What Are the Differences in the Maintenance Processes for Marble and Granite Flooring?

In today's decorative materials, many natural stones have become the first choice for decorating lobbies, floors, and walls due to their beautiful patterns and hard physical characteristics. Prolonged use causes weathering, damage, wear, and scratches on the stone surface, losing its luster. To restore the surface luster of the stone, people usually refurbish it and use more scientific and correct maintenance methods to extend the surface's brightness and beauty.

Renovation of Marble Floors

Natural marble, also known as limestone, mainly consists of calcium carbonate and magnesium, sodium, silicon, etc., with a Mohs hardness of around 4.5, making it relatively soft. It has poor weather resistance, and therefore its surface easily loses its gloss when worn. Depending on the degree of surface wear, light, moderate, or deep stone renovation can be chosen.

Light Marble Renovation

If the stone surface is slightly scratched, a light renovation process can be used. If there is old wax on the floor, remove it first, then use an 800# diamond grinding pad with clean water to grind for ten minutes. Note: During the grinding process, add water to keep the floor wet and use a water suction machine to remove the dirty water to prevent secondary pollution. Then replace with 1500#, 3000# marble polishing pads, diamond grinding pads, and grind each one by one using the method described above. After completing the renovation procedure, wash the stone surface with clean water and dry it, completing the light marble renovation work.

Moderate Marble Renovation

Deep Marble Renovation

When the stone surface has holes, weathering, severe corrosion, completely loses luster, and has deep scratches, a deep renovation process can be used.

Renovation of Granite Floors

Granite, commonly known as sesame stone, mainly consists of quartz and mica, with a Mohs hardness of around 6.5, making it hard. Long-term use can lead to natural weathering and wear, characterized by mica shedding. When small pits appear on the stone surface, and these pits multiply, the gloss of the granite surface decreases, losing its original luster and feeling uneven to the touch. Renovation can restore the stone's gloss.

Due to its hardness, using chemical maintenance agents and abrasives alone is insufficient to achieve ideal results. Utilizing large stone renovation machines and physical grinding methods yields better results than using chemical products alone.

To use physical grinding methods, two conditions must be met: first, the weight of the renovation machine; second, the speed of the renovation machine. In the stone grinding process, weight and low speed are needed, while in the polishing process, low weight and high speed are required. Currently, ordinary heavy machines on the market cannot meet the essential conditions required for granite physical grinding due to their low weight and speed, making renovation results unsatisfactory.

Working Procedures and Methods

Set up signage at the work site. To prevent slurry and dirt from splashing onto the walls, stick a transparent plastic film around the base of the walls. Add clean water to the water tank of the stone renovation machine, connect the power, prepare all types of metal grinding pads and renovation pads, and adjust the equipment to be level with the ground. If there is old wax on the floor, remove it first.

Use 50# metal grinding pads, six pieces, installed tightly on two grinding heads, add two blocks weighing 50 kilograms total, adjust the renovation machine's speed to around 500 revolutions per minute, add water, and start the motor to grind. Each time, grind an area of about one square meter, repeatedly pushing and pulling 3–5 times, grinding the stone joints until smooth. Adjust the water amount to avoid dry grinding, and use a water suction machine to dry and clean the ground.

Replace with 150# metal grinding pads and 300# metal grinding pads in order for smooth joints and to remove rough grinding marks. Repeat grinding, scraping, and drying the ground.

Use 200#, 400#, 800#, machine speed 500 revolutions per minute to continue grinding. Then use 1500#, 3000# marble polishing pads to polish the surface; at this point, remove the two weight blocks from the machine and increase the speed from 500 rpm to 650 rpm. Finally, clean and dry the stone surface, revealing a beautiful color.