Recommendations for tiles, tiles and natural stones –

In the projects with tiles, tiles and natural stones, the aesthetic appearance of the plating is important and is obtained with some types of products. If you want the furniture of you to have a nice appearance, be easy to install, to resist the same way without cracks and discoloring, it is important to buy the right sticker.

When it comes to the plaque adhesive, you can choose between the gray and white adhesive. In this article we will talk about the advantages of the latter. Find out what this is, how it is used and what advantages it offers during the installation of tiles, tiles and natural stones. In addition, I prepared a list of the most important selection criteria to consider.

What is the white adhesive?

What advantages does the use of the white adhesive for tiles, tiles and natural stone offers?

The wide range of applications

Improved aesthetic aspect

Efficient cleaning

How to choose the white sticker correctly for the three types of materials?

How to use the white sticker?

What is the white adhesive?

The sticker for tiles, tiles and natural stones is used to glue the plates on different types of support surfaces, inside or outside. Its role is to guarantee high adhesion and prevent detachment, cracking, chipping of ceramic and natural rocks due to exposure to heat, freezing, humidity or water or causes normal exploitation and traffic. The choice of the right product guarantees the duration and success of your project.

The differences between the white and gray adhesive are in the beginning of color. From the point of view of technical properties, there are no significant differences between the white and gray adhesive. The price of the white adhesive can be approximately 30-50% higher than the price of the gray adhesive, but this is due in principle to the production process, which requires higher temperatures in the ovens in which cement occurs. There are situations in which it is worth paying for a higher price for the white adhesive, because the use of the gray adhesive can negatively influence the appearance of the plating.

Depending on the producers, the properties of the white adhesive are slightly different from those of the gray product due to the composition and the different methods for producing cement powder, sand and additives. For example, you can use a lighter and brighter quartz aggregate, but also other types of binders. Information on the advantages you can benefit from which we will discuss below.

What advantages does the use of the white adhesive for tiles, tiles and natural stone offers?

If you have the plan to organize or renew the apartment, a process that you need to consider, in addition to choosing the finishes, is the selection of the right construction materials. The white stickers bags for tiles, tiles and natural stones have a higher purchase cost than the usual ones, but the price difference is justified by the final aspect and avoids expensive operations. Here is more useful information on three of the advantages.

The wide range of applications

White stickers can have more fields of application than gray, due to the composition and the color of the light. They are recommended both for the usual tile tiles and in porcelain, as well as for special products, such as semi -transparent or thin natural stone, glass or opaque mosaic, on different support surfaces.

Improved aesthetic aspect

In the situation in which you can see with semi -trasparent natural stone, onyx or thin marble, the use of the gray adhesive could negatively affect the final aspect of the tiles. You can make a simple sample to check if your stone is semi -transparent: keep it in the air, in the light of the day and put your hand on the back of the plate. If the plate is seen from the plate, it means that the plate is semi -transparent and it is recommended to use a white adhesive.

The same thing happens in the case of glass mosaic or windows. Since it is transparent or semi -transparent, through it you can see the rear layer, which is the adhesive for the plating. The white sticker improves the appearance of the transparent or semi -transparent mosaic, while gray creates an opaque, irregular and unpleasant appearance.

Efficient cleaning

Even if you use the opaque mosaic, the white adhesive is the choice indicated in some situations. For example, when the swimming pools are used, the white joints are used. If the sticker used to glue the mosaic is gray, it should be clean very well before applying the kit. Otherwise, the impure gray sticker will be seen next to the white mortar and the final appearance will leave it to be desired. The cleaning of the gray adhesive from a mosaic plating is a meal, consumer and expensive operation. It is easier to open with white adhesive, because if it is not perfectly clean, it will not affect the final aspect of the work.

Another situation in which the use of the white adhesive is recommended is to glue the natural color stone plates. If the craftsman has a not very clean application technique and there are traces of adhesive on the plates, the white adhesive is a better option, because the traces left by it are less visible than the traces left by the gray adhesive.

There are opinions that white adhesive spots are less absorbent natural stones than gray. We believe this is not correct. There are really types of natural stone that absorb humidity very easily and are staining from this process. The coloring from the water is temporary and reversible. What the stone absorbs is water and does it equally from the white and gray adhesive. After the complete drying of the adhesive (7-14 days), the problem of coloring from the water is solved by itself.

How to choose the white sticker correctly for the three types of materials?

Subsequently, we prepared a list of the main criteria and short explanations to be taken into consideration in the process of purchasing white stickers for ceramic plates and natural stones:

• • Type of sticker – Are you looking for a two -component white sticker (dust and a rubber latex), epoxy adhesive or do you prefer a single -component product? For example, if they glue ceramic or mosaic tiles in a swimming pool, the recommendation would be to opt for a two -component or epoxy adhesive. This type of adhesive has a much higher socket and greater resistance to water pressure. In addition, epoxy stickers are suitable for special and difficult substrates, such as metal pools. If you use the mosaic mesh on the back, opt for an epoxy adhesive, because the alkalinity of the concrete stickers attacks the mesh on the back of the mosaic and can ensure that the plating has a shorter duration.
  • The size of the dishes – simple or porcelain tiles and tiles, natural stone, klinker, terracotta, granite, ceramic, glass or stone mosaic can have different sizes. Keep in mind that large plates require special stickers, with high adhesion;
  • The plan – In the case of horizontal surfaces, should the adhesive be suitable for low or high traffic? For the walls, choose a product with improved adhesion and without vertical slip, that is Tixotropic. Recognize these products based on the marking with the letter t from the adhesive coding. Mapii Adessilex P9 is a C2TE sticker and can be used to plate vertical surfaces.
  • Support surface – In the technical sheets of the stickers, most of the types of surfaces are specified on which the product can be used, but also different cases in which it is not recommended;
  • Internal/outside -The external adhesive must have good resistance to low or high temperatures, which translates into flexibility and maintain its adhesion after cycles of frost deviance;

• The thickness of the adhesive layer – For example, Mapii Keraflex Maxi S1 can be applied in a thickness of up to 15 millimeters, which allows the surface without plaque, with small differences; There are special stickers for thin plates, which can be used in a thin layer with a very good yield.

• Open time and correction – the more open the adhesive of the adhesive, the greater the time margin in which the corrections can be made to the installation of the ceramic/natural stone tiles;
• Malta -In general, the period from the application of the adhesive after which the joints on vertical surfaces can be cultivated (as 4-8 hours) than on the horizontal ones (24 hours);
• Use – represents the period in which the sticker is completely strengthened and the floor can support easy or intense pedestrian traffic;

How to use the white sticker?

For ceramic tiles (tiles, simple tiles or porcelain, mosaic) and stable natural stone, without sensitivity to humidity, we recommend the white adhesive adhesive P9. It has improved the composition of C2 concrete, its most important properties are: extensive open time, without vertical slip (Tixotropic), internal/external use.

If you are looking for a flexible product, suitable for large plates or external use, choose the Mapi White Mapi adhesive with S1 deformation, with innovative low dust technology. This high quality sticker also offers low dust emissions, creating a cleaner and safer space for assembly. In addition, it is recommended to glue outside the Klinker plates, but also for the ceramic or natural stone.

Magi Keraflex Maxi S1 and Mapei Adezio P9 can be used on different types of horizontal or vertical support:

• Cement -based excavations, including those with underfloor heating;
• Traditional walls or with concrete plaster -large or high -high plates are applied, without scrolling risk;
• Cardboard chalk walls mechanically;
• Existing floors plated with tiles, tiles or natural rocks, after a correct preparation of the surface;
• Heavy traffic floors, etc.

For a correct application of the adhesive, clean and prepare the support level. I detailed this process in the article «correct preparation of the surfaces before placulating with tiles and tiles».

The white powder is gently mixed with water (7.75 – 8.25 liters of water in 25 kilograms of Mapi Adezio P9 or 6.7 – 6.9 liters of water at 23 kilograms of Macex Maxi S1) until a homogeneous pasta is obtained.

The pasta thus obtained is applied on the vertical or horizontal support layer with a spatula, but also on the back of the ceramic or natural stone plates for a higher socket. The open time is about 30 minutes for both types of white adhesive, the period in which regulations in tiles, tiles or natural rocks can be made.

Choose high quality materials for durable and aesthetic tiles, tiles or natural stones. In case of questions, macostter consultants are happy to answer questions about the products available on the site and how to correct them.

This article deals with the adhesive for tiles, tiles and natural stones. If you want details on other types of floors for floors, we have discussed separately on how to choose the adhesive for the parquet: the criteria to consider, the preparation of the level of support and the mono or two components products, etc.

Author: Raluca Ghetu

Over 7 years of experience in the blog and building materials and over 20 years of experience in the management of projects, budgets, re -enlargement of businesses, training and management consultancy. Passionate about innovation and pay attention to details that bring value. See all articles by Raluca Ghetu