Grout Colorant Application

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Grout Colorants, aka Grout Paint

Staining your grout will be one of the most difficult tasks you will face to improve the look of your ceramic tile. It can also be the most rewarding. With today's rising costs of flooring installation, the money you'll save can be put towards other pressing home improvement projects. The new grout color will not only beautify your old floor- it will help to seal your grout joints.

There are a wide variety of grout coloring products available on the market and we have found that water based acrylic polymers are the easiest to work with. Also called grout colorants, they can be purchased in a wide variety of colors and because they are water based are easy to clean up.
Try to choose a grout colorant that is a shade or more darker than your existing grout, otherwise you may be forced to apply more than one application.
The tile and grout joints should be thoroughly cleaned before applying the colorant. Use a high quality tile and grout cleaner that can remove calcium, lime, soap scum, oils, and mildew stains. Rinse with clean water and allow to dry for at least 4 hours. A fan may be used to accelerate the drying time.
Apply the grout colorant to about 10 square feet of tile at a time. Once you have completed that area start on another.
Grout colorants are not recommended for use on very porous tile, stone, or marble grout joints.
Always follow the manufacturers instructions listed on the label of the product you purchase.

Use a razor knife to trim tape from grout joints. This is what your grout joints should look like.

Edges of tile should be taped off using a premium quality tape that will not leave a residue. Make sure that the tape is securely fastened to the tile. Use a razor knife to trim overlapping tape on grout joint corners.

Work brush back and forth in grout joint. Allow up to 45 minutes for stain to dry.

Apply a thin coating of grout colorant to grout joints and work back and forth with a foam brush. Allow 30 to 45 minutes for the colorant to dry.

Hold nylon pad flush to tile and scrub tile clean. Use paper towel to clean edges of tile.

Pull tape from tile. Using a damp nylon scouring pad, gently scrub tile (not grout) back and forth over grout joints to remove excess grout colorant from surface of tile. Use a damp paper towel to touch up edges of tile.

Allow 24 hours for stain to dry.

This floor is finished. Touch up any spots you may have missed and allow 24 hours for product to dry before resuming normal use.