LESLIE: Alright. Now we’re going to head over to Michigan and chat with Mary. What can we do for you today?
MARY: Yes. We recently updated our kitchen and we put in a high-definition laminate and I put in stone backsplash.
TOM: OK.
MARY: And I’d like the backsplash to have a little more shine to it.
TOM: Mm-hmm.
MARY: Is there anything I can put on it?
TOM: You could use a stone sealer for that. Do you have any kind of a finish on the stone at all right now?
MARY: Yes. It’s all been sealed with a sealer.
TOM: It has been sealed. But you …
MARY: Yes.
TOM: Because you have high-def laminate you now basically have a fairly rich-looking countertop surface but the natural (chuckles) – actually, the laminate looks better than the natural.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) It dulls the stone.
TOM: Exactly.
MARY: Right.
TOM: Mary, the sealer that was put on the first time – did you guys put that on or did you have somebody else do that?
MARY: I had it installed, so they did that.
TOM: OK. Can you find out what manufacturer they used? And here’s why: sealers are available in different finishes and, for the most part, people are going to apply a semi-gloss …
LESLIE: Or even a satin.
TOM: … sealer or even a satin one because they don’t want to have a lot of shine. In your situation, you want to have a lot of shine; you want a high gloss. Now, there are plenty of good-quality, high-gloss sealers on the market. I know DuPont makes a good one called StoneTech. The problem is that they don’t recommend that you put it over another product, so the fact that you have a sealer on there makes it difficult for you to put another manufacturer’s product over it; certainly without voiding their warranty.
So that’s why I suggest if you go back to the original installers and find out what manufacturer’s product that they used; that manufacturer will probably have a product that’s available in high-gloss, which can go on top of the semi-gloss or the satin finish that you have on right now. Does that make sense?
MARY: That makes sense.
TOM: And I think that’ll do it.
MARY: (overlapping voices) I thank you very much and I will do that.
TOM: You’re welcome, Mary. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT and enjoy that new kitchen countertop.
How do I make my Kitchen porcelain tile backsplash glossy? The sealant dulled the colors and I would like to make it glossy. What product can I use for this? I would really appreciate your help.
Thanks, Dee
Dee, it’s pretty hard to dull porcelain. Is it the grout that’s dull? If so, I’d suggest removing and regrouting. Simple Grout is premixed and a good choice for this purpose. See: https://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/grout-materials/pre-mixed/simplegrout-pre-mixed-grout.aspx.