Page 15 - Demo

Slippery Rock Gazette
Stone Restoration Corner
Continued from page 14
Below: Altar rail cleaning in progress, using application of Prosoco Liquid Marble Cleaner. Right: Baptimal fountain, before and after removing years of chemical residue build-up.
January 2025 | 15
The Baptismal fountain had a lot of etch- ing from the water not being treated and from the splashing. All the marble surfaces had to be sanded/honed and polished. The bottom of the Holy Water bowls devel- oped a yellowish crusty layer that had to be sanded off and polished. Everything went as planned with the cleaning of everything on the high altar area. After all that clean- ing was done, the technicians went on to tackle the marble flooring, and Patricia and
I went on to cleaning the altar railings. The 2 technicians were tasked with replacing 7 tiles in the floor, replacing grout where missing, cleaning all the grout lines, sand- ing and polishing the marble floor. In some areas of the badly scratched and worn mar- ble floors, they started with 50 grit dia- mond abrasives and brought the finish up to an 800 grit diamond abrasive from M3 Technologies. Then they polished the floor with Majestic 5X polishing compound. The
marble floors came up absolutely beautiful. The Altar railings were another chal- lenge, as all the surrounding areas were covered with carpet and the church had to be turned back over on the weekends so mass could be held. With all the water that needed to be used to clean all the intricate detailed sculptures/ornaments, the carpet needed to be protected. We used 20 foot- wide 6 mil heavy plastic sheets and duct tape to attach the plastic sheets to the very bottom of each of the 4 altar railings. We then put 4 x 8 -foot hardboard sheets on top of the plastic so we could vacuum up the water as we were washing the cleaner off of the altar railings. This worked out quite well, the carpet did not even get wet, just a
little damp in a few areas.
Above: Badly scratched and worn areas of the marble floor restored like new.
Left: The talented crew of Classic Marble & Stone Restoration.
This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects that gave us all a lot of personal satisfaction to be able to complete. Having great people from the church to work with was a plus: Leonard Hazel, Jim King, Jr. and Father David Bechtel. We also hired a retired local person that the church recom- mended who helped us with the project – Jim King, Sr. who was great to work with.
I would like to give special thanks to Dr. Fred Hueston of Stoneforensics.com and Bob Murrell of M3 Technologies for their support and some technical assistance to help us complete this project.
I always recommend doing a test area on any project to confirm both the results and procedure. Also, the best way to help ensure success is by partnering with a good distributor, like BB Industries, that knows the business. They can help with technical support, product purchase deci- sions, logistics, and other pertinent project information.
As we start this New Year, I wish you and your families a safe and very prosper- ous 2025.
Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and is well known for his expertise in natural stone, tile, and decorative concrete restoration and maintenance. He helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the industry, and is currently the Director of Operations for M3 Technologies. Send your com- ments and questions to Bob at attn: publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net .