Darken grout help

Maggie Jay

last year

What can I do to darken this grout? I recently had this tile installed and realized the grout is too light. Thanks!

Featured Answer

PRO

Minardi

last year

If you aren't careful, porous marble can absorb that grout refresh. And you shouldn't use it over material that has been sealed, or you get splotch. You have to strip any sealers from the grout with acetone, then apply the grout refresh, after masking off the stone. And that is tricky, and labor intensive. The masking can also fail, big time, with the dye bleeding under it.

This is why it's important to select the correct grout from the beginning. For a checkerboard, it's a color halfway between the dark and the light of the squares. Anything "matching" either one of the squares and those squares become visually larger, with the pattern becoming off appearing. The best grout for a light gray/charcoal checker is Silver or Pewter, depending on the amount of warmth to the stone. NEVER use Charcoal or Black grout with a checkerboard.

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Comments (6)

dani_m08
last year
It appears that the tiles are marble. Do you know what type of grout was used?
Maggie Jay
Original Author
last year
Maypei warm grey
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Maggie Jay
Original Author
last year
Okay so here’s an update, my contractor tried using Meipei grout refresh in a darker color, overall it looks better but there are parts where it looks faded. What went wrong?
Maggie Jay
Original Author
last year
Okay so here’s an update, my contractor tried using Meipei grout refresh in a darker color, overall it looks better but there are parks where it looks faded. What went wrong?
dani_m08
last year
last modified: last year
I used Mapei Warm Gray for my new Carrara shower and freestanding tub surround - it looks perfect. I did a lot of research before selecting that specific grout and color. However, my marble has a much lighter/whiter background than your floor tile.

Personally, I think your floor looked nicer with your initial grout color. Sorry.

However, I wasn't asking about the color - I was asking about what type of grout. For example, if Mapei FlexColor CQ was used, you can add a different color grout over the current grout instead of coloring it because the grout will stick to itself even after dry. (you could remove just a tiny bit if needed in order to have enough room for the new grout). Other types of grout require at least 2/3 removal of the current grout before adding new grout.