How to bring out the colour in my sandstone patio

[Sazzle]

Hi Experts,

We laid an Indian sandstone patio last summer - and pointed it with geofix.

We are really happy with the results however the slabs donot seem to have the same vibrancy of colours that the ones in the showroom have - they all tend to look very greyish when dry. (not sure if we sealed some dust onto the surface when we used the geo-fix)

Is there anything i can do to bring out the natural colours - they do look good when wet.

I dont really want to seal the patio as i would be worried about making a hash of it!

Many thanks in advance.

Sazzle.

[Rich H]

You certainly can seal it, but doing so with bl**dy Geofix in the joints is like painting over a rust spot on your car. I certainly would not seal it with that rubbish in there. If you do remove it, joint it properly with either mortar or one of the two decent brands of resin/polymer based jointing sands and then seal it (after it's dried out fully).

You should be able to find both topics well covered on the main website. (link is in the top right of this page)

[lutonlagerlout]

rich is right about geofix,it rubbish
as for your patio you need it cleaned first ,then after allowing a good while to dry use this stuff to bring out your colours,my injun stone patio goes green every winter,but R and A pressure washing clean it like new
LLL

[grimwau]

I want to say thanks for the helpful advice I received regarding resealing my PIC drive and because of the wealth of knowlege that you can find on this forum I am now looking for advice about the best method/products for my newly laid patio.

The material I used was Promenade Grey Indian Sandstone and it has been down for 8 weeks so I am now ready to apply protection so as to keep it looking good.

My confusion is in what product(s) to use to obtain my preferred finish.

I want to obtain the same look as when the patio is wet as the colours are much deeper and vibrant than when it is dry.

From reading through the various threads it would appear that there might be two different methods of achieving this end and that is why I need your advice.

One way might be to use MN Colour Intensifier first and then seal with MN Stainstop OR just use MN Stainstop Plus which has special additives to intensify the colour already incorporated into the product.

I'm thinking that using Stainstop Plus will be quicker, but will it be better?

Many thanks for any pearls of wisdom.

[lutonlagerlout]

lithofin FTW!
lithofin supplier i have used
LLL

[grimwau]

lithofin FTW!
lithofin supplier i have used
LLL

Thanks for the link but it appears to be broken. I will google lithofin FTW to get the info but if you are able to resend the link to the supplier that would be appreciated.


edit: Couldn't find FTW in the lithofin product range, is this a technical acronym?

ps. I have found the site you were referring to now. "extensive".

[Bob_A]

extensive

Not sure about FTW though

[grimwau]

extensive

Not sure about FTW though

Many thanks Bob. I have now spoken to James Lucas at Extensive and run through the details with him and he has recommended the Stain Stop Plus so that has been duly ordered.

I didn't ask him about the FTW though in case it is something like the "striped paint for a barber's pole" windup. LOL.

[lutonlagerlout]

FTw === for the win i.e. good stuff,the real mcCoy bla bla bla
LLL

[grimwau]

FTw === for the win i.e. good stuff,the real mcCoy bla bla bla
LLL

Thanks for the heads up, I had a feeling it was short for something other than product type. Glad I didn't mention it when speaking to Extensive, they would have thought WAW ...."What A Wally"

[grimwau]

Any advice on the best application method for the stainstop plus. I think that the general advice I have had is probably OK but if anyone with prior experience has any useful tips I would be very grateful.

Thanks