honing polished black floors

Dear Maurizio, We have a house whose main level has 2' x 2' by 5/8" think absolute black polished marble floors (installed in 1989 with 1 3/4" of mortar). They are utterly solid/intact, but we dont like the polished look. We are wondering if these floors can be honed, and if so how? We also have 4 fireplace mantels in polished black that we may want to hone. Thanks so much for your assistance, Richard and Elizabeth in SF CA

 

Dear Richard:

Are you sure it's marble?

The denomination “black absolute (or absolute black)” belongs to a specific mercantile granite, not marble. There is black marble, of course, but no such an animal like “black absolute” marble.

Now, if it is marble, it can be easily honed with a good-quality honing powder.

If it is a mercantile granite it could still be honed, but since the stone is much harder the floor would have to be ground first, then honed with diamond pads and finally honed with a honing powder for perfect uniformity. Add to that all the edge work (relatively easy and fast if it was marble), and you're looking at major bucks.

Moreover, no matter whether it's marble or “granite”, it will not be black anymore. It will become gray, which implies big maintenance issues in the form of surface staining (not deeply imbedded stains – just surface stains). The only way to minimize the problem would be to treat the entire floor with a good quality stone color enhancer like MB-6 to give it back it's black color, though still with a hone finish.

All that said, whether it's marble or “granite” it is certainly not a DIY project. It would take a professional stone restoration contractor and a very good one at that to boot. The same contractor could take care of your fireplaces, as well.

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 10-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm .   Among a well of valuable information, in there you will also find priceless tips on how to properly install stone in a bathroom.

And remember, every single penny of the cost of the literature will be used to support this site and its cause: your cause.

While you are in the “Helpful Hints” section, do spend some time reading all of the interesting FREE articles you'll find in there!

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Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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