Tinting/dying/darkening one week old pointing

[Adsibob]

The pointing on an external wall hasn't come out quite the colour we wanted. We'd like to darken it from an off white to a light grey.

I came across this product online and wondered if anybody had any experience of it or something similar:

https://steadfastspl.com/product/colour-matching-mortar-tint/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlK-WBhDjARIsAO2sErRzwkELd09_Q0o_WWS8B_atPc111qwr7fg3eCymj38ZqnChkSyWOlIaAs0FEALw_wcB

 

We haven't sealed our brickwork yet, so I think we're still in time to tint the mortar but not sure. Could be risky. Will obviously need to do a trial on a patch first, but no idea what the long term performance of such tints would be.

[joe90]

I once had a fussy customer who complained the floor tile grouting was not dark enough, when they were at work I made some cold strong coffee and painted the grouting with a fine brush. When they came home they were over the moon and presumed I had removed all the grout and replaced it, I didn’t tell them 😱

[Adsibob]

2 hours ago, joe90 said:

I once had a fussy customer who complained the floor tile grouting was not dark enough, when they were at work I made some cold strong coffee and painted the grouting with a fine brush. When they came home they were over the moon and presumed I had removed all the grout and replaced it, I didn’t tell them 😱

I did consider coffee or tea and I'm fairly sure I could get a more or less desirable colour. I just wonder whether it would last/change over time. Wall is external, so will be exposed to the elements etc.

[Temp]

5 hours ago, Adsibob said:

The pointing on an external wall hasn't come out quite the colour we wanted. We'd like to darken it from an off white to a light grey.

I came across this product online and wondered if anybody had any experience of it or something similar:

https://steadfastspl.com/product/colour-matching-mortar-tint/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlK-WBhDjARIsAO2sErRzwkELd09_Q0o_WWS8B_atPc111qwr7fg3eCymj38ZqnChkSyWOlIaAs0FEALw_wcB

 

We haven't sealed our brickwork yet, so I think we're still in time to tint the mortar but not sure. Could be risky. Will obviously need to do a trial on a patch first, but no idea what the long term performance of such tints would be.

 

I wonder if it would be easy to stain just the mortar or would it bleed into the bricks?

[Adsibob]

48 minutes ago, Temp said:

 

I wonder if it would be easy to stain just the mortar or would it bleed into the bricks?

indeed, that is a key issue which dissuades me from meddling too much with this. I guess one could seal the bricks first (which I believe was actually done prior to pointing - but will check) so that if it does stain the brickwork, there's a greater chance of cleaning it off. The instructions for this product state "Use painter’s tape to seal off areas you do not intend to stain, such as window sills, door frames etc" and "As long as you’re careful during application, you do not need to protect the brick or stone. Keep a bucket of clean water nearby so you can quickly rinse spills." This is all a bit ambiguous. On the one hand it is saying no need to protect brickwork, on the other hand one has to be careful and rinse spills quickly.

 

Maybe I should get the specialists in: https://www.remedialrepair.co.uk/mortar-tinting.html

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Adsibob

[Ian_]

A traditional method I once read of is to use soot dissolved in water to tone down fresh mortar.

 

Certainly cost effective one would think. And longevity, I can't think that soot is affected by UV light.

 

Testing for tint achieved on a biscuit of made up mortar might not be a bad idea. As far as staining adjacent brickwork, to my mind mortar has got such a powerful suction that one would really have to be working in a very sloppy manner for the suction of the bricks to pull the tinting solution away from the joints.

 

If the bricks are relatively dark I would be tempted to slop a soot solution all over the wall - bricks and pointing - with a broad brush; the relative effect on the bricks would be less than on the pointing. This was the traditional method as I recall reading, specifically to tone the look of the whole wall when using very white lime based mortars.

[Adsibob]

I think soot would work. In the end, the builder pointed out that the sealant he uses usually darkens the mortar a touch. So he sealed the mortar, and it does look fractionally better now. I only really dislike the colour in very very bright sunlight. In all other light I like the look of the colours. So maybe it’s the sealant or maybe I just got used to it.

[Onoff]

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