Polishing Tumbled Marble

This 50m2 Tumbled Marble tiled floor in Dewlish, near Dorchester had not been deep cleaned and re-sealed for at least five years and showed signs of the normal wear and tear associated with a busy kitchen/dining room and a dog that enjoyed muddy walks. The old sealer was now breaking down allowing dirt to become ingrained in the Marble making it difficult to clean. Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor To restore the surface finish it needed to be burnished using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a number of different grades from coarse (used to strip off sealers and dirt from the Marble) too very fine (used for final polishing) and are applied one after another starting with the coarse pad and moving through to the very fine pad towards the end. Each stage requires a little water which captures the soil and is rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum. This process completely removed the old sealer and surfaces scratches with a new shine. The floor was given a thorough wash down at this point again using a wet vacuum to remove as much water as possible from the surface before leaving it to dry for the evening. Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles The next day the Marble had dried and I started to seal the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer

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Repolishing Marble tiles in a Hallway

The owner of this polished Marble Tiled hallway at a house in Trowbridge was unhappy with the look of their floor which had become dull and scratched and wanted the floor re-polishing. Apologies in advance for the pictures below on reflection I should have taken some close-up shots so you could see the problem better. Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout The first step first was to give the floor a general clean focusing on the grout lines so I started by mixing a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline based product that is safe to use on Marble. The solution was brushed around the floor concentrating on getting the product into the grout lines. I left this to dwell for 5-10 minutes before scrubbing with stiff grout brush. Once the grout lines were cleaned the dirty solution was removed with a wet vacuum and the tiles rinsed thoroughly with clean water. Polishing Marble Tiles The next step was to burnish the floor using a coarse diamond encrusted pad fitted to a rotary machine. This is used with clean water to remove surface scratches and any sealer that may be present. Once the water has turned to slurry after 4 passes of each tile I would remove with a wet vacuum and rinsed thoroughly. One that step was completed the process is repeated using the Medium,

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Repolishing Marble tiles in a Hallway in Marlborough

This was an unusual problem; a customer contacted us regarding their Marble shower room at a house in Marlborough where the customer had sprayed Viakal Limescale remover onto the Marble tiles to clean them which unfortunately etched the surface. I’ve downloaded the MSDS sheet from the Inernet for this product and can verify it contains a combination of Etidronic, Formic and Phosphoric acids so not a very safe product to use on Marble or any sealed stone surface. Cleaning Marble Wall Tiles To remove the etching the Marble tiles were burnished using a 6inch coarse diamond encrusted burnishing pad fixed to a hand held rotary machine and lubricated with a spray bottle of water to help keep tiles wet. Burnishing pads come in a set of four from Coarse, Medium, Fine and Super Fine so once we had removed the etching using the coarse pad we then applied the next pads in turn which re-polish the area back to its original shine. Between pads we rinsed the tiles down to remove any soiled water away; after the final super fine pad was applied the shower tiles were given a thorough rinse down ready for sealing. Sealing the Marble Wall Tiles The wall was wiped down and left to dry overnight and we returned the next day to seal the Marble tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow

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Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed

This polished Marble tiled floor was installed in a house in the old market town of Petersfield. The tile and grout was in good condition but like all polished stone floors they will go dull after a period of time and require burnishing and polishing to restore shine. Cleaning Marble Floor Tiles We gave the floor a quick sweep and wash down with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean partly to ensure any surface grit etc. was removed but also so we could get a stiff grout brush in along the grout lines and give them a clean. Once done the floor was rinsed down with water which was removed with a wet vacuum, once done we moved straight onto burnishing the floor to restore the polish. Burnishing requires the application of a little water so there was no need to wait for it to dry. Burnishing requires the application of four different diamond encrusted graded pads in sequence working from coarse which removed old sealers and dirt through to medium, fine and super fine pads which build up the polish on the floor. The floor requires a rinse in-between each pad to remove any slurry and water is extracted from the floor using the wet vacuum, after the super fine pad we removed as much water from the floor as possible and left it to dry overnight ready for sealing the next day.

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Marble Tiled Shower Cubicle Refresh

This Marble mosaic tiled shower cubicle in Richmond, Surrey was in need of a good clean, re-seal and re-silicone. Moisture had penetrated the old sealer and left mould and mildew in the pores of the tiles. This is quite a common problem in the modern insulated homes we live in today which invariably have in-sufficient ventilation. The silicone sealant around the base of the shower had also perished allowing water in behind the tiles around the base. Cleaning Marble Mosaic Tiles and Grout We first stripped away all of the old silicone and proceeded to clean the tile and grout by scrubbing in a dilution of Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which is a strong coatings remover that shifts just about anything but is also safe to use on tile, stone and grout. This did the trick and resulted in what was left of the old sealer being removed and had the added bonus of cleaning the grime away from the Marble tiles. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tiles The bathroom was allowed to dry out for a period of 2 days so as not to trap any moisture behind the new sealer. Then once dry we applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a solvent based sealer that reaches deep into the pores of the stone preventing other contaminates from becoming ingrained in the tile. The final step was to applying a new

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Cleaning and Sealing Marble Hallway Tiles

These Noche Marble tiles installed in the hallway of this house in Oundle are a premium product with a warm antique look however like any natural stone tile it needs to be sealed in order to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone. In this case the sealer had worn off and was the floor was now difficult to keep clean so we were called into the deep clean the tile and grout and then re-seal. Sealers can last a few years depending on wear. Cleaning Noche Marble Tiles To deep clean the tile and grout and remove any remaining sealer I combined a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean 50/50 with NanoTech UltraClean. The UltraClean adds tiny abrasive particles which make a more effective cleaning product, both products are safe to use on natural stone floors. It’s best to let the solution soak into the tile for ten to twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing brush or black scrubbing pad. The rotary pads can struggle to get into the grout lines so it’s best to use a stiff brush along those. To remove the soiled cleaning solution and rinse the tiles I use a high pressure spinner tool which is a brilliant machine for tile cleaning as it deploys water under high pressure water whilst extracting the dirty water back to a

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Removating old Marble Flagstones in West-Sussex

Apologies in advance but I’m going to start this post with a warning; there are some very strong cleaning products available in supermarkets and most of which are completely unsuitable for use on natural stone floors because they contain acid. Even weak acids used over time will erode and reduce the life of a sealer and can lead to small holes appearing in your tiles so you do need to be careful what you apply and always read the label. The reason I mention this is I recently had a client in the village of Woodmancote with a Marble Tiled En-Suite who had sent over some photographs showing how the tiles had become marked after using Cilit Bang to clean them. Cilit Bang is a very strong product and has a great reputation for tackling tricky cleaning problems however it contains Benzenesulfonic Acid so it should not to be used on Stone. If you check the literature it does not say it can be used on stone although it does mention the product can be used on tiles and I suspect this is where the confusion comes from as I suspect it should say ceramic tiles. Getting back to the story I informed the client that it was tricky to tell from the photographs what would be required so I offered to pop round when next in the area and take a look. We offer a free no obligation home-survey

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Repairing Damaged Marble Shower Tiles

We were recently received a referral from a well-known house cleaning company who needed some assistance to resolve an issue with a Marble Tiled Shower at a Georgian property in Ringmer. Unfortunately one of their staff had sprayed a Cillit Bang cleaning fluid onto the tiles to remove Limescale deposits and had marked the tiles with white streaks which could not be removed. Now Cilit Bang is a very strong product and although it has a reputation for tackling tricky cleaning problems it contains Benzenesulfonic Acid which like any acid should not be used on Stone as it will damage it. If you check the internet you will find this problem is not uncommon and numerous people have experienced the same issue, the good news is there is a solution. Polishing Damaged Marble Shower Tiles Using a spray bottle containing a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and a set of small Diamond encrusted burnishing pads attached to a handheld buffer I went to work on the tiles stripping away the existing sealer and bringing back the surface of the stone. During this process the damage to the tiles started to fade and once the sealer was removed the tiles took on a washed out appearance which was to be expected at this stage. Sealing Marble Shower Tiles After drying any wetness with a heat gun I left

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Restoring the Appearance of Damaged Marble Shower Tiles

I recently went the assistance of a home owner in Addlestone, Surrey who had damaged the surface of the Marble tiles in her shower by attempting to remove Limescale using a well-known household cleaning product, which unfortunately due to its acidic formula actually made the problem worse and etched the tiles. Burnishing Marble Shower Cubicle Tiles To remove the etching and Limescale from the Marble tiles the surface would need to be cut back and re-polished using diamond encrusted burnishing pads. For this job we used a set of six inch pads which are similar to the floor pads but smaller so they can be attached to a hand held machine and used on vertical surfaces. To burnish the tiles a coarse pad is applied first lubricated with a little water and this removes surface deposits such as Limescale and in this case also the etching. The resultant residue is washed away and then you proceed on with the Medium, Fine and Very Fine polishing pads until the surface has been restored. Sealing Marble Shower Tiles Once I had finished applying the Very Fine pad I gave the tiles a thorough rinse and then dried them so they could be sealed for which I used a coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that gets into the pores of the stone enhancing the natural colours

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Restoring the Polish on Marble Tiles

This customer from the town of Brackley near Northampton got in touch with us to discuss their lovely black Marble tiled floor where it was proving difficult to maintain the shine. I went to visit and after carrying out some tests and asking a number of questions it became clear that that the product that had been used for regular cleaning had a high alkaline detergent content which was not suitable for the floor and had been causing smears, there were also light scratches due to the soiling levels. For polished stone or sealed floors we always recommend a neutral PH cleaning product such a Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner. Burnishing Polished Black Marble Tiles To remove the light scratches and restore the shine on the Marble it was necessary to cut back the surface and re-polish with a set of burnishing pads. The pads come in a set of four and are applied in sequence starting with a coarse pad together with a little water to cut through the old sealer and grime. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. After polishing the floor was rinsed down to remove any slurry from the polishing process and then allowed to dry before sealing with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which impregnates the pores in

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Restoring the Finish in an Opulent Marble Bathroom

You may recall a job I wrote about earlier in the year concerning a Limestone tiled floor in Westminster well I’m please to say the owner of that property was so pleased with my workmanship that I was asked back to maintain the Marble tiled bathroom which included a sink unit. Maintaining Marble Tiles Normally with polished stone it’s necessary to burnish the floor however in this case the tiles were in good condition with no scratches in the polish, there were a few spots and marks on the tile that needed to come off and they had lost some shine however a full burnish would not be necessary. To remove the spots and marks I treated them first with a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean diluted 4:1 with hot water. I then scrubbed them using a red buffing pad on my rotary floor machine, which took the marks away from the stone. Next I used a medium burnishing pad with a little water and followed with the fine pad and finally the ultra-fine burnishing pad to restore the shine and polish. I offered to build-up a durable polish with Tile Doctor Shine Powder however the owner was happy with the finish that had been achieved. Sealing Marble Tiles Once the tiles were dry I sealed them using Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which occupies the pores of the stone

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Dealing with stained Marble Shower Tiles

The picture below really tells the story but basically this is bathroom from a house in Kidlington that has been tiled with Marble mosaic wall tiles which has become stained around the bath. Additionally the silicone strip between the bath and the wall had become badly stained with mould and needed replacing. Refreshing Marble Wall Tiles To get the tile and grout clean I decanted a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean into a spray bottle and began to apply it in sections to the Marble mosaic wall tiles. Mixing the cleaning solution with air makes it lighter and less likely to run off the wall giving it chance to dwell on the tile and get to work. I left it to soak in for a few minutes before scrubbing into the tile and grout with a stiff brush finishing with a rinse with water; this process was then repeated on stubborn stains and the rest of the area until the wall was clean. Then the mouldy silicone was removed from around the bath, dried and replaced with new. Sealing Marble Mosaic Tile The wall was dried and then the mosaic tiles sealed with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the Marble to make an effective barrier. Colour Grow also enhances the colour of natural stone so when finished the colour

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Dealing With Limescale On Marble Bathroom Worktops

This job required the cleaning of Marble Worktops in twelve toilets at a very nice office in the Abingdon Science Park. The building was occupied by a company called Sophos who you may have heard of and over a period of time the Marble had become stained through the build-up of Limescale from the water supply and the cleaning company servicing the office could not clean it off. I’ve seen a few horror stories of stone surfaces being damaged through the use of acidic Limescale removers so the cleaning company was quite right not to touch it. Polishing Marble Worktops To remove the Limescale it would be necessary to hone the Marble using a set of small six inch burnishing pads fitted to a handheld buffing machine. The process involves starting with the coarse 400grit pad with a little water which cuts through the Limescale and then moving on to the 800, 1500 and finishing with 3000 grit to hone the surface and build the polish backup. The water helps lubricate the activity and the surface needs to be rinsed down between each pad. Sealing Marble Worktops When the surface was dry I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer which impregnates the pores of the stone to protect it, it also enhances the natural colours in the stone. There

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Removing Soap Scum from Marble Worktops

My client asked me to take a look at a very dirty Marble Onyx countertop in her home in Hampstead which is located within the London Borough of Camden. Interestingly, Hampstead is home to more millionaires than any other area of the UK so if you’re going to find bathrooms of this standard this is the place. This particular worktop had been heavily soiled by roughly fifteen years of soap scum and old sealer. It would take a thorough clean as well as a fresh seal to get this countertop back to looking its best. Marble is a fantastic type of stone which has, throughout history, been used to forge beautiful, yet resilient surfaces. Cleaning a dirty Marble Onyx countertop I immediately set to work cleaning the countertop using a strong solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. Pro-Clean is an alkaline product and therefore suitable for use on natural stone, meaning that, along with Marble, it is also suitable for use on Limestone, Granite, Slate, Travertine, and others. After leaving it to dwell on the surface for a short period of time, I began scrubbing the solution of cleaner into the Marble, and gradually the years of soap scum, old sealer and ingrained dirt began to come off. It was amazing just how quickly I was able to remove many years of muck with a bit of elbow grease.

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Polishing Marble Wall and Floor Tiles in Suffolk

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

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Polishing Marble Wall and Floor Tiles in Shropshire

For this job I travelled to the town of Albrighton, which is actually the most easterly settlement in the whole of Shropshire. My client had an issue with their Marble tiled floor which was installed in the kitchen and hallway. They had dropped and broke a bottle of vinegar in the kitchen, and the substance unfortunately came in contact with the tiles. Since Marble is highly sensitive to acid, the vinegar (an acetic acid) had basically etched the surface of the tiles make it impossible clean chemically. Although the tiles were a nice, expensive Marble, the person who had first installed them had done a poor job, leaving lippage of up to 5mm in some areas, which would make work trickier. Undeterred I could see it would be possible to restore the floor using a combination of burnishing for the tiles and cleaning with a high alkaline product for the grout lines. I demonstrated this to my client on one tile which went well and I was then given the go ahead to restore the entire floor. Cleaning and burnishing acid damaged Marble tiles My first task focused on cleaning the grout lines using a solution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean worked in with a stiff grout brush. Pro-Clean is a high alkaline cleaner suitable for use on most types of natural stone floor. It helped to alleviate most of

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Maintaining Marble Tiled Floors

The photographs before are of Marble floor installed in the kitchen of a house in Melton Mowbray, that we recently refinished. The honed matte marble tiles had previously been finished with a water-based topical floor sealer by the customer to create a polished finish; unfortunately the coating had become damaged, worn and now soiled. To restore the finish with something more durable we recommended the removal of any remaining coatings, then re-finishing with our restorative diamond encrusted burnishing pad system and then re-sealing with an impregnating rather than topical sealer. Our quote was accepted and we returned on the agreed date to restore the floor. Deep Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout The first step was to remove the old coating and clean the grout using a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline formula that is safe to use on stone. The solution was scrubbed into the grout using a stiff brush and also worked into the Marble floor using a rotary machine fitted with a black scrubbing pad. The now dirty cleaning solution was then rinsed away using water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Burnishing a Marble Tiled Floor The next step was to burnish the floor using a set of Tile Doctor burnishing pads starting with a coarse pad to strip the

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Stained Marble Tiled Floor Renovated in Berkshire

Never judge a tiled floor by its appearance! On this particular occasion, I visited a client at a house in the village of Streatley which is a small village that sits alongside the River Thames as it runs through the county of Berkshire. The requirement was to take a look at a very old Marble floor which was initially believed to consist of Victorian, rather than Marble, tiles due to the pattern. My client simply could not get the white Marble tiles looking their best; many were a displeasing off-cream colour and naturally wanted them looking new again. Before beginning the restoration, we confirmed that the stone was actually Marble. We did this by testing the tile with acid, which the tiles responded to since Marble is naturally acid-sensitive. Additionally, we could also see the veins running through the tiles, which you simply would not get with a Victorian tiles. Burnishing a Marble tiled floor Chemical cleaning had no effect on this floor, so it’s understandable that my client’s attempts at cleaning with everyday household products were unsuccessful. With this type of stone the only method would be to burnish the floor with a set of diamond encrusted pads. I started off by using a Medium 800 Grit burnishing pad to no avail, followed by a Coarse 400 Grit burnishing pad,

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Tumbled Marble Floor Refreshed in Twickenham

Marble tiles can be tumbled in large drums to achieve an aged and softened effect, and this can look very nice providing that the stone is adequately maintained. In the case of this floor at a property in Twickenham South West London, the Marble tiles that had been laid over five years ago, and in that time the sealer had worn down offering the floor little protection. Dirt had now become ingrained in the pores of the stone and grout, and a deep clean and fresh seal were required to restore the stone’s original colour and lustre. The property owner asked me to complete the job and I was more than happy to oblige. Cleaning Dirty Tumbled Marble Tiles To begin the restoration, I applied both Tile Doctor Pro-Clean, which is a high alkaline cleaner, and Tile Doctor Remove and Go, which a heavy-duty stripper and remover, to the floor and scrubbed the products in using a scrubbing pad fitted to a professional rotary machine. The chemical solvents in the Remove and Go helped to break down any old sealer that remained inside the stone, allowing the Pro Clean to then work its magic on the stubborn ingrained dirt the customer had struggled to remove previously. Some of the deeper veins and grout lines I chose to scrub by hand to ensure the fullest and most meticulous clean possible.

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Edwardian Marble Floor Restoration

Windlestraw is a picturesque Edwardian manor hotel overlooking the Tweed Valley, near Walkerburn in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. One of the bathrooms in the manor was in the process of being refurbished when two layers of floor tiles were removed, unveiling an original Marble tiled floor dating back to the 1920s. After the top layers of tile had been removed the Marble was still covered in old adhesive and cement and although Marble is known for its quality and durability the hotel owner didn’t want the building contractor to proceed any further in case they damaged it. The owner was keen to restore the Marble floor as an original feature so we were called in to set the situation right. Refurbishing a Marble Tiled Bathroom Floor To restore the floor I used two processes known as milling and burnishing. Milling literally involves grinding down uneven or rough surfaces using very coarse, diamond encrusted pads. The pads are usually used to resolve lippage issues on natural stone but in this case we needed to use the very coarse abrasive pads to grind off the adhesive and cement. I used a set of three coarse milling pads rinsing with water between each pad and starting with a 50 grit pad, before moving on to 100 and 200 grit pads. This process was very effective and

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