Hi,
I'm definately not an expert and not sure of your particular tile but, I have some polished porcelain tile and will seal it with a penetrating sealer (I'm using AquaMix's) before I install/grout it. From what I read, the process of polishing the porcelain tile to make it shiny, creates some tiny pores. I think on Crossville's website there is a brochure that explains. In my instance, I only need to seal it the one time to prevent any grout haze from forming. On the Aqua Mix penetrating sealer, it says to only leave it on the tile for about 3 to 5 minutes and not let it dry. The tile has to be wiped dry. This way there isn't anything on the surface, only in the small pores...or that is what I understood anyway.

Pamelas, Sorry about the double post, but I just had a thought. If your tile hasn't been installed yet, might you just take the polished tiles out of the box and seal them 24 hours before installing them? My AquaMix sealer says it takes 24 hours to fully cure...?? I have no idea what might happen with your matte tiles if sealed, but I would do what the manufacturer says to err on the side of caution.

Thank you, I think the pre-sealing idea is a very good thought. My tiles have been installed already, but this might help someone who is thinking about installing shiny tiles.

I don't mind sealing the whole floor, I just don't want to do anything that would be bad for the textured, non-shiny tiles. But it probably wouldn't be that big a deal just to do the shiny ones.

And thank you for your explanation, I was wondering why there would be any reason to seal porcelain at all. I will explain it to the contractor, too.

Isn't there always something new to learn?