Restoring the Polish on Marble Tiles

Posted on March 15, 2015 by AbzDominise

This customer from the town of Brackley near Northampton got in touch with us to discuss their lovely black Marble tiled floor where it was proving difficult to maintain the shine. I went to visit and after carrying out some tests and asking a number of questions it became clear that that the product that had been used for regular cleaning had a high alkaline detergent content which was not suitable for the floor and had been causing smears, there were also light scratches due to the soiling levels. For polished stone or sealed floors we always recommend a neutral PH cleaning product such a Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner.

Black Marble in Brackley Before Polishing

Burnishing Polished Black Marble Tiles

To remove the light scratches and restore the shine on the Marble it was necessary to cut back the surface and re-polish with a set of burnishing pads. The pads come in a set of four and are applied in sequence starting with a coarse pad together with a little water to cut through the old sealer and grime. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish.

Black Marble in Brackley During Polishing

After polishing the floor was rinsed down to remove any slurry from the polishing process and then allowed to dry before sealing with Tile Doctor Colour Grow which impregnates the pores in the stone enhancing the natural colours and protecting it from future staining.

Black Marble in Brackley After Polishing

Before leaving we spoke again on the types of cleaning solutions to get the best results and she was over the moon with the results.

Source: Polished Tile and Stone Maintenance in Northamptonshire

Cleaning and Sealing Marble Hallway Tiles

Posted on October 1, 2014 by AbzDominise

These Noche Marble tiles installed in the hallway of this house in Oundle are a premium product with a warm antique look however like any natural stone tile it needs to be sealed in order to prevent dirt becoming ingrained in the pores of the stone. In this case the sealer had worn off and was the floor was now difficult to keep clean so we were called into the deep clean the tile and grout and then re-seal. Sealers can last a few years depending on wear.

Cleaning Noche Marble Tiles

To deep clean the tile and grout and remove any remaining sealer I combined a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean 50/50 with NanoTech UltraClean. The UltraClean adds tiny abrasive particles which make a more effective cleaning product, both products are safe to use on natural stone floors. It’s best to let the solution soak into the tile for ten to twenty minutes before being scrubbed in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing brush or black scrubbing pad. The rotary pads can struggle to get into the grout lines so it’s best to use a stiff brush along those.

Noce Marble During Grout Cleaning Oundle

To remove the soiled cleaning solution and rinse the tiles I use a high pressure spinner tool which is a brilliant machine for tile cleaning as it deploys water under high pressure water whilst extracting the dirty water back to a container in the van.

Sealing Noche Marble Tiles

The floor was left to dry out for a few days and we returned the following week to seal the tiles using a damp meter first to verify the floor was indeed dry which it was so we proceeded to seal the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow.

Colour grow was chosen as it’s an impregnating sealer the soaks into the pores of the tile bringing out and enhancing the natural colours in the stone in the process.

I took lots of photographs so you should be able to see how much cleaner the floor now looks, especially the grout and how the colour has been restored to the Marble.

Source: Tile, Stone and Grout Maintenance Service in Northamptonshire

Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Sealed

Posted on September 25, 2014 by AbzDominise

This polished Marble tiled floor was installed in a house in the old market town of Petersfield. The tile and grout was in good condition but like all polished stone floors they will go dull after a period of time and require burnishing and polishing to restore shine.

Cleaning Marble Floor Tiles

We gave the floor a quick sweep and wash down with a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean partly to ensure any surface grit etc. was removed but also so we could get a stiff grout brush in along the grout lines and give them a clean. Once done the floor was rinsed down with water which was removed with a wet vacuum, once done we moved straight onto burnishing the floor to restore the polish. Burnishing requires the application of a little water so there was no need to wait for it to dry.

Burnishing requires the application of four different diamond encrusted graded pads in sequence working from coarse which removed old sealers and dirt through to medium, fine and super fine pads which build up the polish on the floor. The floor requires a rinse in-between each pad to remove any slurry and water is extracted from the floor using the wet vacuum, after the super fine pad we removed as much water from the floor as possible and left it to dry overnight ready for sealing the next day.

Sealing Marble Floor Tiles

On our return the next day we made sure the floor was dry with the use of a damp meter and once we were happy we sealed the Marble tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer the occupied the pores in the tile to prevent other contaminates soaking into the tile. It also does a nice job of lifting the natural colours in the stone and enhancing the look of the tile.

Source: Tile and Stone Cleaning Service in Hampshire

Dull Marble Tiles Re-polished

Posted on September 20, 2014 by AbzDominise

Details below of a Marble Tiled floor installed in the hallway and kitchen of a house in Edinburgh. The tiles were in good physical shape but had lost their polished appearance over time resulting in a dull un-appealing finish. This is not unusual for polished stone especially in high traffic areas such as hallways and kitchens.

Polished Marble Kitchen Edinburgh Before

Cleaning Marble Floor Tile and Grout

Our first job was to give the floor a general clean to remove grime and dirt especially along the grout lines. This was done by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is left to dwell on the floor before being scrubbed in, Pro-Clean is an alkaline cleaner so it’s safe to use on tile and stone unlike acidic cleaners which can damage the surface of the stone over time. The now dirty cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor given a rinse using water.

Marble Tiled Floor Polishing

The next step was to burnish the Marble which is a process that removes ingrained dirt and brings up the polish on the tile. The process involves the application of four diamond pads in sequence; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish.

When the Burnishing process was completed Tile doctor Shine powder which is a crystallising powder is worked into the floor using a bonnet machine fitted with a buffing pad and a little water; it adds an extra level of deep shine to the marble floor giving it that extra wow factor together with a tough durable finish.

Source: Tile and Stone Cleaning and Polishing Service in Edinburgh

Repolishing Marble tiles in a Hallway

Posted on July 17, 2014 by AbzDominise

The owner of this polished Marble Tiled hallway at a house in Trowbridge was unhappy with the look of their floor which had become dull and scratched and wanted the floor re-polishing. Apologies in advance for the pictures below on reflection I should have taken some close-up shots so you could see the problem better.

Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout

The first step first was to give the floor a general clean focusing on the grout lines so I started by mixing a mild dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline based product that is safe to use on Marble. The solution was brushed around the floor concentrating on getting the product into the grout lines. I left this to dwell for 5-10 minutes before scrubbing with stiff grout brush. Once the grout lines were cleaned the dirty solution was removed with a wet vacuum and the tiles rinsed thoroughly with clean water.

Polishing Marble Tiles

The next step was to burnish the floor using a coarse diamond encrusted pad fitted to a rotary machine. This is used with clean water to remove surface scratches and any sealer that may be present. Once the water has turned to slurry after 4 passes of each tile I would remove with a wet vacuum and rinsed thoroughly.

One that step was completed the process is repeated using the Medium, Find and Superfine polishing pads which in turn will gradually re-polish the surface. Between each pad I would remove the slurry using wet vacuum and rinse thoroughly.

Sealing Polished Marble Tile

The floor surface was now restored but still too wet to seal so I called it a day and returned the next day to seal the tiles. On my return I checked that the surface was dry enough to seal using a damp tester which came back OK. My first job was to add an extra shine to the floor by polishing it further with a green buffing pad. Next I sealed the floor using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which enhances the colours and also protects against future spills and stains etc. Once the seal had dried sufficiently I used a white buffing pad to give one final polish.

Upon completion I gave the customer some cleaning tips including the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to prolong the life of the sealer; unlike acid based sealers it won’t damage the sealer every time you clean the floor.

Source: Residential and Commercial Tile Cleaning Services in Wiltshire

Polishing Tumbled Marble

Posted on April 30, 2014 by AbzDominise

This 50m2 Tumbled Marble tiled floor in Dewlish, near Dorchester had not been deep cleaned and re-sealed for at least five years and showed signs of the normal wear and tear associated with a busy kitchen/dining room and a dog that enjoyed muddy walks. The old sealer was now breaking down allowing dirt to become ingrained in the Marble making it difficult to clean.

Tumbled Marble in Dewlish Before Cleaning

Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor

To restore the surface finish it needed to be burnished using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a number of different grades from coarse (used to strip off sealers and dirt from the Marble) too very fine (used for final polishing) and are applied one after another starting with the coarse pad and moving through to the very fine pad towards the end. Each stage requires a little water which captures the soil and is rinsed away and removed with a wet vacuum. This process completely removed the old sealer and surfaces scratches with a new shine. The floor was given a thorough wash down at this point again using a wet vacuum to remove as much water as possible from the surface before leaving it to dry for the evening.

Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles

The next day the Marble had dried and I started to seal the tiles using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which was first applied to a couple of test tiles first to ensure it gave the effect the customer was looking for.

Tumbled Marble in Dewlish During Sealing

Colour Grow is a colour enhancing sealer that brings out the natural colour of the tile and certainly the customer was pleased with the results so the sealing work continues until the whole 50m2 floor had been sealed with two coats.

Tumbled Marble in Dewlish After Cleaning and Sealing

When the whole fifty square metres of floor had been sealed using Colour Grow the effect was dramatic and the owners were so pleased with the result that they invited over a friend with a similar stone floor who immediately asked for her floor to be done in the same way.

Source: Cleaning Tumbled Marble in Dorset

Scratched Marble Floor Tiles Restored

Posted on March 21, 2014 by AbzDominise

This was a Marble tiled floor installed in the kitchen of a house in Olney, Bedfordshire which had been scratched in places and was now overdue for some TLC.

Cleaning Marble Tile and Grout

The first job was to give the floor a general clean using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was left to dwell on the Tile and Grout for a short while before being worked in with a rotary machine fitted with a scrubbing pad and a stiff hand brushes along the grout lines. The floor was then washed down with clean water to remove the soiled cleaning solution with the liquids being removed using a wet vacuum.

Burnishing and Polishing Marble Tile

To restore the original finish and remove the scratches the floor needed to be cut back using a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the coarse pad and a little water and then move on to the Medium, Fine and Very fine pads at which point the surface looks immaculate and polished.

The next task was to protect the floor and bring up the appearance even further by applying Tile Doctor Shine Powder which is polished into the floor using a buffing pad; the powder add a really deep finish to the appearance of the Marble and hardens on the surface to provide durable surface protection.

Hopefully you can appreciate the difference in the Marble from the photographs; it was a tricky subject to capture due to the lighting; however I can tell you the customer was amazed by the finish.

Source: Marble problems resolved in Bedfordshire

Resolving Marble Tile Installation Issues

Posted on March 18, 2014 by AbzDominise

These photos are from a newly installed Polished Marble floor in the kitchen at a residence in Irthlingborough Northants which had been left covered in grout haze. The customer called the builder back as they were unhappy with the finish but he could not rectify the problem, so the customer contacted Tile Doctor to see if anything could be done.

This is a problem we often come up against where a builder or tiler does a good job of laying the tiles but for some reason doesn’t remove all the grout from the tile and we have even seen some jobs where the grout smears have been sealed over which makes it even more noticeable especially on a polished floor. Fortunately for the customer we are able to resolve such problems and after agreeing the process we set about solving the problem.

Marble Tiled Floor In Irthlingborough before cleaning

Burnishing Polished Marble Tiles

To protect the kitchen units from any splashing etc. all the kick boards were removed and plastic sheeting fitted to protect new doors and panels before any work was undertaken.

Polished Marble is a very hard surface that has to be burnished with diamond encrusted pads to restore the finish so we set about this task using a set of Tile Doctor Burnishing Pads. The pads come in a set of four, you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cut’s through and removes surface grime, surface seal and in this case grout haze as well. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish. The pads did the trick and had the surface polished to a high shine which was the look the customer was hoping they would have had in the first place.

The floor was looking great but I was concerned about the grout, most people don’t realise but the top layer of grout is actually slightly porous and will attract dirt and discolour over time, this is especially the case in a bathroom or kitchen. After discussing this with the customer we sealed the grout with Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal which provides a natural look whilst preventing contaminates reaching the grout.

All in the job took two days and the customer was extremely happy with the final result.

Marble Tiled Floor In Irthlingborough after cleaning

Source: Professional Marble Cleaning and Polishing Service in Northamptonshire

Commerical Marble Tiled Floor Restoration

Posted on February 7, 2014 by AbzDominise

Photographs below of a classic black and white Marble floor tile installation at premises in the city of Winchester. As you can see these Marble tiles had seen some traffic and were not in the best of condition following on from some building work that had been going on; fortunately we are quite used to dealing with these problem and have just the right products and equipment to restore them.

Marble Floor Tile Restoration Winchester Before

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

For best results on hard stone surfaces such as Marble we burnish the floor using a set of diamond encrusted polishing pads. You start with a coarse pad which applied with a little water to remove surface dirt and sealers etc. before moving through a set of finer polishing pads until you reach a high shine glossy finish.

Half way through the burnishing process we stopped to apply a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean along the grout lines and give them a scrub with stiff hand brushes repeating the process in stubborn areas.

Marble Floor Tile Restoration Winchester Finished

After the treatment the floor was washed do to remove any soiled solution before being buffed with a white buffing pad. Any trace of its previous condition was now gone and the floor was uniform in appearance, it took much of the day to do the polishing and a set of four burnishing pads to acquire the right lustre.

Source: Mabrle Floor Cleaning and Restoration Services in Hampshire

300m2 Marble Tiled Floor Cleaned and Polished

Posted on January 21, 2014 by AbzDominise

Following on from a referral from a Property Management company I paid a visit it to this palatial property in Oxshott which had approximately 300m2 of Marble tiled flooring that they wanted cleaning and re-polishing, my initial quotation to do this mechanically was too high so I offered an alternative using diamond encrusted burnishing pads which reduced the cost significantly. I didn’t receive an answer so I thought that was the end of it however five months later I got an email asking me to carry out the works.

Marble Tiled Floor Polishing

This was a very large area so we had two men working with burnishing pads in 10 metre sections. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the coarse pad together with a little water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through the other finer pads one by one until you get to the final polishing pad which provides a high polish.

Fortunately there were not many stains and the ones that were there came out quite easily. When we had completed a room using this system we then applied Tile doctor Shine powder which is a crystallising power worked into the floor using a white buffing pad and a little water; it adds an extra level of deep shine to the marble floor giving it that extra wow factor together with a tough durable finish, we did this working 1 m2 at a time.

This whole process took five days to complete and when we had finished the client came to inspect it with the homeowner. She was delighted with the final finish and has said that she will be recommending us to all her friends and clients. This is also great for the property manager because it has given him a good reputation for providing a trustworthy and highly skilled contractor for the works. Also he has promised us further work from his other clients including a job to carry out the external stone cleaning works for the same client.

Source: Marble Tile Polishing Service in Surrey

Dealing with Scratched Marble Floor Tiles

Posted on January 12, 2014 by AbzDominise

This Marble Tiled floor was installed in the conservatory of a house in Woodhall Spa who had asked if we could remove the scratches from their inherited marble tiles around the door area and where furniture had been dragged across the tile as shown in the photos. Interestingly our customer is a chief engineer on cruise ships all over the world and knew what this floor could look like if restored professionally.

Burnishing Mable Tiles

Other than the scratches the majority of the floor had been well maintained so the solution was to burnishing the marble back to its original condition using a set of diamond encrusted pads fitted to a slow speed machine and lubricated with a little water. The burnishing pads come in a set of four and applied to the floor with a little water one by one using a rotary machine running at slow speed.

The process starts with the coarse pad which strips back the top layer and removes sealers and dirt from the surface of the stone. The pads then become finer and finer with the last pad being a final polish that takes the tile back to near it’s originally intended shine. You can see from the photographs that we actually managed to resurface the marble, remove the scratches and we also filled in some small holes and then allowed the floor to dry overnight helped by our turbo drying system allowing for minimal drying times.

Marble Tile Sealing

The next day we applied two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer to the tiles, the sealer fills the pores of the stone protecting it from stains and this particular sealer also lifts the natural colours in the stone.

As you can see the scratches were removed and the tiles now shine and are protected and polished to a stunning finish that the customer was over the moon with and couldn’t thank us enough for the professional and excellent job on time and budget.

Source: Marble Tile Problems Solved in Lincolnshire

Removing Limescale from Tumbled Marble

Posted on December 2, 2013 by AbzDominise

This Tumbled Marble mosaic wet room floor was installed in a house in London, SE1 four years before prior and was now looking a little tired. This was mostly caused by a build-up of Limescale which had then become grimy.

Stripping a Tumbled Marble Floor

To treat the Limescale I used Tile Doctor Grout Clean Up which managed to remove most of the scale and to remove the remainder I steamed the tiles using an Earlex Steamer and carefully scraped any remaining Limescale residue away with a Stanley window scraper. To restore the marble itself I used Tile Doctor burnishing pads to re-polish the tiles using 17″ pads on the main area and 8″ pads on a hand-held Clarke polishing machine in the corners. These diamond encrusted pads come in a number of different colours and are applied one after another with each pad being a finer grade than the last. After thoroughly rinsing the stone again and removing the waste water with a wet vacuum. As the marble was naturally fast drying I used an Earlex heat gun to speed dry the floor and repeated this after lunch to ensure the floor was entirely dry before sealing.

Sealing Tumbled-Marble Tiles

Once the Marble tiles were dry I started to seal them using two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which is a great choice for natural stone as it enhances the natural colours in the tile as well as providing stain protection.

As the photographs show the results were very good and the customer was highly delighted.

Source: Marble Tile Maintenance in London

Cleaning and Polishing Marble Tiles

Posted on August 18, 2013 by AbzDominise

These photographs were taken at a house in Ealing, West London where the customer had requested a deep clean and polish of the marble tiled floors installed in a kitchen and conservatory which had become dull and dirty over a period of time.

Marble Tiled Floor Polishing

The first step was to give the Marble floor a thorough clean throughout with a medium dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an industrial strength Tile Cleaner safe to use on natural stone floors, we also took this opportunity to use a stiff brush along the grout lines to get them nice and clean, the soiled cleaning solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor rinsed with clean water.

The next step was to use a set of diamond encrusted Twister Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the floor. The pads come in a set of four; you start with the Red pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. You then progress through one by one until you get to the final Green polishing pad which provides a high polish, we managed to complete most of this process before the end of day.

Polishing and Sealing Marble Tile

The next day we completed the polishing process with the Green pad which really brought a deep shine to the floor. To protect the floor it was then sealed using Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which provides a natural finish whilst enhancing the natural colours in the tile. We waited for the sealer to dry before buffing it with a white buffing pad to bring up the shine further.

Source: Marble floor tile maintenance in South Buckinghamshire

Marble Tile Polishing in Buckinghamshire

Posted on July 23, 2013 by AbzDominise

A customer recently purchased a property the village of Chesham and hoped we could improve the appearance of her textured marble tiled floors which had over a number of years become dull and lost the polished marble look one would expect from a floor of this quality.

Marble Tile Cleaning and Polishing

For polished stone like Marble and Limestone the only way to restore the finish is to burnish the floor and this floor was no different. The burnishing pads are diamond encrusted and come in a setup of four seventeen inch pads for use with a heavy rotary machine, each pad having a different purpose.

So we started with the Red pad which is designed to remove sealers together with a little water, we then took the opportunity to clean up the grout by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and scrubbing it into the grout lines to get them clean. Next step was to remove the soiled cleaning solution and wash the floor down with water before moving onto the white burnishing pad which will grind off ingrained dirt and is the first step in polishing the floor. We then completed the floor polishing using the Yellow then Green polishing pads which smooth down the surface and produce a shiny finish.

Sealing Textured Marble Tiles

Once the floor was polished we applied Tile Doctor Shine Crystallising Powder to the marble tile using a rotary machine fitted with a white polishing pad. This last step gives a very deep high shine as well as a tough durable finish.

When the customer returned she asked was it safe to walk on as the floor as at first glance it looked wet; we assured her this is the Tile Doctor high shine appearance and is perfectly ok.

Source: Professional Marble Polishing in Buckinghamshire