The Process of Restoring Natural Stone.
There are three major steps involved in restoring and preserving natural stone. However, the process may vary, often using only one or two steps depending on the stone and its condition. Typically the preservation of stone does not include grinding.
Grinding.
Grinding a floor is essentially flattening a floor. Low grit diamond abrasives are used to eliminate lippage or any uneven sections of the floor to create a unified plane. This step is essential for creating mirror like reflectivity, especially when dealing with granite. In most cases, this step is only conducted once during an initial restoration of a floor or directly following a new installation.
Honing.
Once a flat floor is obtained, the next step in our process is honing. This step shaves off a microscopic layer of stone creating a smooth surface. Although a floor is typically only ground once, it can honed thousands of times before any difference in the thickness becomes apparent. Honing also has the ability to remove scratches. The more times a floor is honed, the more aesthetically pleasing it becomes. The diamond grit range generally ranges from 120-400.
It is also important to hone certain stones on a regular basis. In the case of Carrara Marble, it contains iron which can rust, causing the stone to turn yellow. By honing the stone, it helps release moisture and prevents any permanent staining.
In some cases, this is the only step in the process. Depending on customer preference, leaving a stone with a honed look creates a patina. This is most commonly used in Tuscan design.
Polishing.
The final step is Polishing. There are several ways to obtain a high degree of reflectivity and shine. The first is a honed polish. This is simply a continuation of the honing process with very fine abrasive diamonds beyond the 400 grit range. The other alternative is to use a polishing powder which contains very fine abrasives. Often times, the polishing process is determined by the type of stone.
Restoring Terrazzo.
Restoring cement based Terrazzo floors is essentially the exact same process as marble. Terrazzo is made up of Portland cement and marble aggregate. At its surface, the ratio of marble to cement is about 70/30. Therefore, the terrazzo has the ability to capture the many adorned characteristics of marble such as shine and reflectivity.