Page 17 - Demo

Slippery Rock Gazette
November 2023 | 17
Deep scratching staining and wear on the
StSotonneeRestorattioionnanadnd
Maintenance Corner
Maintenance Corner
Going from Polished to Honed
INrecent articles I discussed
Bob Murrell
re-honing countertops, van-
M3 Technologies
ities, and even floors. These
Photos by Bob Murrell
surfaces do need periodic re-honing to
remove any bad etching and scratching
hard-to-access areas. You need to dull these that has become too obvious from regular
down so they will blend with the newly honed surface.
wear and tear. Even honed surfaces will
ultimately show these wear issues, albeit
This is also true when transitioning a pol- much less than a polished surface.
ished flooring surface to a honed surface. Low areas will still remain polished and will
But what about existing polished surfaces?
show up, big-time. These must be dealt with by either removing all lippage or as described Can they be transformed from a polished sur-
above, on the countertops.
face to a honed surface? There are obvious
reasons for doing this, especially in a func-
Use of a honing powder can be quite help- ful in this scenario, too. You can use the cen- tional or heavy wear setting, such as a kitchen
ter of a natural or white pad and some 150 grit or flooring surface.
The easy answer is yes, of course they can be
honing powder to help make the transition, working around hardware or for low areas in honed. However, there can be some problem-
a floor, in transitioning from a polished sur- atic issues with this polished to honed opera-
tion. What do you do for all of the tight spots,
face to a honed surface.
So, the next question comes up is: what like around the faucets, stove tops, sinks, and
against the backsplash or other vertical sur-
level of hone will be required? The answer faces? Ideally, all of the hardware should be
will depend somewhat on the type and color of the stone being worked. For a recent large removed, as this would remedy most of these
issues except for the transition lines between
white marble kitchen countertop, where all of the counters and vertical surfaces.
the horizontal surfaces would be transitioned from a polished to a honed surface, the new These tight spaces on the counters must
be dealt with by tedious hand work. Use of
homeowners decided that a 100 grit finish was diamond hand pads and even acids (for cal-
the desired look. All of the vertical surfaces (backsplash and tiered center island splash) cium-based stones) can help with these
Test area completed on center island, where the 100 grit honed finish was decided. Notice the partition wall (foam core board) and the masking on the range.
countertop. The previous owners obviously did not believe in cutting boards!! LOL!
would remain polished. This was really a very cool look.
Other stones may look better when honed to a 200 grit or even a 400 grit. Just remember, the higher in grit the surface is taken to, the more it will show both etching and scratching.
This particular polished white marble coun- tertop was excessively scratched and etched. The previous owners must have used the counters for cutting and chopping. Can you believe it, lol? I know that many of you have run into the same problem, where the client doesn’t have or even know what a cutting board is, lol!
The scratches in this countertop were so deep that it took quite a lot of passes, even using the 100 grit ELF flexible metal bond. Typically, a 220 grit would suffice for a start- ing point on countertop repairs. But hey, that’s how the finished level of hone was decided. I really don’t think that a 200 grit disc would have been very productive on these heavy scratches.
© MARK ANDERSON. www.andertoons.com
The extra-long marble double vanity was also honed and re- polished.
It was at this point that a 120 grit diamond hand pad was used in conjunction with the Majestic Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner acid product, to take care of the areas around fixtures and horizontal/vertical intersections. Diamond hand pads are a must, when dealing with countertops and vanities. The acid was used (undiluted) with a cotton swab, where the diamond hand pad could not reach. It took several applications to get the polish to dull adequately. Care should be taken when using undiluted acids around certain metals. Protect with masking and use caution. Keep some RTU Majestic No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner handy, to neutralize and rinse the acid after use.
Please turn to page 25
“I’ve made my peace with Thanksgiving. Just do me one favor – don’t take any crap from your sister, Evelyn.”