Spectralock Grout

I used Spectralock Grout on my 2 bathroom floors with no problems (just a little extra cleaning). Now it is time for the tub surround wall tiles. Are there any drawbacks to using this product on walls? My grout joints will be 1/8". Thanks in advance.

LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK™ PRO or LATAPOXY SP-100 are the ideal products for grouting vertical surfaces. They will provide superior performance and no sagging in joints up to 1/2" (12mm) wide.

-LATICRETE

Bud,

Any difference between SpectraLock Pro and the Spectralock sold a Lowes?

I was looking back at some previous posts (3-4 years ago) and some people were talking about sagging. Has the product improved? Thanks

Bud,

Do you like to caulk or grout your corners in tub surrounds?

Any difference between SpectraLock Pro and the Spectralock sold a Lowes?

I have no idea. I do know it is routine for major manufacturers to manufacture lessor products for the big box stores to reduce the price to them. This is done with some tools. Not sure if it can be done with chemicals. I would suggest you go to the Laticrete website and find a seller in your region that can answer those questions.

I was looking back at some previous posts (3-4 years ago) and some people were talking about sagging. Has the product improved? Thanks

There was a time when epoxy grouts sagged something terrible, I had a very bad experience with that issue years ago. Back then, to be able to use epoxy grout on walls an additional additive was required to keep the grout in place on a vertical surface. Again, check with Laticrete to cover your butt.

Do you like to caulk or grout your corners in tub surrounds?

I always caulk all changes in plane, never grout them.

[Edited by Bud Cline on Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 3:32 pm CST]

Has anyone else out there had experience with the Spectralock (sold at Lowes) on wall applications? Any help is appreciated.

The Laticrete at Lowes is the same in any tile store you go to.
They "do not" make a lessor product to sell to the big box store.
They just re-name it for other reasons.

*this info comes from the horses mouth.

Actually, there IS a difference between Spectralock and Spectralock Pro. Brian-- go back and ask Henry-- he'll verify it for you. Spectralock was the original. The Pro version has a little more working time, and won't sag NEARLY as much.

As for using the Pro on walls, the trick is to let it set up as much as you can, without letting it go off to the point where it's "uncleanable". You should be able to get all but maybe a bit of the epoxy "glaze" off the face of the tile, and then that's what the "final rinse" solution included with the unit of Pro is for-- cleaning that up.

As for the corners, I agree 100% with Bud, ESPECIALLY in the case of epoxy, and here's why-- the caulking in the corners is not there for waterproofing purposes, as many people think. It's there to provide a moveable joint filler so that as the different surfaces move independently of each other, that joint doesn't crack. Now-- one thing that's a given-- you're NOT going to stop the movement. You can only accomodate it. If you have a completely solid surface with no accomodation for movement, you're going to get cracks, as when you grout in the corners. Now, with conventional grouts, the grout is the weakest point, so naturally, that's going to be what cracks. If you fill those corners with EPOXY grout, now the grout is actually the STRONGEST part of the wall, so guess what's going to crack instead? Like I said-- you WILL NOT STOP it.