Grout. Teach me.

I have done tile three times. Each time I have used a different grout. The first time was the generic powder-mix-with-water stuff. It went in fine, but stained super easy. The second was some premixed stuff which was reported (by the label) to be better in term of stain resistance. It was. But it was awful. Super sticky and hard to get into place and it right now looks like crap. The next job was a premixed epoxy grout. It's awesome. Looks great, doesn't stain, but it was expensive.

I want to replace the grout of place #1 and place #2 with stuff like I have in place #3. However, I do not care if it's premixed or not, and don't want to spend a lot of money.

I can also buy stain/sealer stuff which is reported to recolor the stained grout and seal it. If that's a thing which works, I am game to try it. Does it?

Does the hive have any thoughts?

400 sq ft ish, 12" tile, big fat grout lines.

It sounds like at least $300 to redo epoxy grout everywhere versus $110 to restain and seal, or $60 for new sanded grout and $30 to get 511 sealer.

Win. Except all of the work.

I've used the cheap HD stuff before, I just sealed the hell out of it. Worked well.

My in-laws are generational Italian tile setters. They all use the modified mortar, which is what I think you're referring to by the powder. I've put down a lot of tile for them and on my own and I also use mortar. You need to seal the grout once it sets. If you do a few coats, it lasts for a long time. I'm not sure what you have available, but stuff like UltraFlex from Lowes works well and seems to wear just as well as the tile store products. Just make sure you seal it well. Choosing a darker grout helps as well.

In my experience, the stain/sealer just makes your existing dirt look darker. Unless you go really dark, don't expect it to solve the discoloration issues.

Without seeing it, I would recommend grinding out the old, re-grouting with Home Depot sanded grout in the color of your choice, then hit it with two or three coats of sealer. There is one kind of sealer that comes in a bottle with a nipple on top. You just run a good thick bead of the liquid in the seams and let it soak in. I used it in my bathroom tile and it is going on year 3 and it looks brand new. The acrylic epoxy stuff you mentioned cures non-porous, so it needs no sealant. It is fantastic, but I refuse to use it because it is a pain to apply.

But if it is stained enough that you are looking for a fix, the fix is to re-grout or stain it very dark to try and cover

curtis73 wrote: I would recommend grinding out the old, re-grouting with Home Depot sanded grout in the color of your choice, then hit it with two or three coats of sealer.

I have done the HD grout and sealer route 5 times now. All new stuff(kitchen floor, 2 bathroom floors, etc.)and they turned out very nice. Since the wife scrubs the hell out of everything I usually reseal it every couple years. The kitchen floor has been down 10 years now and still looks great.