polishing marble floor

[sohr]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here. I've looked and looked all around, trying to find out the best way to restore the shine to my white (actually light grey) italian marble floor in my dining room. Three years ago when we bought this place, the floor was relatively shiny... but now, no matter how many times we "clean" it, it still looks dirty-- scratches are now apparent, and the shine has been replaced by a splotchy haze (you know, the kind you get on your windshields when they haven't been washed in a while).

We clean the marble everyweek using TileLabs Marble and Stone floor cleaner, and we even recently stripped and resealed the tile using their Marble and Stone stripper and sealer... but all to no avail.

Asking anyone at Home Depot about how to restore the shine to the floor has been a complete waste of time. A handyman friend of mine told me I could "probably" use a buffing compound like they sell at the auto body store, and use that to buff the marble floor. Another friend said I could try toothe paste! On another post on Google, I found someone who suggested just wet sanding with 300-grit sandpaper, then working your way up.

I've even visited flooring installers asking for advice, and they've been of little help. One vendor told me they use regular floor wax on their marble to get the shine-- that just doesn't sound right.

I'm only looking to polish about 75 square feet of marble... is there some product or some method that would give me decent results? Is this something I could so with perhaps a hand orbital buffer and the appropriate pads?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
James

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[doitright]

Hi James, Welcome! :)

You're correct about all the bad advice you've been given! :bang:

The only one that was even close, was the mention of the 300 grit, and working your way up.

Honestly, without seeing the floor, it's hard to tell what it really needs. There are marble polishing compounds that contain oxalic acid and aluminum oxide abrasive to bring back the shine. However it will not take out scratches.

Now we don't know if you have lippage, deep scratches, or sanded grout.

The job of restoration of marble should be left to a restoration specialist. If you are really handy, and ready to make an hefty investment in tools & supplies, you might be able to get the polish back.

Let us know what step you would like to take next, and we'll be happy to help you! ;)

[sohr]

Hmmm....

So a product like this MB-11 (Marble Polishing Powder) (http://www.mbstone.com/Products.htm#MB-11 Marble Polishing Compound) wound't necessarily work for me? Most of the scracthes are the fine swirl-pattern scratches you get when washing the floor.

I'm not looking to make a huge investment in tools or supplies for what would amount to a one-time job (we're getting ready to sell the house), so if need be I'm not against working with a pro. The only problem is I haven't found a competent one that knows much of anything about restoring marble floors (ala the one vendor who said he uses regular wax).

I just don't understand... if most department stores are able to keep their marble floors ultra-shiny with the kind of foot traffic they recieve, I don't understand why it's so difficult to do the same for home marble floors. Of course, that's why I'm the new one here. :D

Can someone recommend a good marble restoration specialist in the Cleveland, Ohio area? And just for references sake, how often is it usually
necessary to have marble refinished? (I know, I know... it all depends... but three years in a house with very little foot traffic seems awful quick to me.)

Thanks for all of the help,
James

[doitright]

Hi James :)

If you're looking to just add luster to the floor and remove the "swirl marks", the MB-11 is a great compound. It's my understanding that citrus is used in place of the oxalic acid.

If you purchase it, there are some basic instructions included. You will need a right angle variable speed polisher (something capable of lower rpms), and either hogs hair or a red pad.

Myself, or Karen will be happy to try to walk you through the procedure.

Depending on how much grit gets on your floor, will establish how quick it is ready for repolishing. Most department stores have a topical finish applied to the marble. Whether they do or not, they are frequently dust mopped, and cleaned. I was restoring and maintaining many of our local Marriot Courtyard motels. Sometimes we trained the staff how to maintain/clean the floors, and we came in occasionally to polish (at least once a month). Some of the larger hotels we were doing ongoing polishing every other day!

As far as a local pro - you can go to www.ntc-stone.com and check their contractor directory.

[sohr]

Thanks, I'll try it out. I have a few extra tiles lying around, so I'll work on those first and see if it accomplishes what I'm hoping.

I'm assuming I should strip the floor now while waiting for the compound to ship, since it'll have to be done beforehand anyways.

Thanks for the help... it's much appreciated.

[doitright]

Hi James :)

Don't assume anything! :D

You may not have to strip the stone, if it was an impregnating sealer. I always test a small area first. Why strip the floor, if you don't have to. :shades:

[Jim Cuviello]

Look at MB-8 or or 7. They are pretty close to the same products but the 8 is geared towards commercial. The 11 is more for hand or spot restoration.

Yes, 8 and 7 are topical type finishes. Although they are revolutionary and no one else offers them. You can put on eight coats and still not see it. The purpose of these products it to fill in the micro scratches giving the stone a flat appearence. As I said you will not even know this product is on the stone. In addition it never needs stripping. It will not make your stone look perfect but will do what you want it to.

[sohr]

Ok, I got my MB-8 over the weekend.

Looking at the instructions on the label, it seems I just throw a few pinches of of the powder on the marble, moisten it with a water spray bottle, and hand rub with a cloth.

I'm assuming instead of hand-rubbing I could use the variable speed polisher?

[Jim Cuviello]

I think you mean MB-11. You should contact the manufacturer directly with any questions about their product.

[doitright]

Hi James :)

There you go assuming again! :D Which product did you get the MB-8 or MB-11? Now I'm confused! :cry: :)

Hi Jim :)

You're obviously familiar with Maurizio's products. :idea: Why not help by sharing your expertise? We try not to keep secrets around here. If we did, why bother participating? :confused:

[Jim Cuviello]

John,

I have no problem sharing and giving advice. Besides, I like to hear myself talk so no secrets kept hear. :) Maurizio knows his products best and he is very active over the internet. One of the few manufacturers who are. If the person was to post a question about another manufacturers product one who I know does not have good tech support then I would open my mouth. Maurizio is better able to answer the question then me. Why answer the question when there is someone much more qualified, the man who designed, tested and sells the product. Maurizio has a lot of little secrets himself that he got through a life time of work. I am sure he has lots of little secrets about his own products. The reason we use a lot of Maurizio's products is that he is the only manufacturer we have delt with who was so willing to help, point us in the right direction and always gave us the right solution the first time. :cool:

[sohr]

Hi James :)

There you go assuming again! :D Which product did you get the MB-8 or MB-11? Now I'm confused! :cry: :)





Sorry, it was the MB-11. I didn't see Jim's first reply about using MB-7 or 8 until after I had ordered the 11, and figured I'd give the 11 a try.

So far, I haven't had much luck with it just following the instructions on the side (throwing a few pinches of powder on the tile, spraying it, and then using just a terry cloth to rub and buff)... so now I'm wondering if I should invest in a right-angle buffer (such as a Mekita 9227c). Would using that instead of hand rubbing make a difference? Where could I buy such a thing and pads (I don't see anything but orbital sanders, orbital polishers/buffers, and those angle grinders at Home Depot/Lowes/etc.)?

I've also seen a Mekita Wet Stone Polisher power tool... not sure if I could use something like that or not.

Jim,

Thanks... I'll also contact MBStone about the MB-11... but I'd really like to hear some outside advice as well.

[doitright]

Hi James :)

Maurizio sells the Makita that you would need. To use power equipment is much more effective, but requires practice and skill. If you are mechanically inclined and have common sense, you may be able to pick up on it.

You need to learn to polish by hand a small area, before starting with the polisher.

Find an obvious area on the floor, and start working it. I always prewet the area with water (not flood), sprinkle on the powder, spritz with water to dampen, wrap the soft cotton cloth on a finger, and start rubbing in either circular or back an forth motion. After a minute or so, rinse off the area, and buff dry. You should see an improvement of the troubled area.

Depending on the marble you have, sometimes a "hotter" compound works better.

If you still have problems, send me a PM, and I'll forward my phone number.

Hope this helps! :)

[KChurch1]

We use the Makita Sander-Polisher - Variable Speed (7 inch) - Model #9227CX3
Or the Fein MOL 1200E variable speed (8 inch) random orbit sander/polisher for all of our hand polishing work.
We normally use the hand polishers for counters and walls, but have also used them for tight spaces on floors and edges.
The MB-11 is very good, we also use Stone Medic Marble Polishing Compound and the Stone Tech Euro Polish and Euro Shine.
We use the Makita with the MB-11 and the Fein with the others.
You will need a GFI to plug into because you will be using a small amount of water with the polishes. Doing an entire floor by hand is not easy work, but it can be done. If your floor has etches/scratches, you will need to hone those out before polishing. Diamond pads or honing powders can accomplish that task.