Honed Travertine Floor
Polished Travertine Floor
Travertine Floor Polishing and Restoration Case Study
Recently our company Santa Fe Floor Care completed a two day natural stone restoration job. We were called to this house after a well known franchise company used an improper cleaning technique on a highly sensative travertine floor. The result was the finish had been removed from what I expect was a acidic cleaning agent or a much two aggrasive rotary brush. Either way the floor was in really bad shape and the home owner was at her wits end and had a hard time trusting we could restore her the shine.
Natural Stone Honing
When we first started, we began by honing the floor with a 100-grit pad, gradually working our way up to 1500-grit, completing a total of five passes. As we honed the floor we cleaned the grout lines along the way and used our truck mounted hot water extraction tool to rinse the stone slurry as we worked. This is a dust free process that uses a lot of water so it is important to have proper extraction tools ready and available.
Natural Stone Polish
After honing and grout cleaning was completed it was time to polish. This is the most technical part of the job and its extremely necessary to always have two technicians especially when working in a large area. We use a hogs hair pad along with a calcite stone polish to scrub the stone much like when completing a honing pass but always take twice as long to insure each tile gets plenty of polishing time. As soon as we were done with a section it is imperative the area is rinsed, extracted and neutralized to insure there is no re-etching. The Stone polish ironically has a chemical agent that can cause the stone to etch if left for two long ruining the finish. After completing the polishing pass we clean the floor one more time with a neutral stone cleaner and fresh hogs hair pad to insure there is no more residue left over.
Natural Stone Sealing
After we dry and do a walk through with the client it is time to seal. The sealers we use are impregnating and are made specifically for stone as well as grout. This is a very crucial step and should never be skipped because it is imparative to keeping the floor maintained for longevity.
Natural Stone Floor Care is our speciality at Santa Fe Floor Care
At Santa Fe Floor Care we spcialize in natural stone floor cleaning, maintenance and restoration. Our experienced technicians each have over a decade experience cleaning and restoring stones like travertine, marble, limestone, slate and terrazzo. We have had state of the art training and have learned and participated in certified training programs from top stone restoration experts all over the country. We implement the highest techniques and equipment to beat out any competition. Don’t let the other guys fool you, Santa Fe Floor Care is Austin’s original and premier stone floor expert.
Austin’s Natural Stone Floor Polishing Experts
Santa Fe Floor Care can bring new life to your natural stone floors. Calcitic stone such as travertine, limestone and marble although beautiful become dull and weathered over time. The mineral make up and porosity of these common stone tiles leaves it vulnerable to etching, stains scratches and ware patterns. Our expert technicians are confident when taking on these challenges. We implement tools and techniques such as hot water extraction, diamond embedded honing pads, calcite stone polishes, neutralizers and sealers. to bring back luster and shine to better than before look. Our experienced technicians are super friendly and will leave you feeling relaxed and confident. We will always include you in the process and will not leave you with unanswered questions.
Natural Stone Floor Cleaning and Sealing Experts
Restoration is not always necessary, however routine cleanings are important to up keep and maintenance. We always recommend professional cleaning of the grout lines and stone every 12 to 24 months depending on use. It is impertinent to have your floor properly sealed at the end of each cleaning. Impregnating stone and grout sealers help keep the porous stone and grout from becoming stained. It is important to know that the sealers do not add shine or a cosmetic look to your floor but rather it acts like a barrier to prevent soils from permanently discoloring the stone and tile. Make sure your stone expert uses alkaline or neutral stone cleaners, and to always use the proper cleaning rotary brush or pad depending on the type of stone and finish. For a High gloss polished stone you will want to clean the floor with a super high grit (11000 grit) honing pad.
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Do you have tile that needs to be restored to like new? Reach out to us. At Santa Fe Floor Care, we invite you to check our credentials to see for yourself why we are Austin, TX’s preferred and trusted floor care company. CONTACT FORM or call (512) 632-1621 today for a FREE estimate.