herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Oct 19, 2015 18:23:13 GMT -5
Since it is a slab of marble, I figured the "Slabs and Saws" topic was the best place to ask this question!
My Mom has a coffee table that has a slab of what appears to be marble as the top. The table is probably 40+ years old. It looks like the slab was never polished to a smooth glassy finish, but rather that some kind of sealer or urethane was used. Anyway, the finish is showing its age, with a fair number of scratches and areas where the top coat is worn off down to the dull marble.
I was wondering if anyone could give me some refinishing hints. I was thinking of scraping the existing finish off and giving it a light sanding and then trying to seal it with something, perhaps clear spray-on urethane? I know marble is soft, but the piece is so big (about 2.5 x 4 feet), I don't think I could get a decent polish across the whole surface, so that is why I am thinking of coating it instead of polishing it. Are there products specifically made for coating stone? Do they provide a clear finish (not an amber tone like floor polyurethane)?
Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated!
-Herb
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1jdon
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2007
Posts: 5
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Post by 1jdon on Oct 19, 2015 18:55:35 GMT -5
You might try your nearest monument Co. (Grave marker) they have experience polishing marble. One of my local companies has sandblasted words in Petrified wood for me.
Don
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Oct 20, 2015 8:15:01 GMT -5
Your local tile company or counter top manufacturer may have some products you can use.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2015 20:17:40 GMT -5
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cwdiver
having dreams about rocks
Work is just Surface Interval
Member since October 2015
Posts: 57
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Post by cwdiver on Oct 24, 2015 21:47:59 GMT -5
I use a wet multi speed angle grinder to polish all large slabs. I think its called a roto blaster ,comes with 50 ~ 3000 grit diamond pads . Take the top off, go outside with a water source connected to the roto blaster and sand away. Works great puts a real nice high gloss polish on all my display pieces.........Gary
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Post by woodman on Oct 25, 2015 9:31:38 GMT -5
I use a wet multi speed angle grinder to polish all large slabs. I think its called a roto blaster ,comes with 50 ~ 3000 grit diamond pads . Take the top off, go outside with a water source connected to the roto blaster and sand away. Works great puts a real nice high gloss polish on all my display pieces.........Gary Got pictures? We need to see!
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herb
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 470
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Post by herb on Nov 5, 2015 13:53:50 GMT -5
Thanks for all the suggestions. I just wanted to follow up with everyone on what I ended up doing. I went to a couple counter top places and they really didn't have anything for doing a whole surface, they just sold some touch up type products. Out of curiosity, I asked what they'd charge to polish it for me and the answer was around $300, which was more than I wanted to spend to refurbish the top.
I originally was going to try using my wet angle grinder as cwdiver suggested, but when I went to use it, I found out that apparently the rubber seal that is supposed to keep water getting into the head of the unit let water in and the bearing at the head is shot. I can't even open it up all the way to see what exactly is wrong because the screws are so rusted!
So I ended up getting a urethane sealer product that is actually made for sealing and refinishing wood floors. It is water based, so it is easy to get a nice smooth coat. I first scrapped off the old finish and wax, gave the top a sanding with 120 and then 360 sandpaper and then applied the sealer. Because it is water based and goes on as a very thin coat, it took about 4 or 5 coats to get a decent looking shine on it and then I did another 4 or 5 coats just for good measure. As a top coat, I applied a silicon/wax based polish and buffed it to a pretty good shine.
So it looks better than it did, and my mom no longer has to obsess about the scratches and dull spots. It remains to be seen how durable the finish is, but for now, it looks good and only cost me $14!
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Post by glennz01 on Nov 8, 2015 3:43:20 GMT -5
I got a set of these and modified it with a few washers, a nut and bolt so I could put it on my drill... The whole set will cost about $90 excluding shipping but the pads last a while.. Just make sure they are kept wet when in use. www.johnsonbrotherslapidary.com/Polishing_Pads.html
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