Polishing Marble Floors

[whirlcool]

When we moved in this house 8 years ago, we installed a marble floor in our foyer. It's a light wheat colored floor with gold/gray threads running through it. Very nice.

When it was installed it had a very shiny glass like finish on it. I swear you could see your face in it. But now after 8 years of traffic and dogs lounging on it to cool off every bit of shine is gone. We have only washed it with hot water.

How do we get the original shine back on the surface? Is there a procedure?

 

[mixfinder]

Liquid Shine

There is a commercial preparation that acts similar to floor wax. Clean the floor thoroughly and then lay down a coat of the floor finish. It will shine like the stars and it lasts quite a while. Marbalife is one product but I found a product that hotels use that is sold by the gallon in a warehouse supply store. Its been almost 30 years since we live in a house with marble so I can't remember the name of the product.

 

[bleacho]

marble,,,,i have it too, and looking...

my marble is 20 yers old.. ive been here for 5. i have tried everything to get the luster up and deep cleaned.
i heard of an acid process, but its difficult to get anyone out to see the house.. its not a large size, approximately 12x10 and a 3x20- everyone wants a large job..
luckily today i stopped at an ORECK dealer. they have a machine they sell that brings the luster and cleans it as well. not only that but they offer the service to come out and do it for you.. guy said it would run about 250.-300 dollars(not bad at all.) they are calling me monday to set up an appointment. hope this info helps you. if you want more info on this, let me know, i be happy to pass it along.

 

[whirlcool]

You see this high gloss marble on floors in airports and in hotels in high use traffic areas. So there must be someway to keep it glossy.

 

[mrb627]

Natural Stone

I have a natural stone floor in my kitchen area. It needs a good cleaning and polishing. I had Stanley Steamer come out a couple of months ago to clean the carpets and they wont touch anything but ceramic tile.

I wonder if all Oreck stores offer the cleaning service.

Malcolm

 

[michaelman2]

I know that large Terrazzo and marble floors need a sealant and like Mixfinder advised above it is a product very much like an acrylic floor wax but little or no acid ph. I read that you only clean it with hot water, but there is a special non-acidic cleaner that is made for these floors.

The product that I use on mine and also a slate floor is something that I got from Home Depot and it was called Sealers Choice Gold 15 by Aquamix a "sealant" a very thin coat provided a high durable gloss....but mind you...it is really a "wax" that will have to be stripped and reapplied every so often. PS, never use any acid based product on marble..EVER...marble is somewhat porous and you will end up with a very expensive mess as the acid clouds the shine very deep into the stone. Even Windex and dish soap are too acidic.

 

[whirlcool]

We bought a bottle of Henkle SOFIX Stone at the Miele store a couple of years ago. Haven't tried it yet. Since the weather is so nice, I think we'll try it this afternoon.

 

[mixguy]

Never anything acidic on Marble

Marble is mostly Calcium Carbonate and is highly reactive with any acid! Marble is highly porous and and is best protected by applying a floor sealant/finish. The more glossy the finish, the more dangerous it is when wet, please bear that in mind for safety. Before sealants, people waxed and polished marble floors, the wax sealed the pores and created the shiny surface. Today we want an easier way to have and keep floors shining! I have sealed (not polyurathane) oak floors and I use Johnson's paste wax and an old Regina polisher from 1955. I pass the polisher with felt pads to buff out scuffs between wax applications.