– Natural Stone Polishing –
Natural stone polishing is a great way to make a tiled stone surface look new again. Marble and travertine are natural substrates that have an organic, beautiful look to them. They’re pretty durable and a quality installation can last a long time. Unfortunately they get worn down over time from foot traffic and daily use. However, these substrates can be restored by honing or polishing them using diamond embedded pads or with polishing powders. Resurfacing natural stone can usually be done within one day and can bring an old worn down tile back to it’s original radiance.
For instance, we have 16 years of experience and offer natural stone polishing for the greater Treasure Valley area including Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Eagle, Garden City, Caldwell, Homedale, Middleton, Kuna, Star, and surrounding areas.
The Process
First off, any working areas are masked to prevent any damage from the polishing process. The process starts by honing the tiled floor or counter top with a lower grit diamond embedded pad. This first step removes any scratches, etch marks, and surface stains. Consequently, more polishing steps follow, bringing the stone surface up to the desired sheen. This process is kind of like sanding wood smooth, going through each grit level of the sand paper until the wood is super smooth.
Some people like to have their stone surfaces left at a lower grit or “honed” look or brought up to a highly reflective shine “polished” look. After the polishing process is completed, the stone surfaces are sealed with a natural stone penetrating sealer. These sealers come in a solvent based or water based form. The solvent based sealers tend to last longer and can give better stain resistance. Water based sealers are much lower in VOCs and don’t have such a strong chemical odor.
Keeping up on the maintenance of your natural stone installation will greatly increase the longevity of the surfaces. Experts recommend sealing marble and travertine at least once a year to help protect the substrates from stains and etch marks.
In conclusion, if you’re thinking of getting your worn down tile floor polished, give us a call. I’ll personally come out and audit your natural stone, free of charge.
Photos
To sum it up, you can check out some of our natural stone, tile, and masonry photos here.
Also, you can purchase pH neutral natural stone sealer here.
