Baird,
You need to stay away from any topical finishes on a granite
counter top , if you’re going to use a impregnating sealer, or
impregnating enhancer that a different story. The problem with any topical seal
is the stone cannot breath , ( not so important on counter tops) but the
real problem with coating is that the coating will wear, is softer then the
stone, it will mark in the coating , it will show scratches from knifes etc.
I would recommend the following.
1.
Clean the surface with Stone Care Central Neutral cleaner
2.
Use the granite polishing powder from Stone Care Central ( light
or dark depending upon the color of the granite.
3.
Take your hand grinder ( slow 700 rpm if possible ) and a back
up pad with #1 or #0 steel wool
4.
Apply approximately 1 ounce of granite powder on the counter
top.
5.
Wet the powder on the counter top with a crystallizer, so that
you now have a wet paste ( I usually spread this combination around the top
with the hand machine to mix the powder and the crystallizer together )
6.
Start polishing with your hand machine. Continue to polish until
the polish start to dry, then spray some additional crystallizer to the area
you are polishing.
7.
Wipe off section polished if you achieve the finish you are
looking for then move onto the next section.
8.
Work a section approximately 2’x2’ keep polishing
until the counter is done.
9.
Take a clean steel wool pad and buff of the counter to remove any
residue left behind.
10.
Do a final clean using you Stone Care Central Neutral cleaner
and your done polishing and cleaning
11.
Apply your impregnating sealer
When you are done you will have an improved shine and luster to
the counter top.
There are many thoughts on what it take to polish granite,
granite honing and polishing is a simple process once you totally understand
the scratch patterns in granite. In my granite class the first thing we teach
you is to determine the scratches or damage in the stone. granite fools most people,
they look at the scratch in granite the same way they look at scratches in
marble and they are not the same. It’s a rare occasion if I’m
working in granite I ever go below an 800 grit and most of the time can
handle most problems starting at a 1500 to 1800 grit. The Stone and
Tile Schools offers a counter top and wall class that covers marble and granite
counter and a granite floor class chech it out on our website .
John E. Freitag
President/Director
The Stone and Tile School
Office 407-567-7652
Cell 407-615-0134
jfreitag@thestoneandtileschool.com
From: Baird Standish
[mailto:bairdstandish@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 8:28 PM
To: Restoration and Maintenance
Subject: [sccpartners] Granite Counter Polish
Hi,
Was wondering if anyone has favorite products for topical
sealing of granite counters (or at least a more effortless way to bring back
some shine). I have a new customer who has a granite counter top that
appears to have no real etching and the shine is still pretty good. She
would like to enhance it. I gave her two quotes, one for powder polishing
(which she rejected) and another for cleaning and a topical treatment).
That being said, she is not looking for a level of gloss and clarity that
would come with real honing and polishing. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Baird
-- file:///Users/baird/Pictures/iPhoto%20Library/Modified/2009/May%2028,%202009/IMG_0435.JPG
________________________________________
>From the desk of
Baird Standish
Managing Partner
Facility Specialists, LLC
1616 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-732-7505
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