Page 17 - Demo

SlIppery rock GazeTTe
January 2023|17
Marble vanity after restoration using Majestic 5X Gold. In my opinion, 5X
Stone Restoration and Maintenance Corner
Product Review
Happy New Year to all the Slippery Rock readers! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday time with your families and friends. It’s the beginning of a new year, so I wanted to talk about some products, directions for use, and appropri- ate applications. As I am somewhat of an authority on the subject, let’s discuss M3 Technology’s most popular products.
First things first: unfortunately, prices are rising again. Chemical prices are rising due to raw materials costs, as are machine prices, too. Diamond pricing will be right behind as the cost of resins will be increas- ing as well. Freight costs pretty much go up at every year’s end, around the holi- days. I don’t say these things to bum every- one out. I just want you to be prepared so you can adjust your pricing accordingly to help ensure you remain profitable. It is
© MARK ANDERSON. www.andertoons.com
Bob Murrell
M3 Technologies
Photos by Bob Murrell
what it is. Let’s talk about polishing. To me, polishing is usually considered the final step in a progressive form of abrasive action (smoothing), from coarse to fine. Once stone is honed to an acceptable sur- face profile pattern (to many this is some- where between 400 grit and 800 grit, for most marble and similar materials). Of course, these grits may not be sufficient for some from stones and a higher grit hone may be required (such as an 800, 1,800, or even 3,500), prior to polishing. The green marbles (serpentines) are a good example of a stone which may require more steps to achieve a good polish.
I will normally go to my favorite pol- ish, Majestic 5X Gold, 90% of the time for most marble. Sometimes, I use more
Gold is absolutely the best marble polishing powder in the world.
“So, your answer is ‘bark bark?’ Well, would it interest you to know that in your sworn deposition from January 6, you said, and I quote: ‘Bow wow wow?!’ Well, which is it, Rex?”
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” –Mark Twain
This marble pedestal vanity was etched and worn from years of useand lack of proper care.
5X per square foot than other times. And sometimes, I may use more or less water. I can also vary the weight of the machine, the number of passes (time) spent per square foot, or even the type of pad. These are most of the variables that can be adjusted when using this type of pow- der polish process. So the same applies to Majestic DiaBrite 10X, Majestic XXX, and Majestic Marble Polishing Compound (MPC), as all of these type products are used in the same manner. I suggest every contractor have at least a few of these pow- der polishing products on their trucks or vans for when the recommended test area is first completed. Confirm which product works best on that particular material.
When using polishing powders, it is easy to leave what I call heat swirls and slight surface blemishes as a result of the polish- ing process. Sometimes it just happens, on some stones more than others. I found out a few years ago, from one of my customers, that running a 12,000 grit PLP diamond impregnated pad cleans up the marble per- fectly after polishing. I just run the PLP 12,000 wet in some quick passes across the floor, and any heat swirls and minor imper- fections are easily “popped.” Do your own test to confirm this trick for yourself.
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