Pro Tips to Restore Dull Marble or Travertine Surfaces
Whether you wish to retain the high gloss of a newly installed Marble or Travertine stone floor or bring older, dull stone flooring back to life, we’ve got the answers you’ve been looking for. Keep reading as we discuss tried and tested methods for restoring dull Marble & Travertine stone surfaces, as well as product recommendations to give you the best results, guaranteed.
What Causes Polished Marble or Travertine Stone Surfaces To Become Dull?
Diamond polished natural stone surfaces sparkle because light bounces off the even stone surface. Stone surfaces can become dull and lack lustre with age, due to traffic, wear and tear or as a result of poor maintenance. Dirt, sand and other particles dull stone floors and surfaces by causing tiny scratches. A dull stone surface is the result of the accumulation of many surface scratches.
Using the wrong floor care products can also dull, or even damage, natural polished stone surfaces. Avoid using acid-based cleaners, vinegar, bleach, lemon juice, abrasive cleaners, as well as grout, tile, and bathroom cleaners, as these may all ruin a polished natural stone surface.
Before we discuss how to restore dull stone floors or surfaces, we’d like to share our advice for maintaining stone flooring, to prevent, or at the very least delay, dulling.
Maintenance Tips to Restore Dull Marble and Travertine Stone Surfaces
While it is possible to restore dull Marble or Travertine stone floors, why go through the effort of restoration work, if you can simply preserve your stone surface’s beauty? Although this may not be 100% effective, keeping your stone surfaces clean can hugely reduce the amount of work to be done later.
Capturing Dust and Debris with Dust Mats and Rugs
The first thing that you can do to maintain the pristine condition of your Marble or Travertine stone flooring is to limit debris from being tracked inside your home and onto the stone flooring by using high-quality door or dust mats.
Vacuuming and or Dry Sweeping
Unfortunately, dust mats cannot remove all dust and debris, however effective they may be. This brings us to the next step in maintaining your flooring – vacuuming and dry sweeping. Vacuum cleaning using a dry vacuum cleaner is quick and easy, but using a Rox Mazzlin Tool with Rox Mazzlin Cloths is far more effective. Dry mopping, also referred to as dust mopping, uses a non-treated microfibre or rayon mop, without water, to capture dust.
Damp and Wet Mopping
Damp or wet mopping should be avoided at all costs. Dirty water runs into holes and natural fissures in the natural stone surface and cannot be removed unless the entire surface is re-diamond polished. Mopping with water will also lead to dirty grouting. The only time water should be used to clean polished Marble or Travertine surfaces is when a wet spill occurs. Wipe up the spill as soon as possible with a damp cloth and dry afterwards. Acid based spills like red wine, coffee, tea, alcohol and fizzy drinks should be wiped up immediately to avoid etching of the surface. Deep cleaning of polished and unpolished natural stone can be done periodically and only when required using a slightly alkaline product like Stoneshield Deep-Clean™.
Stoneshield Deep-Clean™ is an extremely effective cleaner that may be used on a variety of surfaces to remove dirt and surface stains. It can be used on marble, ceramics, granite, porcelain, travertine, sandstone, slate, and all sealed surfaces, including natural stone, quarry tiles, terracotta, cement tiles, concrete floors. Can be used on patios, driveways and garage floors.
Maintaining Polished Marble or Travertine Stone Floor
A specialised chemical polishing procedure called crystallisation, or vitrification, is often used in high-traffic areas to prevent wear and tear of the stone surface. This process entails spraying a marble crystalliser over the floor and buffing it in with steel wool or a white nylon pad using a regular speed buffing machine. It is suitable for use on polished limestone, terrazzo, marble, and travertine. Crystallising should be undertaken on a regular basis to maintain the original factory shine and to prevent wear and tear. Regular maintenance will avoid costly restoration work.
We recommend using the ROX® MP 17 Polishing Machine fitted with ROX® 3M Floor Pads for best results. In addition, Stoneshield Marble Crystalliser™ is a machine buffable marble polish designed to preserve and retain the shine of polished marble, travertine, and limestone. Crystallising can also be used in combination with a marble polishing powder or diamond impregnated polishing pads, when restoring dull and moderately worn marble or travertine surfaces.
Restoring a Polished Marble or Travertine Stone Floor
Marble and travertine floors and surfaces can last a lifetime and can be restored at any stage even if the surface has lost its lustre or looks badly worn. With the help of competent and experienced stone restoration experts and the correct products, your stone floors and surfaces may once again look like new. Very badly scratched or worn stone floors will require a professional restoration contractor as diamond cutting and polishing of the stone surface will be required. In less severe cases where minor surface damage or wear has occurred the use of a specially formulated marble polishing powder, such as Stoneshield Marble Polishing Powder, or diamond impregnated polishing pads, such as Razor® Diamond Impregnated Polishing Pads , can be used to restore the stone surface back to its original condition.
This applies to floors, vanities, counter tops and other work surfaces.