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Manufactured Stone
Cleaning - Problem Solving - Protection - Care
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| A man made product of concrete. Looks exactly like natural stone. |
Manufactured Stone is a cement and lightweight sand/gravel mixture usually wet cast and vibrated in rubber-like molds. The molds were made by being cast from real stone and reproduce the texture and shape of the real stone pieces.. Before the wet mixture is poured into the mold, the mold has iron oxide color treatments applied that are then absorbed into the concrete mixture to create a face that looks like the real stone. These pieces of manufactured stone are so like the natural stone that when installed it is very difficult to tell they are not natural. Nonetheless, this is treated as a concrete product and not as stone.
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There is no need for confusion or problems brought about by misidentification of a surface type, yet it happens all too often. If you would like to see why this is the case and how to properly identify a surfacing material .....
Click here
If you are concerned about doing it yourself - consider that the satisfaction of a project is directly related to your knowledge of what needs to be done and how. Who actually does the work is less important. We estimate that 25% of the usage of Aldon products is by "do it yourself" homeowners and we know they are happy because we hear from them.
| MATERIAL DESCRIPTION - With Identifying Characteristics
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Typical absorption range = medium to high |
Note this on your
worksheet
for later reference |
- Manufactured stone costs less per square foot than real stone.
- Manufactured stone costs less to install than real stone.
- With quality manufactured stone, it takes an expert to tell it from natural stone.
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ADVANTAGES TO THIS MATERIAL
- Cost is less than natural stone
- Color and texture duplicate natural stone.
- The stone is usually installed from the top down so that as the mortar is tooled, it drops down without landing on any of the stone. That is because the mortar can stain the stone and the typical muriatic acid cleaners cannot be used without risk of etching the colored cement stone face.
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CONSIDERATIONS (All Are Preventable!)
(Click links for Aldon's solutions to these issues!)
- If top down installation is not working - do not use a sealer as a grout barrier
(pre-seal). Prevent grout smears, surface scratching and keep grout residue out of surface texture by coating with Aldon "Grout Easy" before grouting. "Grout Easy" is a water soluble coating that comes off easily while grout is being cleaned up with water and a sponge.
- Because you normally should not use acid based cleaners on cement products without risk of etching and bleaching, any removal of mortar stains should be done with Grout Residue Remover/Brick and Block Cleaner.
- Efflorescence (subsurface originating white powdery stains) can occur on this concrete product and the mortar. This can appear even before installation. However, it is
easily cleaned.
- Colors can "fade" in this concrete product . The appearance of fading is actually from light efflorescence and
can be stopped by sealing with the appropriate Aldon sealer.
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Following are recommendations for products you may need (in sequence of use ) for whichever of the categories applies to you. Please review each and mark your printed
worksheet accordingly.
Layed, But Not Grouted (flooring)
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 Grout Easy
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 Efflorescence Treatment
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 Grout Residue
Remover
(should not be needed after using Grout Easy)
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Grouted, But Not Sealed
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Grout Residue
Remover
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Efflorescence Treatment
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.............Sealer ( see below )
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 Lifeguard
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Care ...........
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Sealer Has Been Applied
Important! - First -
Click here!
 Premium Stripper- ...........Cleaners ?
- ...........Sealer ( see below )
- Lifeguard
- Care ..........
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This is an absorbent concrete product. Therefore, it can be stained.
Some stone manufacturer's sales people make recommendations that may not be to your benefit as follows:
Some have a sealer made for them and therefore are motivated to sell you that sealer that may not be your best choice. Evaluate what Aldon has to say about sealing then decide which makes you the most comfortable.
Other sales people say their manufactured stone should not be sealed. This is because they don't know enough about sealers and are justifiably concerned about problems. Simple logic says - if a material will darken underneath a water drop, then water is absorbing. If water can absorb, so can a stain. Therefore, it should be sealed.
An Aldon sealer does far more than just bead water and look pretty! To see what that is
click here.
(Important: If your project has had any sealer applied in the past, it must be evaluated differently. To see why,
Click here!)
"Same Day Sealer"
Water Based - Penetrating Type
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One Application
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No change to color
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No gloss
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"S-B-S Sealer"
Solvent Based - Penetrating Type
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* Note: will add another level of gloss to any of the above sealed surfaces.
It also prevents traffic wear to the sealers finish.
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