Polishing marble

[matman]

What are my chances of polishing about 90 sq. ft. of green marble on the floor with a handheld wet polisher/ grinder? It's dull and I want to bring up the shine.

I went over it with some Dia glo powder, but nothing happened.

Asking for trouble? :crazy:

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[Stonehenge]

Hi Matt,

The technique for polishing "green marble" differs as compared to other forms of marble. Some forms of green marble do not have that high luster that you see with other forms of marble as well.

[matman]

Hi stonehenge,

Thanks for the comeback. First off I should say this is my own marble foyer, I wouldn't attempt this anywhere else. I know about working through the grits, but I'm thinking that this is trying to do something to big with a handheld grinder. The floor has already been damaged so I thought I might play around with it.

Any pads in particular that might be better for marble? I have a set of wet pads but they're for granite. Is there much of a difference?

[ceramictec]

maybe not try to sand it, maybe try to buff it up ?

[Davestone]

You could use the granite pads,in fact a granite marble polishing cream, or green marble polish from Stone medic would be the ticket. I think your main problem is gonna be geting a uniform polish with a hand machin on a large area,we usually use floor buffers,17inch.You must not use water on polishing a dark green marble otherwise it will warp, polish it dry,or use a green marble polish,typically a granite polishing powder can be used.Why not go toYou tube, or NTC for some video on it.

[matman]

Thanks Brian and Dave,

Like I said the floor is already damaged so I can play with it. I did buff it already but no real luck. I also realize trying to get an even finish with a grinder is suicide. I don't have a Klindex, not that I would know how to use it anyway. I did buff wet however, I didn't think it could warp in a fully cured epoxy bed

I'll get my hands on some granite powder and give that a try. I'm in no real rush to ruin this floor, it's not going anywhere. :D

I'll try polishing dry, maybe that will buff it up.

BTW any opinion on that diaglo powder?

Thanks

[Davestone]

I like Diaglo,but polishing is tricky, and one powder works good on one stone and not good on another.Without explaining the whole process, basically a marble powder has oxalic acid,(and each brand has a different amount,some are hotter) to slightly burn the marble and melt it's properties to obtain a polish.Granite powder doesn't,cause the acid won't work on granite, it just has a very fine abrasive.Some marbles burn very easy, and you can't get a good polish,you wind up eithr burning the surface(plastic appearance)or you just can't get it to POP.One of the secrets is to use each grit a length of time to get all the scratches from the previous grit out,and maybe to go to a grit past 4,or 500 before using a powder,like all the way up to buff,typically done with granite.I would really suggest watching a few Fred Heuston videos.

[matman]

Dave I know that there's a lot to know about polishing and resurfacing stone.

I respect you guys that do it. Kicked around MB's site a little, very interesting stuff. Forgot about Fred Hueston and his video's though, thats a good idea. Maybe I'll pick one up, any one in particular for my needs you might recommend?

Seeing something done has a value that reading can't match. Plus the fact that when my wife asks me why I'm goofing off watching TV, I could tell her ''I'm working''. :)

[matman]

Went to NTC, I got it

Thanks again

[Davestone]

:wave: Stonehenge above is an accomplished polisher,and i believe gives classes and may even have videos of his own,maybe visit his site, he's also on a lot of other sites.NSRAWEB, is another good source.

[claycarson]

Matt, it just ain't as easy as it looks.

Especially greens, reds and blacks.

Whereabouts in the state of MA are you, anyways? We're in Arlington.

[matman]

Matt, it just ain't as easy as it looks.

Clay, I'm a believer. At this point Clay I'm just gonna try to shine it up. See what happens. The floor is about 15 yrs. old and I'm impartial to it. I''m just north of Worc.

[Stonehenge]

Thanks Dave,

I remember way back when I first arrived here and I used a more appropriate name, however e-mail changes and what not forced me to sign back in as a different handle. I should try to remember to conclude my post with my name or try to sign back up with a slightly different name.

Michael