores of the tiles, evening out the level of the tiles and preventing anything from reaching the interior. The sealants are usually applied in two coats, and dry to a hard finish. Depending on the type of sealant used, the tiles will either have a matte finish or a shiny finish.
Types of Sealants
Several different types of sealants can be used on each different type of tile. Unglazed tiles such as terracotta, slate, porcelain, sandstone and travertine should be covered with a water-based semi-matte tile sealant. This sealer is designed to work on tiles of varying porosity but is best for unglazed tiles. Low porosity tiles such as marble, porcelain and granite will benefit the most from sealant comprised of a spirit-based tile sealant. Higher porosity tiles such as cement, sandstone, clay and slate will benefit the most from a water-based acrylic sealant or a gloss based sealant. It is important to know the kind of tiles that you have and what sealant will work best on those kinds of tiles. If you use the wrong kind of sealant the sealant will not work as well or last as long.
Adding Shine
You can have shine in a tile sealant in two ways. You can either purchase a sealant that has shine already added to the solution, or you can add gloss sealant to a matte sealant. The bottle should indicate whether the sealant is a gloss sealant or a matte sealant. If you choose to add shine to a matte sealant, mix the two formulas together well. It is important to pick the same base sealant. If the main sealant is water-based then the shine solution should also be water-based.