Polishing – Tiling Tips – Tips and Information About Tiling

Polishing Marble Counter Tops in an Opulent Bowden Bathroom

18th June 2018 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Bowden, Cleaning, countertops, etching, Greater Manchester, Marble Bath Surround, marble cleaning, marble polishing, Polishing, Sealing Marble, Stone, stone worktops

Although most of the work we do involves floor cleaning you should know we also cover stone worktops in Kitchens and countertops in bathrooms. An example being this opulent bathroom with Marble countertops that surrounded the sink and bath. The bathroom was installed at a house in the up-market area of Bowden which together with the villages of Hale and Hale Barns are regarded as being the wealthiest parts of Greater Manchester. The customer had got in touch to ask if we could restore the appearance of the Marble surrounds which had become dirty and etched through general use. Restoring the Appearance of Marble Countertops My first job was to protect the wood panelling and lush red carpet that surrounds the bath, once all was protected we started to use a set of tile doctor six-inch burnishing pads to clean the Marble and restore the polish. The Burnishing pads come in a set of four and are applied to the stone with a little water in sequence from the coarse 400 grit pad which removes etching and then through the medium 800-grit, fine 1500-grit and finally the very fine 3000-grit pad which restore shine to the Marble. I use a hand-held buffing machine to do this and carefully rinse in-between each pad to remove the small amount of slurry which is generated. The last

Marble Posts

Beautiful Marble Tiled Floor Polished in Willington Cheshire

25th January 2018 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Buffing, Burnishing, Cheshire, Cleaning, Floor Tiles, grout cleaning, kitchen, Living room, Marble, Polishing, Sealing, Stone, Tile, Village, Willington

Although expensive Marble is a highly coveted, popular and classic flooring choice, not only is it hard wearing you can attain a high polish that simply looks fantastic. At peak condition, it’s one of the most beautiful and eye-catching types of stone available, however it’s appearance will degrade over time and with use, so it does need maintaining. This customer, who lives in the small village of Willington in Cheshire had contacted us because they were concerned that the lustre on their Marble tiled floor which had been installed throughout much of the ground floor had faded and lost its attractive appearance. We arranged a date to go over and re-polish the floor back to health. Burnishing and Cleaning a Marble Tiled Floor On arrival the first step was to give the floor a general clean using a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline tile cleaning product that is safe to use on Marble. I mention this because there are many cleaning products on the market today which are acidic and really only meant for use on Vinyl and Ceramic tiles. The cleaning solution was applied by sponge mop and left to soak for ten to twenty minutes with a particular focus on the grout lines. I used a stiff brush along the grout lines to get them really clean and then once done

Marble Posts

Removing Limescale from Black Marble Bathroom Tiles

17th August 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Baldock, Bathroom Tiles, cleaning marble tiles, limescale removal, North Hertfordshire, Polishing, Polishing Marble, Sealing Marble

This customer in Baldock, North Hertfordshire has a beautiful Black Marble bathroom floor which unfortunately was far from looking its best due to a build-up Limescale. Normally this can be removed with an acidic cleaning product however Marble like all natural stones is acid sensitive would be damaged in the process. The only way to remove the Limescale would be to polish it off using a set of diamond pads which would also restore a high shine finish to the Marble floor tiles. Removing Limescale from Polished Black Marble The first step before starting the process was to cover the threshold edges, skirting’s and doors with tape to protect it from splashing etc. Next we used a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean which is an alkaline tile and grout cleaner with hand brushes to clean-up the thin gout lines and remove any grit from the floor. The floor was then rinsed with fresh water to remove the now soiled cleaning product and also steam cleaned to neutralise floor. The water was extracted from the floor using a wet vacuum. Honing Black Marble to Restore Polish To bring back the natural shine we honed the floor using a series of diamond-encrusted burnishing pads. Firstly, I applied a Coarse 400 grit pad to strip away what remained of the old sealer and Limescale,

Marble Posts

Cleaning and Polishing Marble Mosaic Tiles

31st March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments balcony tiles, cleaning services, marble restoration, Polishing, Tile Cleaning

Installed on an external balcony these black and white Marble Mosaic tiles had been exposed to the elements resulting in an accumulated of dirt. Cleaning Marble Mosaic Balcony Tiles Marble is a very tough product so for best results we recommend using a set of burnishing pads fitted to a rotary machine that can cut through the grime and re-polish the stone. There are four pads in the set and you start with the Red pad together with a little water, this removes any remaining sealer; next you move on to the White pad again with a little water and this will remove any ingrained dirt. The next two pads, Yellow then Green complete the polishing process and produce a high shine finish. Between pads you need to rinse the floor with clean water to remove loose dirt and grime, I can recommend the use of a Wet Vacuum for this they are excellent at removing surface water quickly. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tiled Floor We left the floor to dry overnight and came back the next day to seal the floor. Luckily the weather held out, being external we wouldn’t have been able to seal the Marble if it was wet and it was forecast to rain that day. We sealed the Marble Mosaic tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which really does bring out the colour of natural stone, it’s also rated for

Marble Posts

Refreshing a Marble Tiled Kitchen

5th March 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Cleaning, kitchen, Leicester, Leicestershire, marble floor, Polishing, Sealing

This Polished Marble floor had been installed in the kitchen of a house near Leicester, it had been some time since its last deep clean and re-polish so the tiles had started to look dull and lifeless. Stripping the Marble Tiled Floor To resolve the floor was cleaned using a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go worked in using a scrubbing pad to remove any remaining sealer and dirt especially along the grout lines. Once this was done the floor was burnished using a set of Tile Doctor burnishing pads which strip the Marble back and then re-builds the polish. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different grades and each one does a different job from scrubbing to polishing. I started with the coarse pad together with a little water and this does the job of stripping back the surface of the floor. I then moved onto the finer grades which do the job of building the surface polish to a nice shine. Sealing the Marble Floor The next morning I arrived to find the floor had dried out enough for me to seal it which was done using a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that provides a natural look and is recommended for use in food preparation area. Once it was finished the floor took on a new lease of life and the deep shine has been

Marble Posts

Polishing Marble Wall and Floor Tiles in Suffolk

28th February 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments Elmswell, grout colouring, marble tiles, Polishing, Suffolk, Tile Cleaning, tile sealing, wall tiles

Not too long ago I was called down to a house in the small village of Elmswell, Suffolk. I was asked to take a look at a Marble floor and wall tiles which had become dull and lifeless over time, especially in high traffic areas and now need to be burnished to bring the polish back. In addition, my client was unhappy with the beige colour of the grout lines, requesting that I change the colour to white following the clean and polish. Cleaning and Polishing a Marble tiles To get the floor clean and bring back the polish I used a set of four diamond encrusted burnishing pads which have different levels of grit, applied to the Marble tiles with a small amount of water. I started with a Coarse pad, before moving on to a Medium pad, a Fine pad, and finally a Very Fine pad to achieve the desired polished look. The floor was given a thorough rinse between each pad in order to remove any excess residue that had resulted from the burnishing process. Once I had finished the floors I moved onto the Marble wall tiles in the bathroom where the same process was repeated, for wall tiles however you need to use the smaller six inch burnishing pads fitted to a hand held buffer. Sealing Marble Floor Tiles I left the floor to dry for a few days before returning to seal it for which I used Tile

Marble Posts

Putting the Shine Back on a Marble Vestibule Floor

17th February 2017 Reese Mackie 0 Comments congleton, east cheshire, hallway, marble tiles, Polishing, Tile Cleaning

A fantastic Marble tiled entrance hallway is the first thing you see when you open the door to this property in Congleton. Unfortunately, polished stone does need regular maintenance to keep its appearance, especially in high traffic areas such as this vestibule which had lost their shine, leaving them looking dull and unexceptional. Needless to say, the property owner was keen to get the floor restored to its former glory. That’s where I stepped in. Cleaning and Burnishing a Marbled Tiled Entrance Hall There was no evidence of old sealers present on the floor, so I started deep cleaning the tiles and grout lines using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean mixed with clean water. A quick word on cleaning here, as an alkaline-based cleaner, Tile Doctor Pro-Clean is suitable for use on natural stone floors, including acid-sensitive stone such as Marble and Limestone. Many everyday household cleaners from the supermarket are acidic, which will erode the life of the sealer and a strong acid can etch the surface of sensitive stone, so make sure to source the correct cleaning product to avoid this problem. The cleaning solution was left to soak into the tiles for ten minutes before being worked in to give a thorough clean using a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad. The