HELPFUL HINTS ON
STONE CARE

All stone, as well as related surfaces such as concrete and brick, have certain characteristics that make cleaning and protecting more difficult.  The main issues are:

All natural surfaces are porous, which means that dirt and discoloring liquids can soak down to create stains.  These stains generally look darker, like oil and grease, or have a color, like grape juice.  Removing that stain is frequently beyond the ability of most surface cleaners.  That is why specialty stain removers have been developed.  Most are of a poultice type, a paste that can actually lift a stain out of the pores and create a totally cleaned effect.  To prevent stains, subsurface or impregnating sealers have been developed to close off the surface pores and permit normal cleaning.

Some stones are unusually chemical sensitive.  Marble, travertine and limestone, as well as concrete, are sensitive to acids and some other chemicals.  That means if you use an acid cleaner on them, you are burning off the top layer of stone.  This can cause a different look that may then require an expensive restoration process.  Since restoration can be so much work, our standard advice is to never use a cleaner on a stone unless it is specially designed for that stone.  Any product that says “…and good for marble too.” isn’t!

We create shine when we make a surface so very smooth that it reflects light.  Certain crystalline materials, such as marble, granite  and terrazzo, can be ground to such a smooth and shiny condition.  Other materials, like slate or concrete, will always be too rough to shine.  This means that there must be two ways to restore shine.  For the marble group, special abrasive refinisher compounds can be used to return the smoothness and shine.  For the other group, the only way is to apply a top coating that itself dries to a smooth surface.  That is the basis of floor finishes and clear coatings.