Natural Stone – Your Guide to Restoration

Natural stone is synonymous with beauty, and it’s a material that has been used for thousands of years in the construction of incredible architecture. The restoration – the type that we’re going to elaborate on in this blog – of natural stone, however, hasn’t been around for nearly as long. As natural stone has integrated into everyday design, its maintenance has developed quite a bit and increased in importance.

Why? First of all, in today’s world of natural stone, there are many more types of natural stone, and each comes with a unique restoration process. Other factors that affect the process include where the natural stone is installed, for what purposes, whether or not it was sealed, and more. Beyond this, there’s also the issue of how to determine if your natural stone needs to be restored. Let’s get to it then. Here’s your guide to natural stone restoration:

Know Your Stones

The most obvious thing you need to know about natural stone restoration is the type of natural stone you have. Restoring marble, for example, differs from restoring limestone.

Where & Why

Two things you should know about natural stone restoration include where your natural stone is located and its intended use. Is it flooring in a low traffic room or countertops in a communal kitchen? These things affect the details about the process, methods, and frequency of restoration. They also may affect the degree of difficulty of the restoration project.

When to Restore

There are obvious signs that suggest your natural stone needs restoration, such as cracks, chips, and other damage. Also, over time, your natural stone will lose its shine, color, and overall luscious appearance, and this means you need to restore it. It’s not always obvious, though. Etching from acidic substances and staining from grease build up and burns may go unnoticed, but are very much reasons to restore as they may damage your natural stone.

The Process & Steps

There are four main (chronological) steps to natural stone restoration. These include grinding, honing, polishing, and grout filling. Grinding to remove surface imperfections and flatten, honing to smooth the natural stone, polishing to bring back your natural stone’s shine and color, and grout filling to clean and fill the natural stone’s joints. Depending on the type of stone, the process may or may not include other minor steps throughout.

Resources

There’s no shortage of resources available online for you to read up on concerning natural stone restoration. When doing so, it’s best to refer to multiple sources and compare and contrast the information in each, as some may have bits and tips that others don’t. It’s best to start with the guides and publications provided by credible institutions, like the Marble Institute of America, or MIA. Their guide to the care and cleaning of natural stone, which you may find here, provides all of the information you need to get started on restoring your natural stone.