Saltillo and all other types of Mexican Pavers should never have tape applied to them. Unfortunately painters and remodeling or flood restoration tradesmen don’t seem to be aware that any type of tape on a Saltillo or other Mexican Paver can cause severe damage to the paver. Any type of tape, even blue or green sensitive surface tape will pull up the sealer.

The damage to the Saltillo is caused by the fact that the polymer in the tape and the polymer in the sealer are closely related. The close match creates a tremendous bond to the tile sealer. When the tape is pulled up the sealer is pulled up along with the tape. Even worse is that the Saltillo sealer has a tremendous bond to the crust of the tile. When the sealer is pulled up it usually also lifts off the crust of the tile in the configuration of the straight edges of the tape. The tradesman who applies this tape to your Mexican Pavers is usually trying to protect your tile from damage during a painting or restoration process, however the end result is damage as opposed to protection.

Seal Systems has, during our 33 years of specializing in Mexican Paver restoration, developed a process to restore the damaged Saltillo tile so that the tape marks are no longer visible. The accompanying pictures show the before and after process of stripping, removing the tape marks, and resealing the damaged Mexican Pavers and Saltillo Pavers.

As a word of caution; be sure to point out to anyone who plans to put any type of tape on your Mexican Pavers to stop and think about the potential of causing the paver floor to need a complete restoration after the tape has been removed.