Natural Stone Restoration - Essex , Herts, Suffolk, Cambridge

Dont Let The Wine Ruin Your Christmas

2011-12-14T05:09:00.000-08:00

Many people are not made aware from the supplier that all natural Calcite stones, Marble , Limestone, Travertine in particular, are extremely vulnerable to even the mildest form of citric acids,

many clients i talk to will often say that they feel that the stone was never sealed properly in the first place before or after installation.

I have to say that upon inspection this is not always true, it has to be said that there are so many sealers on the market to choose from, and many will claim to resist water , oil and organic stains while this is true in most cases all sealers will vary depending upon the actual content of the seal and its make up.

generally all the sealers available today are either water based- solvent based- or a urethane resin type including coating sealers the choice of sealer largely depends upon the type of material you are sealing, ie very porous- semi porous- non porous , surface tension and stone density all play a part, solvents are generally better for polished stones as they will penetrate easier, water based are particularly usefull on very porous material where several additional coats are needed , its not to say you can not use a solvent or urethane type it simply comes down to ease of application and down time between coats applied.

I personally prefer the use of a good water based sealer because they do not generally have the strong pungent odours that solvent or urethane's have, and typical drying times between coats of several hours can be an issue to clients that require there stone back in service quickly.

Its worth remembering that the surface to be sealed if using an solvent or urethane must be completely dry before application or problems will arise, and so water based is useful if you have recently cleaned or restored the stone using a lot of water on porous stones for obvious reasons.

Do not however believe that all sealers will protect against any stain! going back to our wine red or white it is not the colour that is the culprit here, rather the acid content . It is the acid that attacks the Calcite in the stone that allows the wine to penetrate breaking down the seal from within . I know i have said it before but there is no sealer that is completely acid proof and if you read the label they do not claim to be....

So beware my top tip is as soon as an accident occurs mop or blot it up straight away and rinse the area with plenty of water only. That way Christmas party's wont be ruined this year. and should an accident occur you can always give us a call to re-vive your stone

Granite Chip

2011-12-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Small impact chips around the edges of sinks worktops edges are very common, although very minor and of no real problem they can be worrying and unsightly causing distress to people whom have spent some considerable amount of money upgrading there kitchen,

Fortunatley most granites marbles and qaurtze can be repaired in home without to much hassle, unlike traditional methods using epoxy with limited results the new stone repairs are much more improved both visually and finish.

2011-12-08T05:45:00.001-08:00

The only way to remove that type of damage is to polish it out mechanically with abrasives and re-sealor call in the specialists .

2011-12-08T04:47:00.001-08:00

Nice travertine table top badly acid etched, its worth maybe a glass cover in the event of this type of damage from drinks containing mild vegetable acids eg citric acids also some cleaning products can contain mild acids if from organic scources as is becoming more common,

often i find customers think that because the stone has been sealed that it will not become stained, that unfortunatley is a misconception, while a good impregantor sealer or coating sealer works well with most oily, water based alkaline stains its worth remebering that NO SEALER IS COMPLETELY ACID PROOF

so please beware, and dont just think that it only applies to natural calcite stones - Marbles, Travertines, Limestones, Marble Onyx etc there are many stones that although not predominatley calcite such as slate , sandstones, qaurtz, granites including basalts, calcite can occur in small qauntities in many stones

2011-11-20T11:58:00.001-08:00

Some times when a client only wants to pay for polishing and there is a lot of lippage

to save your reputation you have to get the tiles even by hand it would be better just to get the heavy gear out

thank fully finished ..

2011-11-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

New video

The pain is always worth the effort

2011-11-03T02:30:00.000-07:00

No matter how hard the project the end result is always worth the effort

marble ensuite and bathroom heavy lippage and 20 years neglect

2011-11-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

Every now and again you take on a job that challenges even the most experienced with lippage on edges as high as door treads , working around toilets baths, shower cubicles with curved plastic base boards, and bidets , door frames not to metion radiators and pipes... there is nothing like getting on your knees with hand machines to test your skills.

More than just shopping

2011-10-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

"More than just a shopping trip" the day after Lee evans at 02 my wife Rachel decided on a trip to the New Westfield shopping center Stratford, of course i was keen was i heck but something imediately caught my attention The Stone on the floor and not just the polished limestone but what was lurking inside it .
take a closer look -

Amonites i saw several throughout the floor with coral remains everywhere millions of years old, needless to say i was more interested in the floor and walls than the shops, people must have thought whats this guy doing on his knees well not trying out shoes anyway"tha was a good days shopping for me lol.

"Is it Marble" ?

2011-09-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

We were recently called to a client to repair scratches and polish a marble table, the damage was caused by a removal company....

You can see how badly scratched the table top is? on first look it looks like marble, on closer inspection its,
faux marble quite cleverly painted...actually not marble at all.

The stone is a slate of early 1900,s so honed and polished and the client was happy with that.

problem with our marble tiled shower

2011-09-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Re- vive,

I wonder if you would be kind enough to offer some friendly advice to an expat in need. I live in Belgium but am a British national. I have small marble reddish brown mosaic tiles in my shower. A new maid did not listen to my advice about cleaning it with the marble friendly product I have used for 6 years. Instead she used an Ecover bathroom cleaner containing

Aqua

Capryl Glucoside

Citric Acid

Sodium Citrate

Sodium Octyl Sulfate

Sorbitan Sesquioctanoate

Parfum

Xanthan Gum

2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol

Limonene

And she used "Viakal"...

Unsurprisingly there are now white traces where she doused the tiles with the product. It looks terrible.

Unfortunately I do not know where to turn for advice over here. Is there anything you can suggest I do to try to restore the marble or at least diminish the overall effect? I visited a local hardware store this afternoon and it was suggested to me that I could clean with 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water. I hesitate to do this. I also visited a DIY store and found a range of products called "HG" but, again, was not sure which might be suitable/worth trying. Is it a lost cause?

I would be very grateful to hear your suggestions and thank you in advance for any assistance you may be able provide.

Many thanks

Daniella