Marble Restoration Process: Sanding, Honing, Polishing, and Crystallizing Plus Other Amazing Tips
Marble is beautiful to look at especially on floors, and it proves to be a popular choice for a large number of homemakers. One can improve the elegant look of his/ her interiors by making proper flooring choices.
However, the natural luster, as well as the beauty of marble, can disappear with time as a result of scratches and scuffs, grime and spills if not properly cared for, therefore leading to further damages. The luxurious look of marble can vanish away mainly because marbles are very much susceptible to abrasion and scratches.
You can keep damage at bay with regular polishing and buffing, but that is a short-term fix. For best results, you need to invest in professional marble restoration processes to maintain the luster of marble. Highlighted below are the four major procedures required in the restoration of your marble:
Sanding (Grinding)
To carry out marble restoration you will have to start with the sanding process, which is also known as grinding. Sanding marble is easy yet time consuming process. Knowing how to do this allows you to polish hand cut and rough edges to make your marble job shine.
Sanding is a very aggressive process using metal-bonded and diamond grits to remove deep scratches and lippage. It is usually performed by using a heavily weighted floor machine with water. Moreover, this process is typically dust free, and the goal is to flatten the floor.
The last thing needed to be done seal the sanded area. We use a marble sealer and apply it liberally with a rag.
Honing
This process is similar to grinding, but not as aggressive as that. The grits and materials are not as rough as those used in grinding and honing will remove trivial to moderate scratches and etch marks.
Honing is a process where silicon carbide or diamond particles are rubbed over the surface to shed a small amount of stone. In the process, they remove or flatten out scratches and ingrained soil. Three kinds of honing known are the powder honing, pad Honing, and hard honing.
A honed finish can be referred to a satin smooth surface with relatively little light reflection. A honed finish is fancied for floors, stair treads, thresholds and other locations where massive traffic will wear off the polished finish and also, it can be used on furniture tops and other surfaces.
a. We use a marble sealer and apply it liberally with a rag.
Polishing
This is done after the honing phase, and a series of higher diamond grits are usually used to simulate higher grits. Most natural polishing powders are known to contain the active ingredient oxalic acid, which is also known as potassium oxalate.
The polishing process is sure to give semi-shining or shining effect to the marble floor, and industrial diamonds do it, but smaller graded than that of honing. For marble floors in good condition a polishing can be enough to bring back the shine.
Crystallizing
Crystallization is another method of marble floor finishing which improves marble surfaces. It causes a chemical reaction on the surface, with pesticides; a single-plate machine and steel wool which allows the sandpapering of the marble.
This process combines mechanical and controlled acidic reaction with the calcium carbonates contained in the marble. Marble crystallization is normally a 4-step procedure and the equipment needed are:
Single disc machine that weighs a minimum of 50 Kgs and above and rotation speed of 165 rpm, Crystallizing chemical, Grinding discs, Floor pads, A wet & dry vacuum cleaner, microfiber flat mop, a wet floor sign and other accessories
Crystallization also generates a micro film on the surface of marble, which is more stable and long-lasting and helps to preserve the color and the brightness of the marble. Crystallization is an excellent method for regular stone maintenance.
Marble restoration process involves examining your marble nature so that the process can be customized accordingly. The overall explained process can modify the total appearance of your marble completely, making them floors beam like a new ones once again.