Use and Care Manual

Installation

All substrates should be firmly fixed, flat, clean, dry and free of contaminants

such as dust, oil, paint, sealers etc. to ensure proper adhesion. Wet areas

need special attention and require appropriate substrates, e.g. concrete,

cement boards (compressed sheet), and/or treated plywood. The use of

reinforced waterproof membranes is suggested.

Shell mosaic tiles can be installed around gently curved surfaces. Some

alterations of the tile may be required in order to create uniformity.

Cut: shells can easily be cut with a curved splitting clamp, tile cutter or a wet

saw. The mesh back or plastic fronts can be easily cut with a utility knife.

Particular care should be taken to use the correct adhesive, grout and

sealants. Using wrong setting material can cause damage to the color and

beauty of mother of pearl mosaic tile. The installer is responsible for choosing

and using the correct installation practices to achieve an acceptable finished

product. Art3d is in no way responsible for the damages caused to the shell

mosaic by wrong setting material, grout or sealer. Follow the adhesive and

grout manufacturer’s instructions carefully. The shell mosaic is inherently

translucent, please be sure to use a white adhesive.

Suggested adhesives include but are not limited to:

Mapei: Adesilex P10 (bright white) non-sag mortar for mosaic tile. Mix with

water or Keraply.

Mapei: Kerabond Premium Dry-Set Mortar (Ker 102) mixed with Keralistic

Mortar Admix (Ker 310).

Hydroment: ReFlex Ultra-Premium Latex-Modified Thin-Set Mortar. No

admixture is necessary.

Laticrete: 254 Platinum Multipurpose Thin-Set Mortar. No admixture is

necessary.

Custom Building Products: MegaFlex Ultimate Thin-Set Mortar (white). No

admixture is necessary.

Apply the adhesive with a 3/16” trowel. Due to the thickness of this product

(3/16” thick), we do not recommend using a square notched trowel greater

than 1/8”. Set the tile in place gently tapping it in with a grout float to ensure

100% adhesive coverage.

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Installation All substrates should be firmly fixed, flat, clean, dry and free of contaminants such as dust, oil, paint, sealers etc. to ensure proper adhesion. Wet areas need special attention and require appropriate substrates, e.g. concrete, cement boards (compressed sheet), and/or treated plywood. The use of reinforced waterproof membranes is suggested. Shell mosaic tiles can be installed around gently curved surfaces. Some alterations of the tile may be required in order to create uniformity.
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Clean excess adhesive before it completely dries on the tiles with a damp cloth or sponge. Grouting may be done after tile is firmly set – approximately 24 hours after installation. Clean the surface with a clean, damp sponge. We recommend using a non-sanded grout. Excess grout should be cleaned from the surface as the work progresses, while grout is fresh and before it hardens. Prior to grouting, test in a small area to make sure the surface does not scratch during grouting.