DIY Marble Restoration: How to Refinish Marble

This article is a follow-up post to our previous article on DIY Marble Restoration: Why You Need a Marble Refinishing Kit.

If you do not have a marble refinishing kit, we suggest reading the previous post to ensure you have the tools you need to complete the following process.

Preparing the Marble Surface for Refinishing

First you'll want to analyze the condition of the marble surface by using a bright lamp. Focus your vision on the dull spots on the marble and look for the outline of the light bulb in order to determine the severity of the scratches or etch markets.

Next, create a border around dull areas with tape. This border should be at least one or two inches away from the effective areas on the marble, allowing for some space to buff over the dull spots.

Starting the Marble Refinishing Process

Now you'll want to start the actual marble refinishing process of honing the marble with the sand discs and buffer machine.

Begin the honing process with a lower grit sanding disc, such as a 220-grit disc. After thoroughly refinishing the marble surface with a low-grit disc, continue the process sequentially with finer grit sanding discs, such as a 400 grit, then 600 grit, and lastly, an 800 grit disc.

Note: Keep in mind while buffing the marble to overlap the target surface area by a half inch each time you move on to a new sanding disc grit. It's also important to stop the buffing machine every 20-30 seconds and clean the surface of the disc with a wet sponge. Check the surface of the disc with your fingertips to ensure that the abrasiveness is still well intact. If the disc is smooth to the touch and has lost its abrasiveness, the disc should be replaced with a new one.

Polishing the Marble Surface

After the marble refinishing process is complete, you can move on to the marble polishing process. Keep in mind that the after mentioned marble refinishing kit accessories do not apply to this process. You will need to acquire a marble polish compound, polishing pad, as well as a marble sealer for the next process.

With the marble polishing pad and compound, polish the entire marble surface that was refinished, along with any outlying areas that were not honed by the buffer. In order to successfully restore and refinish marble to its original gloss appearance, it may be necessary to polish the marble two or sometimes three times (after each layer has fully dried.)

If you own any of the following marble species, you may need a specially formulated marble polish. This is because the following marble species have a unique mineral composition, requiring a marble polish compound with the different chemical make up.

• Thassos (pure white) marble
• Breccia Nouvella (dark brown) marble
• Verde Antique (dark green) marble
• Belgium Black (absolute black) marble

Sealing the Marble Surface

After refinishing and polishing the marble surface, you'll want to protect the marble with a marble sealant product. There are several marble sealants that you can find on the market and most all types are pretty good at protecting the marble from moisture and minor scratching.

First, apply a generous amount of the marble sealant over the entire surface area and allow the sealant to penetrate and set for at least one hour. Next, apply a lighter coating of a marble polish compound and begin to buff-out the residue from the marble surface. This is best achieved with a microfiber polishing bonnet.
Continue this process as many times as you feel appropriate. Usually two or three light coats of marble polish will finish the job.

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.