Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

M3 Technologies

Photos by Bob Murrell

This black and white marble foyer was showing its age, and was part of a whole-house restore and makeover. This was a high-profile project, but it also meant working around the other contractor’s “stuff.”

There is an exquisite home built around the turn of the century, located is in a very upscale neighborhood. The general contractor (GC) for this complete restore and update is well known and has an excellent reputation. Therefore, this restoration is a very high profile project to say the least. I will say that I have been in many very nice and expensive homes in my lengthy career, but this one had a natural charm about it, for sure. Not overly fancy, just cozy and very well made. 

I expected to see the traditional black and white marble foyer, and was not disappointed. Thicker material was used instead of the more modern 3/8-inch 12 x 12 tiles. It was a very solid installation. The only issue with this marble install was that all of the borders were comprised of the black marble. Of course, this meant that all border edges had to be perfect, especially since the floor did require some honing due to long term wear, scratching, and some etching.  

There was only some very mild lippage so I did not need to totally flatten. Just to complicate the job, there was plenty of old wax and acrylic floor finish present. This was more than likely accumulated over many years of improper maintenance procedures. It was most evident in the grout lines, under doors hinge areas, low areas (lippage), and along the baseboards.

Another issue for this project was sharing the jobsite with other contractors, who were all working on their projects at the same time. Doors and trim were being refinished while granite countertops and marble backsplash were being installed. The best time for me to work was after 4 p.m., when most of these other companies were leaving.

Above Left: Working around black marble edging is very challenging, and most always means there will be complications. Above Right: Removing decades of layers of wax buildup meant resorting to razorblades and handtools, very time-consuming but sure-fire methods.

Majestic Ultra Strip was used, per the directions on the label, in combination with a black stripping pad under a slow-speed weighted marble machine. I know what you are thinking: a black pad could scratch the marble, and you would be correct. However, the marble was already scratched so honing was required. So, it was decided to go ahead and get the old coatings off as quickly as possible, so the honing process could officially begin.  

Naturally, just when you think you have removed all of the finish coatings, you have are not done yet. Bummer, right? The aforementioned grout lines, low areas, and areas along the baseboards had to be dealt with using razor blades. The stripper softened the hard-to-reach finish and the razor blades were able to get it off. Unfortunately, this all required all handwork that was both very meticulous and time-consuming. And, just when you think you’ve got it all, you find some more. Remember: always allow for plenty of time to get coatings removal properly done prior to a natural polish conversion. 

Once the finish coatings were 98 percent removed, Majestic Deep Cleaner Stripper/Degreaser was used with a non-abrasive scrub brush under the marble machine. This helped to remove any residues left from the stripping process and to further clean the grout lines. 

It was decided that initial honing with a diamond impregnated pad might help prevent any picture framing due to any low areas (lippage). Also, the homeowner thought a honed floor might be more reflective (pardon the pun) of the original look of the floor. So a 200 grit PLP diamond impregnated pad was tested to see how well it would hone the floor. It would have saved countless hours had it worked as intended. This was not the case however, so honing with diamond discs was the new plan. 

Do you remember that I mentioned the entire border was comprised of the black marble? This meant that the border edges basically had to be perfect. All of the floor finish and scratches had to be perfectly removed and restored as they would certainly stick out like a sore thumb. So, 5-inch Velcro-backed resin diamond discs with a right-angle slow speed hand tool were tried. Sadly, because the border was black, the resulting, unacceptable round leading edge was way too noticeable against the baseboard, and of course the corners could not be adequately addressed, either. Therefore, it was decided to use diamond hand pads (2 ¼ x 3 ¾) in 220 grit, 400 grit, and finally 800 grit to address all borders, corners, and any low areas. 

This was extremely tedious and time-consuming to do correctly, but the results were exactly what the doctor ordered. 

The client initially asked for a “period” honed finished, but they relented after I demonstrated the effect of a complete repolishing.

So ultimately, honing of the main floor started with 220 grit TX Triple Thick diamond discs under the marble machine, after the 220 grit diamond hand pad had been applied around the border edges. I normally use five of each grit, but some prefer six. This is a personal preference and also has to do with the stone and the application. Once the floor looked consistent and after each additional edge step, the TX 400 grit discs were used, and then finally finished using 800 grit TX discs. 

A small amount of Majestic Stone Soap was added to the solution tank to help increase diamond life, help condition the stone for better color, and it also help with slurry removal. Pro Tip: I always suggest keeping some Stone Soap in the solution tank when grinding, honing, and polishing. 

At this point, the floor looked OK, but just didn’t have that overall historical appearance factor the homeowner desired. PLP diamond impregnated pads in both 800 grit and 1500 grit were tried to help with both color and gloss levels, which helped a little, but certainly was no slam-dunk. It was at this point the honed floor idea was thankfully abandoned. So in the end, a polished look was agreed upon to deliver that perfect touch.  

The Majestic XXX Shine premium polishing powder with a natural (hog hair) pad was chosen for this project as it tends to perform well on both white and black marble. Majestic 5X or Marble Polishing Compound may well have worked just fine, too. So all of the edges were polished first with the hand tool and then the main floor was polished with the floor machine, overlapping to blend. The XXX Shine did the job perfectly and the floor shined like the top of the Chrysler building!  

Of course, no project is complete until an easy-to-follow maintenance program is given to the homeowner, complete with product and specific instructions. In this case, Majestic No-Rinse Neutral Cleaner was prescribed.

Both the GC and the homeowner were very pleased, and that is, of course, the main objective. When you attain this goal, it generally equates to payment in full.

Most every project has some issues. Black or dark marble around the borders can most assuredly add complications. So I cannot stress enough: always try to submit a test area to confirm both the results and procedure before general application, and please consult your distributor for direction, product recommendations, and technical support.  

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.