Highly etched marble countertop
This Westlake, Texas homeowner called our office wondering what to do with stubborn etch marks that were making her counter top look blotchy and dull. When we came out to look at the counter top she explained that it was only a year old and the problem started to occur almost immediately. She also explained to me that she has 3 kids and that she loves to cook and entertain. Unfortunately, marble is very sensitive to many cooking products that are acidic in nature. It was clear that the homeowner wanted a long-term solution to her problem, so we suggested that we refinish the counter top from a highly reflective finish to a low honed or matte finish. This way when future etching inevitably occurs, the damage will not be as pronounced and will maintain a fairly even look.
Our process
The first thing we did was to mask off all the surrounding areas with protective plastic so that there would be very little cleanup. Then we performed a dust-free, wet honing process using our industrial diamond resin pads along with our electric planetary grinder (These tools are highly specialized and are designed specifically for stone countertops) This process was performed several times in order to effectively remove the polish from the countertop. After all the polish was removed, we performed a final honing pass with a soft, low grit diamond pad that leaves a smooth, low-reflective finish on the marble surface. As a final step, we saturated the stone with a high quality stone sealer.
Before we leave the clients home we like to take a few minutes to educate them on how to properly care for their countertops as well as what types of cleaners to use.