Cracked grout lines or faded joints on high-traffic floors mean callbacks. Water penetration on a balcony leads to expensive repairs. Keracolor GG handles these exposures, creating robust, long-lasting grout joints between 4mm and 15mm. It's the go-to for ensuring your tiled surfaces stand up to daily use and environmental stress, indoors or out.
This product was developed as a high-performance, polymer-modified cement-based grout to provide durable and abrasion-resistant joint filling. It prevents the disappointment of cracked grout lines, premature wear from foot traffic, or water ingress ruining your tiles. It ensures rigid, long-lasting performance for all types of ceramic, terracotta, facebrick, and stone materials, specifically for joints from 4 to 15 mm.
Keracolor GG is classified CG2WA under EN 13888. This means it is an improved cementitious grout (CG2) with significantly reduced water absorption (W) and high abrasion resistance (A). This classification ensures the grout resists water ingress and holds up against heavy foot traffic, making it suitable for both interior and exterior applications, including wet areas and commercial floors.
Its formulation delivers low shrinkage, a critical factor in preventing the cracks and fissures that often compromise standard grouts. This directly contributes to joint integrity and long-term durability, especially in areas with temperature fluctuations.
Good resistance to freeze/thaw cycles means it performs reliably on outdoor façades, balconies, and terraces. This prevents the deterioration common in climates with freezing conditions.
Keracolor GG mixes to a smooth, thin paste with 18-20% water by weight, extending to 24% for floor applications to achieve a thinner consistency. This provides an approximate two-hour pot life, allowing ample working time.
Apply the grout using a Mapei trowel or rubber float, ensuring joints are fully compacted. Excess material is removed diagonally. Wait 10-20 minutes until the mixture loses its plasticity before cleaning with a damp cellulose sponge, rinsing frequently with a two-bucket system. This process ensures a clean finish and prevents premature joint emptying or surface scratching.
For demanding areas like façades, swimming pools, bathrooms, or heavy traffic floors, mixing with Fugolastic polymeric additive enhances the final characteristics, delivering even greater resistance under harsh conditions.
Keracolor GG is a CG2WA classified cementitious grout designed for rigid, durable joints between 4mm and 15mm. This positions it distinctly from other Mapei solutions tailored for different needs.
For applications demanding resistance to strong acids, aggressive chemicals, or where a hygienic finish is paramount—such as commercial kitchens or laboratories—an anti-acid epoxy grout like Kerapoxy is the appropriate choice. Kerapoxy provides chemical resistance and non-absorbent properties that cementitious grouts cannot match. Conversely, for filling expansion joints or distribution joints where substrate movement is anticipated, flexible Mapei sealants, not rigid grouts, are required to accommodate dynamic stress and prevent cracking.
CG2WA means Keracolour GG is an improved cementitious grout with high abrasion resistance and reduced water absorption, as classified by EN 13888. This ensures durability in demanding areas like external floors, balconies, façades, and swimming pools, resisting freeze/thaw cycles and heavy foot traffic.
No, Keracolour GG is not for areas requiring strong chemical resistance. It offers good resistance to acids with a pH above 3. For environments needing higher chemical or hygienic performance, such as commercial kitchens or laboratories, you should use an epoxy-based grout like Kerapoxy.
Precise water measurement during mixing is critical. Using too much water or inconsistent ratios can lead to efflorescence and uneven colour. Ensure joints are clean and dry, wait for adhesive to fully cure, and avoid broadcast dusting with dry grout powder after application. Wet cure joints in hot or windy conditions to improve final performance.
Yes, Keracolour GG is suitable for swimming pools and floors subjected to heavy traffic when mixed with Fugolastic. This polymeric additive enhances performance, providing adequate resistance for harsh conditions. Pools can be filled 7 days after grouting.
| Application | Key benefit | Primary trades |
|---|---|---|
| External façades, balconies, and terraces | CG2WA classification ensures high durability, reduced water absorption, and resistance to freeze/thaw cycles for long-term weather exposure. | Tilers, Builders, Landscapers |
| Swimming pools and wet areas | Offers excellent resistance to moisture and enhanced performance when mixed with Fugolastic, ensuring integrity in submerged or continually damp conditions. | Pool builders, Tilers, Waterproofers |
| Interior and exterior floors with heavy traffic | Provides good abrasion resistance and maintains compressive/flexural strength, preventing wear and premature failure in high-use commercial or industrial settings. | Commercial tilers, Flooring contractors |
| Grouting wide tile joints (4-15 mm) | Formulated for low shrinkage, minimising the risk of cracks and fissures in larger joint widths, crucial for rustic finishes or large format tiles. | Tilers, Architects, Specifiers |
| General ceramic, terracotta, and stone tile installations | Offers a cost-effective, high-performance solution with good mechanical strength and long-term ageing resistance for diverse residential and commercial projects. | Tilers, Builders, Renovators |
Mix Keracolor GG into a clean container with 18-20% water by weight for walls, or up to 24% for floor applications.
Use a low-speed mixer to achieve a smooth consistency and avoid air entrapment. Let the mix stand for 2-3 minutes before a brief re-stir.
Fill joints completely using a Mapei rubber float, ensuring no voids remain.
Remove excess grout while fresh by moving the float diagonally across the joints. Once the mix becomes opaque (10-20 mins), clean with a damp cellulose sponge.
Danger: Causes skin irritation. May cause an allergic skin reaction. Causes serious eye damage. May cause respiratory irritation.
Wear close-fitting safety goggles (do not use eye lenses) and protective gloves (e.g., Nitrile gloves with 1.3 mm thickness and 480 min breakthrough time). Use clothing that provides comprehensive skin protection, such as cotton, rubber, PVC, or viton. Where exposure exceeds workplace limits or ventilation is insufficient, use appropriate respiratory protection.
Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. Ensure a localised ventilation system is in place when working indoors. Avoid breathing dust.
This product contains cement and crystalline silica. Contact with body fluids may cause irritation or burns. Prolonged or intensive inhalation of respirable crystalline silica dust can cause silicosis. Exercise care to reduce airborne dust formation.
Store in a dry, well-ventilated place in original, tightly closed packaging, away from food, drink, and animal feed. Keracolour GG has a shelf life of 12 months for 25 kg bags and 24 months for 5 kg bags. Dispose of contents and containers in accordance with applicable local regulations. Do not dispose into sewers.
Proper joint preparation and conditions are essential for Keracolour GG performance and finish.
Surface prep: Ensure the installation mortar or adhesive has fully hardened according to its technical data sheet. Joints must be clean, free of dust, and cleared to at least 2/3 of the tile thickness. Remove any excess adhesive or mortar while it is still fresh. For very porous tiles, high temperatures, or windy conditions, wet the joints with clean water before grouting.
Primer: Not required for Keracolour GG directly on cured tile adhesive/mortar. Follow tile adhesive manufacturer's instructions for substrate priming.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Granular powder |
| Colour Range | 13 colours from the MAPEI range |
| Bulk Density | 1300-1500 kg/m³ |
| Dry Solids Content | 100% |
| EMICODE Classification | EC1 Plus - very low emission |
| Mixing Ratio (Water) | 100 parts Keracolour GG with 18-20 parts water by weight |
| Mixing Ratio (Water for Floors) | Approx. 24% by weight |
| Mix Consistency | Thin paste |
| Mix Density | 2000 kg/m³ |
| Mix pH | Approx. 13 |
| Pot Life of Mix | Approx. 2 hours |
| Application Temperature | From +5°C to +35°C |
| Grouting Time (Walls, Normal Adhesive) | 4-8 hours |
| Grouting Time (Walls, Fast-Setting Adhesive) | 1-2 hours |
| Grouting Time (Walls, Mortar) | 2-3 days |
| Grouting Time (Floors, Normal Adhesive) | 24 hours |
| Grouting Time (Floors, Fast-Setting Adhesive) | 3-4 hours |
| Grouting Time (Floors, Mortar) | 7-10 days |
| Waiting Time for Finishing | 10-20 minutes |
| Set to Light Foot Traffic | 24 hours |
| Ready for Use | 3 days (7 days for tanks and swimming pools) |
| Flexural Strength (28 days) | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Compressive Strength (28 days) | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Flexural Strength (Freeze-Thaw) | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Compressive Strength (Freeze-Thaw) | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Abrasion Resistance | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Shrinkage | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Water Absorption (30 min) | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Water Absorption (240 min) | In compliance with EN 13888 as CG2WA |
| Resistance to Moisture | Excellent |
| Resistance to Ageing | Excellent |
| Resistance to Solvents, Oils, Alkali | Excellent |
| Resistance to Acids | Good if pH > 3 |
| Resistance to Temperature | From -30°C to +80°C |
| Storage (25 kg bags) | 12 months in original packaging |
| Storage (5 kg bags) | 24 months in original packaging |
Here are some common examples on where Mapei Keracolor GG Cementitious Grout used by our customers.
