Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

M3 Technologies

Photos by Bob Murrell

M3 Technologies, Inc. is coming up on 30 years of providing quality products and technical assistance to hard surface restoration professionals across the country and around the world. Gad Schmidt started the company in 1995. Based out of beautiful Cohasset, Massachusetts, the company is a highly-focused supplier of abrasives, chemicals, and specialty equipment, all geared towards the restoration and maintenance of marble, terrazzo, granite and all natural stone, concrete, and ceramic tile surfaces.

Neutral Cleaner – Majestic No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner is the best maintenance product for all natural stone, terrazzo, concrete, and ceramic tile installations.

The M3 Majestic line of quality stone care products is, without a doubt, one of the leading brands of chemical products for the hard surface restoration and maintenance professional in the industry. The Majestic No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner is our number two selling product for a good reason: it is the best maintenance cleaner for natural stone available anywhere, period. It is used in hospitals, airports, casinos, commercial properties and even by homeowners around the world. It contains “optical brighteners” so that it requires no rinsing and leaves the surface sharper and crisper than competitive products. Every completed project should be left with instructions on how to use Majestic No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner. Remember that when clients use their own maintenance product, your work cannot be guaranteed.

M3 offers high quality epoxy resin diamond discs, like our TX Triple Thick series. These semi-flexible diamond discs are a staple for every marble, terrazzo, and limestone flooring restoration contractor for grinding, honing, and/or polishing. I dare say these are some of the most popular diamond discs on the market, and very cost effective, too. As an example, many marble (or similar) floors typically require the honing of traffic wear patterns using a 220 grit, 400 grit, and on some floors as high as an 800 grit, before beginning the polishing process. Of course there are some floors, like serpentine (green marble) that may require going higher in grit before polishing. FYI, epoxy resin diamonds are typically more colorful than other resin matrix diamonds.

Above: The M3 Technologies epoxy resin lineup starts with the industry standard Triple Thick (TX) and includes the Rosettes (ROS3 & ROS4), Typhoons (TYP3 & TYP4), and AA Turbos (AA3, AA4, AA5, & AA7). Epoxy resins are easily identifiable because of their bright colors.    Below: Phenolic Resin Lineup – M3 Technologies’ Premium Flexible (DICP3, DICP4, DICP5, & DICP7) are a great general purpose resin diamond for all natural stone, terrazzo and concrete. The Granite Diamonds (DIFL3.5) are excellent diamonds for honing and polishing granite. The Superior Hard Concrete resins (HC) are specifically made for use on concrete for honing and polishing.

We have other similar epoxy resin diamonds too, like our TYP Typhoon series, which is even thicker than the TX discs. Also, the Rosette series are epoxy discs with a different water channel configuration. It depends on the project as to which of these epoxy resin diamonds are the best fit. Another series of epoxy resin discs are the AA Turbo series, available in 3, 4, 5, and 7-inch sizes. The 5-inch size is mainly used for hand tool work. They are thinner and more flexible for doing edge (border) work, vertical surfaces, and countertops.    

There are other diamonds available like our DICP Premium Flexible discs, which are a more aggressive phenolic resin. They are typically used on harder surfaces like granite but will cut marble, too. The phenolic resins typically do not provide as high of a shine at the same grit level as an epoxy resin disc. The DIFL Granite Diamonds and the HC Superior Hard Concrete Diamonds are also phenolic resins.

Then there are the metal-bond series diamonds that M3 offers. The Magnum series segmented diamonds discs are very popular for concrete work. They are available in very aggressive 6 grit to 220 grit for heavy stock removal. We stock both electroplated (LT series for marble and similar stone) and segmented metal-bond diamonds (Daisy/Toolip series for all natural stone and concrete) for lippage removal. The very popular ELF Flexible Metal-Bond series are great for general grinding and honing operations. These Flexible metal bonds are very useful in many situations. I’ve personally used them for mild lippage removal, some coatings removal, and general light to medium stock removal situations. 

M3’s number one selling product is the Majestic 5X Gold marble polishing powder, considered by many pros to be the highest quality 5X powder in the world. It is manufactured to our specifications using the highest quality abrasives and materials and then ball-milled to be extra fine with no rocks or large crystals of potassium oxalate. Majestic 5X Gold is used worldwide and used exclusively by performance-demanding professional contractors around the globe. If you want to polish marble or other similar stones, 5X Gold is a must- have.

Majestic 5X Gold is the world’s #1 marble polishing powder because it is super-high quality and ball-milled to be extra fine. This improves performance and coverage.

Of course, we also offer Majestic XXX Marble Polishing Powder, DiaBrite 10X marble polishing powder, Granite Polishing Powder in both light and dark colors, Granite’s Gloss, pure Tin Oxide, Granite Polishing Compound, and honing powders available in 150 grit to 1800 grit. The DiaBrite 10X is very popular in the west, especially in the casino towns. It is a “hotter” mix than 5X or XXX and some professionals prefer it, but it is a higher-priced marble polishing powder. I recommend that restoration contractors have some of the DiaBrite 10X, along with their 5X Gold. The 5X Gold is the standard go-to marble polishing product, but having the DiaBrite 10X on the truck is a good second choice, for sure. Restoration professionals have to think on their feet and be able to adjust when standard practices are not yielding the expected results. You need adequate options so that you don’t get stuck without the resources you need, while out on a job. This is especially true if it is a lengthy drive to the jobsite.

M3 Technologies offers a variety of essential masking products you might need to complete your restoration or maintenance projects.

M3 Technologies stocks most all of the restoration products professionals need to get their jobs done right. We offer everything from chemicals, abrasives, masking products, floor machines, accessories for hand tools and floor machines, gloss meters, slip resistance enhancing products, diamond impregnated pads, natural (Combo) and white pads, steel wool pads, and most things that you need on-site.     

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 decisions, logistics, and other pertinent project information.

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 comments and questions to Bob at attn: publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net .