Sealing Slate and Various Other Things

Todd and I finished our weekend project.

And can I just say I am sore in places I didn't know could be sore.

Here's the breakdown of how the weekend played out.

Friday night:

Moved furniture and various other crap out of the living room.

It took about an hour, and man, I think we need to do

this once a year because dude....

things were dusty!

It should be fun figuring out where all the wires go.

Saturday:

We woke up, made breakfast and got to work.

We used DuPont Stone and Tile Cleaner and Protector

to clean our slate.

It was very easy to apply,

and a pain in the ARSE to remove.

Ewwww!  Look how brown the bubbles are.

"Bubbles, tiny bubbles."

After we applied the cleaner everywhere,

we had to go back by hand, and using sponges,

wipe up the floor.  It took us three separate go throughs to finally

 get it all clean (like 4 hours worth of cleaning on your hands and knees).

Let me just note here, so that you don't think I'm a total slob -

slate is very dusty, and I do mop it about 1-2 times a week.

Grime just accumulates in the tile over 5 years.

Sunday:

Compared to Saturdays scrubbing and cleaning the slate,

sealing was a piece of cake.

We used DuPont's Semi Gloss Sealer & Finish-

two bottles to be precise.

Application was easy, we just poured the sealer out and applied it with a brush.

The sealant was kind of milky, and looked like glue

once you applied it to the slate.

Todd and I were a little worried when the sealant

looked white, but it dried clear.

We started from the front of the room and worked

our way out the front door.

Once applied, we had to wait at least 30 minutes to

apply a second coat.  Sunday was a little cold, so it

took about 1 hour to dry. 

At about 1 1/2 hour for the first application,

plus an hour dry time X's 2,

we were only able to apply two coats.

That meant that the project flowed over in to Monday.

So after work, Todd and I got to 

applying the last coat of sealant.

It was well worth the work (and pain),

and Todd and I couldn't be happier with our project.

Take a look.

It brings out the beautiful colors of the slate,

and they shine like a beautiful diamond -

ok, maybe not that much, 

but they do shine.

This project has us motivated to seal the kitchen tile.

I'm all for it, but it's going to be a couple

weeks before we do it cause I have to let my

poor aching body recuperate!

So what do you think?