MARBLE – GRANIT - TERRAZZO
Stone floors offer something no other flooring can: history. Architects and designers have been using natural stone for most of their important works. In countries around the world, stone has long been the accepted choice for cathedrals, monuments, museums, houses of government and, of course, hotels.
Natural stone forms over millions of years but improper care can ruin nature’s beauty. Although we usually think of stone as “hard”, it is a porous material that can absorb spills and stains if left untreated. Sand, grit, and dirt can damage natural stone surfaces because they are abrasive. With natural stone floors acid resistance / sensitivity is probably the most important factor for the choice of cleaning methods. Different natural stones have different properties and characteristics depending on which the treatment method is chosen. For example, the most common stones available or used widely are Marble and Granite, limestone and travertine.
Marble and Granit
Marble is commonly available in white and a wide range of colors depending on the embedded metal salts or their oxides. It normally has a fine to coarse grained structure. It is soft, easy to process, easy to polish and maintain. It is sensitive to all kinds of acids, resistant to moisture, alkalis and solvents, has limited resistance to oil & grease and is very sensitive to mechanical damage (scratches).
When a marble floor becomes dull and scratched, it obviously loses its shine and luster. These scratches or dullness is predominantly due to constant foot traffic that the floor is subjected to. At this point in time, the marble floor needs to be refinished to restore its original shine. The process of bringing back the gloss and shine is called ‘crystallization’.
What is Crystallization?
Crystallization is a process in which diamond pad are used in combination with a weighted
floor machine to bring a polish and shining stone floors. The most common ingredients of crystallization chemicals are acid, magnesium fluorosilicate and water.
In this reaction the magnesium salts are primarily left on the surface of the stone and removed during the next cleaning of the surface, and the calcium fluorosilicate is bonded to the underlying stone and is now the layer we walk on. A strict monitoring is necessary.
The surface of the stone has now been chemically altered and there is no way to reverse the process. Note that this new surface of the stone is not a coating but is now part of thestone itself. The only way to remove a crystallized layer is through mechanical action such as diamond honing with diamond discs.
The resulting layer of calcium fluorosilicate formed on the surface of the stone is harder,glossier, and more stain resistant than the original stone surface. This is the principal behind crystallization.
RESTORATION
The first step of marble floor restoration is grinding and honing. This step removes all edges, roughness, and makes the floor even and smooth. This step can also remove the deepest of scratches and stains.
The process of honing is usually done when the existing floor has a high amount of scratches, possible stains and is extremely dull. This process is done with the help of a single disc machine and diamond pads that cut the top surface of the soft marble stone in a uniform pattern. The diamond pads are to be used from a coarser to a finer pattern to ensure consistency in the honing process.
Before beginning the crystallization process, the first important thing to do is to clean the honed floor with the help of a microfiber mop. Crystallization creates a microfilm on the surface of marble which is more solid and durable and helps to preserve the color and brightness of marble.
The benefits of crystallization are to increase in gloss levels giving a shiny floor, give durability as the surface of the stone has been chemically altered to calcium fluoric silicate which has higher durability and less porous.
This process of crystallization can be used on all types of marbles and is a very good method to ensure longer life and enhance its appearance.
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