DIY Marble Restoration: Why You Need a Marble Refinishing Kit

Marble is a soft natural stone that is sensitive to scratching, etching, staining and discoloration. Over the life of marble, the surface is bound to encounter these damages.

Homeowners that have marble flooring, counter tops, showers or vanities can significantly benefit from in owning a marble refinishing kit. Although there are professional services for marble refinishing and restoration, these services can cost several hundreds of dollars, depending on the project.

When you really look the process, refinishing marble is a straightforward task of buffing, polishing, and sealing the marble using the proper compounds. With the right tools, virtually any homeowner can get the job done, and save a lot money in the process. The key is to invest in the right set of refinishing tools and marble care products.

The first decision in buying or putting together a marble refinishing kit is whether or not you need an orbital buffing machine. If you do need one, look for a buffer with at least a 0.5 amp motor (or one that generates 4,000+ orbits per minute).

Next you'll need to ensure you have a few sanding discs that are of varying levels of grit. As you refinish the marble with the buffer, you can increase the grit-level to sand the marble more deeply. The most essential to acquire are 220, 400, and 600-grit sanding discs. For more extensive marble restoration projects, you may want to have a 800-grit sanding disc on hand.

You'll also want to invest in the proper compounds to clean, polish, and seal the marble during the refinishing process. As mentioned from the start, marble is soft and sensitive. Using the wrong products can actually harm the marble, causing etching on the surface. For that reason you'll want to be sure to buy a marble cleaner compound that's specifically formulated to be safe on marble.

In addition to the buffing tools, the other essential care products that you'll need to efficiently refinish your marble include a:

• deep-penetrating cleaning compound
• marble polishing compound
• water or solvent-based marble sealant
• mesh/microfiber polishing pad

Once you have these marble care products, along with a buffer and sanding discs, your marble refinishing kit is complete.

Stay tuned for our next blog post when we actually discuss the process on how to refinish marble.