Stain resistance of porcelain stoneware tiles: the influence of microstructure

This work deals with the appraisal of the most important microstructural parameters influencing the stain resistance of polished porcelain stoneware tiles. The correlations between the stain resistance on one side and bulk or surface characteristics on the other side were evaluated through a statistical approach, which provided a previsional model of the staining behaviour of tiles, based on the surface roughness as well as the pore amount, size and morphology.