Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems
Polishing & Surface Restoration Done Right
by Peter J. Marcucci
Photos by Steve Anneker & Larry Hood
Mouse over photos for captions
Combining leading-edge technology with practical design, Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems, based in Lorane, Oregon, is constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation, offering high-performance polishing compounds and specially designed pads that address and correct surface issues stone fabricators and restoration experts face every day.
Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems compounds are developed using a cohesive blend of alloy-based and metal-based jet-milled media, and contain no acids or chemicals like many other “polishing restoration” products. All are 100 percent natural, and according to Steve, all are very environmentally safe to use. Grits range in increments of 3,000, 6,000, 8,000, and 14,000, and a very soft polish equivalent to a 60,000 mesh is also available.
Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems polishing pads are constructed using natural chamois and fitted with an industrial grade hook and loop fastening system to hang tight, even at high RPM. The pads are designed to draw the polishing media in, instead of spraying it around. The result: microscopic stone particles and media are blended and working together as you’re polishing. Simply put, tiny surface particles of the material you’re working on mixes with the polishing media to enhance the polishing process.
“Our pads and media will polish anything—even Terrazzo and super heat-sensitive materials,” explained Steve Anneker, Inventor and Owner of Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems. “It’s all about application and how you apply it that makes the difference.”
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
The success story began a decade ago when Steve had a scratch in his own countertop. With a degree in electronic engineering and many years spent in the aerospace industry, Steve had all the skills to address, analyze and develop a solution, and after eight years of research and development (trial and error, he’ll humbly tell you), learned how to remove and perfectly restore countertops.
The result years later: safe and environmentally friendly products that offer a reduction in time and labor at both shop and job site. By blending state-of-the-art polishing compounds and pads, with proven techniques, Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems has set the benchmark for a “one size fits all,” easy-to-use kit to restore marble, granite, onyx, engineered stone, glass, and terrazzo to its original (or better in some cases) shine.
Steve’s developments are a testament to just how far an aggressive company can combine technology with a resourceful, common sense approach to create a brilliant conclusion.
“As a kid I polished rocks, and (many years later) when I discovered a scratch in my Black Galaxy countertop I was challenged to solve it, and took action. I began an eight year trial and error approach to not only removing a scratch, but to bring back the factory shine as well.”
In order to achieve that like-new finish, Steve had to learn how the mirror finish on his granite top was originally achieved. “The factory doesn’t use a bunch of chemicals to polish the material. They use dyes and resins to either densify the material to get a high, crisp polish, or to enhance it to hide defects. So, that said, there are only three ways to polish, period.
“The first is using an abrasive media where you use progressively finer and finer grits while creating a flat surface. The second way is using a filler to create a shine. A good example of this is whenever you get a dull or scratched stone wet, it fills in all the micro fissures and fractures. The third way, which is what the stone industry does, is combine the two. The factory will cut the surface and typically introduce pigments and resin fillers at about 150 grit. After drying, the slab is brought to a high polish, mechanically.
“A good example of this process is the standard Absolute Black granite on the market today. It is typically dyed, so in order for us to get that matching color back, we also need to introduce pigments.”
Most factory polishes start at 101 on a gloss meter and go up from there, and that’s where Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems comes in. Steve’s compounds and pads are the bridge from where wet polishing leaves off (about 80-90 on the gloss meter), to a factory reading of +101. It’s a very flexible system that will mechanically polish any marble, granite, onyx or engineered stone.
Additionally, it is the only system that allows you to polish glass and terrazzo. So if you want to achieve a flat and uniform polish as an end result– a true mechanical polish, which is what the factory does– a mechanical polishing process is the only option.
Steve continued, “The reason that factories are applying resin to so much of the material these days, is that many quality granites and marbles have been quarried out. In order to take the quarries from a 10 percent production rate, which is typically what many were getting, they are basically gluing the stone together to achieve a 40-50 percent production rate. They are filling in all the micro fissures, voids, cracks and gaps in the material to densify it in order to hold it together, in order to put a high polish on it.
“I have spoken with various quarries, and their recommendations are pretty clear: if you are working with the edges of the material or doing a surface repair, the proper way to do that is to reintroduce the resins and or pigments into the material, and then proceed with your polishing. At Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems, we have done that very successfully.
“Typically we use Akemi Super Penetrating Acrylic. It lends itself to be a very good adhesive and great at densifying these natural products. Acrylic actually has a crystalline structure to it unlike some of the epoxies. That said, factories are using various specially designed epoxies in order to densify the materials. And when they’re using them they are slow-curing the materials, even baking them.
“Ironically, the amount of time it takes to process one of these slabs is ten to eighteen hours. There is also microwave technology, primarily used in Brazil, and it’s allowing them to process a slab in about five hours, which is pretty good.”
The System: The Right Tools for the Job
Steve’s products are 100 percent made in the U.S., and his pads feature industrial grade hook and loop fasteners for attachment to the tool. The reason is that the fabricator or restoration expert is using high speed and polishing media, instead of pressure and acid, to create heat.
“Most fabricators know that you need a certain amount of heat to get a polish to pop, so the industrial grade ‘Velcro’ that they use allows their pads to grab on and stay on. When it grabs, it grabs really good, and it takes two hands to pull that pad off the machine,” says Steve. He suggest that the backer used, on whatever tool you’re using, is new or in very good condition. He also said he prefers an electric orbital instead of a rotary tool, such as an electric right angle grinder.
“A right angle grinder is a rotary action machine and uses centrifugal force and friction when applying any polishing media,” explained Steve, “whereas and orbital tool lets you polish heat sensitive materials without distorting the surface or burning it. That means that engineered stone that’s been sitting in the yard and faded, can be renewed and used as an add-on next to material originally installed in a client’s home, prior.
“It may, however, void the warranty, so I suggest calling the manufacturer before doing so. There are a lot of people using our products worldwide, and once you understand the process and get the major principals down and understand that it is a true mechanical polish, you will be able to do some amazing things!”
The Process
“When you think about ‘what is polishing, what are we trying to achieve, what is the surface, and how has the surface manifested itself,’ well, in most cases, if the surface is hazy or something of that nature, it is because the surface is coarser and more pronounced than the surrounding area. So when you’re polishing, what you’re trying to do is bring that coarse area to the same level as the surrounding area of the stone, so the light has a uniform refraction and is not being split microscopically across the surface.
“Those microscopic ridges are actually splitting the light and not allowing it to achieve a uniform refraction and so it looks gray or hazy. By understanding that, we know that when we go to the polishing stage we don’t want to grind it or cut it down, we simply want to gently, shave it.
“When you are polishing you are actually shaving off smaller and smaller scratches and creating a flat surface, and the flatter the surface, the higher the shine.
“Indigenous stones, sedimentary stones and compression stones all have different characteristics, and then you have the different types of engineered products with different types of polymers that are heat sensitive. The great thing about our process is that you can control the heat easily through the cycles of wet and dry polishing, and if you need a really cold polishing process, then we do it orbitally.
“An orbital, unlike a rotary action, is spirographic, so it does not have that rotational force and friction which generates that heat dramatically. Orbital action that takes the heat down to a point where you can almost run it dry on an engineered stone and it won’t burn it. It does allow a maximum application of the abrasive media to the substrate that we are working on.
“So, we can mix and match these different techniques based on the different types of materials that we are working on. We can increase the rotary action of an orbital by increasing the pad size and, as well, increase the air and water flow ration which allows us to keep the temperature down and still get a maximum polish on those materials that are sensitive to heat.
“We’ve had great success polishing heat sensitive marble and onyx with a orbital sander, bringing up the luster to well into the 100 to 107 range on the gloss meter.
“When selecting a rotary or orbital machine there are a couple of things that are crucial that a user should look for. Number one is making sure the backer is rigid and not soft because that, too can create waves in the surface. Remember that the surface type of the material can directly affect the application of your media and how you apply it and that is a rule! If you use a rotary you will have waves or scratches—if you do it orbitally you are going to get a nice finish.
“Another advantage of using an orbital sander is that your hands are cupped around the machine and the center of axis is usually down the center of the machine into the pad, so you don’t have a cantilever effect and offers more control of the tool and, therefore, lessens the chance of ripples. So how you apply it make a difference.
“We don’t offer diamond pads. We’ve designed everything around it and what we refer to as application of media. That said, I do prefer to use rigid diamond pads when bringing granite up through the grits. The reason being, is if you use soft pads, it can create a rippling effect and you’ll get waves in the surface, whereas if a rigid pad is used it creates a flatter surface. You can use diamonds on everything, but they are not always the best.
“So that said, select the correct abrasives and take it out orbitally, because an orbital is very consistent and forgiving, especially for someone that hasn’t done a lot of polishing and it is very difficult to mess it up.
“You then go through the grits making sure that you maximize them. The basic process, as far as our system goes, was designed to take over from where you would typically leave off with your diamond pads, about 3,000 grit.
“Typically, gloss readings at this point will be from 80-90 on a gloss meter. Some people ask me what about using a 6,500 pad or a buff pad. I tell them that you can absolutely do that if you want to. If anything it will just shorten the time on the final buff.
“So once you’re done with those grits, if you’re doing a natural stone, typically our 6,000 and our 8,000 media is used to a factory finish and pretty much standard.
“If you’re working on a marble top has been slightly etched or has a light haze on it, due to a spill of some sort, our product will absolutely bring it back. In fact, the most effective means that I’ve found to use on soft stone is our four-inch pad.
“The difference is the flute spacing and the button area in the center of them. The four inch pad has a wider spacing of the flute and a larger button, and it lends itself to more air flow and more water movement which allows us to keep the material cooler.
“So if we run our power tool with that four inch pad and do wet-dry oscillations at about six thousand RPM, you will find that it will buff up a shine that is unbelievable. We also make a soft polish that is the finest that we have, and that will actually take you beyond the shine that the factory did with no flutters.
“Also, their compounds are made of different alloys which are oxidize or jet-milled to very specific micron sized particles. They are then combined to create the variety of grits. Additionally, their polishing pads made of chamois is a natural product, too.
“A lot of fabricators don’t understand that when you are doing a true mechanical polishing process you have to be very, very thorough with the lower grits, because they are the foundation to your finish. So you have to be very consistent and make sure you maximize that abrasive media whatever grit it would be.
“For example, 800 grit: you want to make sure you maximize that prior to going to a 1,500 grit. What many people don’t understand is how to actually tell, and it took me a while to figure it out. Many times we cannot determine how hard the material is, but we can control the amount of time we apply it to the surface. We know that an 800 grit is only going to cut to an 800 grit.
“So, with that being known, when I believe that I’ve maximized that grit to its full potential, I will just spend an additional few minutes in a small section and then I’ll wipe it down and look at it. If I see a difference in the finishes I then know that I have to spend more time on the surrounding areas. I will then wipe it down again and if there is no difference I know I am ready to go to my 1500 grit.
“Fabricators are so used to doing the edges of material where you have all of the energy of the machine manifesting itself through the pad and it will fluctuate between a sixteenth to a quarter of an inch of the cross section of the pad. So you’re actually getting a lot more energy focused on the edge than you would have on the surface of the material, and working on the surface will take you longer.
“Someone who has only done edges only knows how long it takes to do edge detailing and not an accurate representation of how long it take to polish a surface – especially when you are doing a mechanical polish.”
A Brilliant Advantage in an
Ever Changing Industry
Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems are just one of a handful of companies that advocate the use of an all natural mechanical polish, and the company has fallen in line with sustainability requirements and, moreover, the EPA cracking down on chemical use.
There are no chemicals like crystallizing agents that utilize acids to manipulate the structure of the stone. They don’t do that and that’s the basis for this product. So in the environment it’s non toxic, and very healthy for the fabricator, installer or restoration expert to use to facilitate a repair or to polish a seam.
And because it doesn’t use any acids or toxic chemicals it’s also safe for the homeowner because it doesn’t leave anything behind that could be potentially dangerous to the homeowner. As a plus, Steve has been working with the National Science Foundation (NSF), a government agency that validates the safety of a product.
Upon validation, the product is confirmed certified and gets to bear the NSF Sustainability logo. Ironically, certification and sustainability is becoming more and more prevalent. In fact, noted Steve, the Marble Institute of America is now having some sustainable stone standards put into their certification.
“It’s clear that everything is rolling towards sustainability in this market. When you’re doing a chemical finish you are supposed to be wearing some very complex personal protective clothing. Unfortunately, many people are not and we will probably see some ill effects of this down the road.
“But more importantly, the EPA is cracking down hard on restoration experts and fabricators for the poor handling of these chemicals. I do know of people who have gotten fined for not handling the chemicals properly.
“The advantage to using our product is that you don’t have the environmental impact. When done, you just wipe it down and you are finished. While speaking with Fred Hueston, he stated that another advantage to using a true mechanical polish is that it is actually more durable than a chemically induced polish. A mechanical polish will also last longer because it doesn’t disturb the structure of the stone. A chemical polish will actually break down the stone.”
On the Cutting Edge and
Ahead of the Curve
Steve’s Polishing Pro Systems is always on the cutting edge of research and development, and is currently fleshing out their own brand of electric orbital polisher. Also in development are new blends of compounds and pads tailored for...well, you’ll just have to wait.
Steve personally offers training classes that go way beyond what anybody else out there is teaching, including hands-on classes taught every-other month at Braxton-Bragg’s Knoxville, Tennessee facility.
“There is a huge untapped market out there. Fabricators know how to make stone products and install them but not how to fix or restore them. They’ll take my class and open up a restoration business and then come back and tell me that they’re making more money doing repairs and restoration than fabricating and installing. Our products make the restoration and fabricator’s job much easier and much more affective.
“We hold three-day classes at Braxton-Bragg and we cover, in-depth, everything a person needs to know in three full days. We typically start with the different types of natural stone pigments, resins, fissures – microscopic pictures of different types – so attendees understand the background material. That’s our main focus on the first day.
“We also do a seam on Absolute Black granite. The next day is tailored towards the resins. We re-resin, we work on soft-sensitive natural materials. We use pigments and how to dye and what stages. Based on pigment size you dye at different stages and then finish up by polishing glass.
“Through the course you’re also learning about application of media, identifying a halo and bloom that you can find on the outside. Then we learn how to make that go away, because once you understand that it is coarser than the surrounding area, you can use an orbital and shave that down and blend it so you don’t windup struggling with it.
“The last day is all about engineered stone, and the different resin types. Polishing ES is a multi-stage process, in order to achieve that factory finish. There are a lot of different materials that the factories are putting into engineered stone now. So we learn how to address them. In fact, I don’t know of anyone that is teaching how to refinish engineered stone.
“It’s a very in-depth class for three days and will earn you the knowledge, plus certification in advanced polishing techniques, and that is probably the best way to learn and avoid mistakes. If someone has purchased our kit, there is a technical support line and I personally with help them resolve the issue they are having.
“Our kits are a great way to go, and if you run out of one iterm, refills are available. There are three different size refills of compounds, so if you are doing really large areas you can buy the larger 545 gram jar. The different size pads are also available separately, too.
“Additionally, by request, custom size pads are also available. All of our products are made in the U.S. and if there is any kind of failure I will replace if it is any kind of manufacturing defect I will absolutely replace it.
For more information on his process, email Steve at swa@stevespolishingprosystems.com or visit Braxton-Bragg at www.braxtonbragg.com to sign up for one of his hands-on seminars. Look in our September issue for an in-depth reveal of some of Steve’s process.