Burnishing Pads Archives - Oxfordshire Tile Doctor

Limescale Stained Granite Kitchen Worktop Renovation Oxford

Removing Limescale from a Granite Worktop in an Oxford Kitchen

1 Comment / Oxford Tile Cleaning / Barry Woodward

A client from Oxford was in touch recently regarding their Granite worktop which was heavily stained with limescale build-up and she simply couldn’t get it clean. Oxford is a known hard water area with high readings of calcium carbonate in the water.

Normally granite needs little maintenance however the calcium deposits in the water (often referred to as limescale) are deposited on the worktop surface and over time this slowly builds up.

Limescale Stained Granite Kitchen Worktop Before Cleaning Oxford

There are several household products on the market that can remove limescale however you need to be very careful when using these on natural stone as they can make the problem much worse so wisely, we were asked to resolve the problem.

Removing Limescale from a Granite Worktop and Sink

Granite is not as acid sensitive as Limestone and Marble so to start I carefully applied Tile Doctor Grout Clean-up. This was rubbed into the limescale then rinsed off with water.

This was followed up with a set of six-inch Tile Doctor Burnishing pads applying them in sequence from coarse to extra fine over each part of the Granite countertop. The pads are fitted to a hand buffer and the soil generated by the pads was rinsed off between pads with water.

Granite Kitchen Worktop Aftercare

The granite worksurface does not require an actual sealer to be applied so to finish I sprayed on Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray and buffed with a cloth to give it a high shine finish. This product is designed for cleaning stone worktops and contains a special ingredient that maintains the lustre so ideal for maintaining the worktops going forward.

Limescale Stained Granite Kitchen Worktop After Cleaning Oxford

Granite is an expensive material and makes the most beautiful and practical worktop you can install in a kitchen. In this case though the Limescale had ruined its appearance, once I had finished buffing the stone however I was pleased to see the kitchen had regained its wow factor.

Professional Renovation of a Limescale Stained Granite Worktop in Oxfordshire

Removing Limescale from a Granite Worktop in an Oxford Kitchen Read More »

Travertine Patio Renovation Henley-on-Thames

Large Pitted Travertine Patio Renovated in Henley-on-Thames

This client in Henley-on-Thames had a large and no doubt expensive Travertine patio installed at the rear of his property. The patio was now looking rather grubby with the usual staining and dirt you would expect with an outside patio that had not been professionally cleaned for several years. Additionally, many holes had formed in the stone which in turn had filled with dirt making effective cleaning difficult.

Travertine Patio Before Renovation Henley-on-Thames

I went over to survey the stone and work out what would need to be done to renovate its appearance. The patio measured 150m2 and I recommended cleaning the patio, filling the holes and then honing the stone with a set of burnishing pads to brink back its appearance, a process which would take three days due to its large size.

Happy with my quote a date was set for the work to start with the proviso that it may need to be re-arranged if the weather was bad.

Deep Cleaning a Travertine Patio

Work started up with an application of Tile Doctor Patio & Driveway Cleaner which was left to dwell so it could breakdown the soils. The patio was then scrubbed with a Carbide Brush fitted to a rotary floor scrubber whilst spraying water onto the stone from the tank fitted to the machine. This hard-wearing brush gets right into the holes in the stone ensuring a very effective clean.

After scrubbing the whole area, the patio was inspected and any stubborn stains spot-treated using the same process. Once I was happy the patio was rinsed thoroughly with water and left it to dry off.

On the second day my attention turned to the holes in the stone which were filled by floating an epoxy grout filler into the holes and grout tiles. Again, it was a very large area to cover so this work took up the whole day.

Travertine Patio During Renovation Henley-on-Thames

On day three I quickly went over the patio again with the carbide brush to remove any detritus that had appeared overnight and then replaced the brush with the first burnishing pad in the set of four to being the honing process.

Applied with water for lubrication the first pad is 400-grit which opens the pores in the stone so the deep-seated dirt can be flushed out. The pad is run over each Travertine tile at least three times and then the soiling that is generated is rinsed off and extracted with a wet vacuum. This process is then repeated with the finer pads which were 800 and 1500 grit, these pads gradually close the pores in the stone and restore its polished honed appearance.

Travertine Patio After Renovation Henley-on-Thames

Once complete the patio was transformed, looked very inviting and was ready for the first of many summer pool parties. I did offer to seal the Travertine when finished but my client decided to do that themselves, it’s a straightforward process, just time consuming. I recommended Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal for this as it won’t alter the natural appearance of the stone and keep it looking very light in colour.

Professional Renovation of a Large Travertine Patio in Oxfordshire

Large Pitted Travertine Patio Renovated in Henley-on-Thames Read More »

Limestone Table Polishing Burford Oxfordshire

Polishing a Limestone table in Burford, Oxfordshire

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Witney Tile Cleaning / Barry Woodward

This client from Burford in the Cotswold hills contacted us to see if I could polish up a Limestone table which was now surplus to requirements, and they wanted to sell it. They realised though that the polished appearance was dull and unappealing, so if it was to achieve the best price if would need polishing first.

Limestone Table Before Polishing Burford

We discussed the project over the phone and I explained that although we are more used to polishing stone floors with large diamond burnishing pads there was no reason why the same technique wouldn’t work on the table. For this project we would use smaller six-inch pads that can be fitted to a hand-held buffer machine. Confident I could complete the work and get the table back to its former glory I agreed to call in and demonstrate the process.

Polishing a Limestone Tiled Table

Using a set of small diamond burnishing pads of increasing grits and water I was able to quickly polish a sample area of the table to a nice shine. This newly polished section really highlighted just how dull the rest of the table had become. Like any polished surface it will lose its lustre over time with regular use and potentially cleaning with the wrong products.

Happy my solution was effective, and the price was right, he asked me to continue and polish the whole table. I put tape around the edge of the table to prevent splashes and had a dust sheet on the floor.

Next using a flex polishing machine fitted a six-inch 200-grit pad the stone was lightly cut back to remove the staining and cup marks. A little water is used during this process to help lubricate and a sponge with more water is used afterwards to remove the slurry which is generated. This process was then repeated using 400, 800, 1500 and finally a 3000-grit pads until the Limestone was polished to a honed finish. Again, the slurry was sponged away after each pad.

Sealing a Limestone Table

Then to get a very deep durable Tile Doctor Shine Powder was applied which is ground into the stone using a White buffing pad. Once this had dried, I buffed the table with another White pad to leave table looking like new.

Limestone Table After Polishing Burford

The client was delighted with the finished result and considered keeping it for a moment! However, they were satisfied that they could now sell it for a good price. For the maintenance cleaning of polished stone tables and countertops we recommend Tile Doctor Stone Patina Spray which is very easy to apply and helps protect the polish.

Although we specialise in the maintenance of tiles, stone or grout, mainly involving floors, but from time to time we do get asked to do something different such as resurfacing stone tables or work surfaces. It makes a nice change to complete something different and is very satisfying when the results are as good as this.

Professional Restoration of a Limestone Table in Oxfordshire

Polishing a Limestone table in Burford, Oxfordshire Read More »

Damaged Victorian Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Headington

Restoration of Damaged Victorian Hallway in Headington, Oxford

1 Comment / Oxford Tile Cleaning, Victorian Tile Cleaning / Barry Woodward

This is a Victorian hallway floor laid in a classic Black and White diamond pattern at a property in the Oxford suburb of Headington. I suspect the floor is original and dates to 1890 when the house was built. Unfortunately, at some point in its recent past it was damaged during the installation of heating pipes and then backfilled with cement.

Here at Tile Doctor, we see this happen time and time again and have been brough into to restore many period floors such as this example. Gas and heating pipes are the most common reasons for digging up a floor but often the homeowner doesn’t know what to do to restore it so they either live with the defaced floor or more usually cover it with carpet or vinyl.

Victorian Hallway Floor During Restoration Headington Oxford

In this case the property had recently changed hands and the new owner was keen to have the floor restored to its original condition. Fortunately, here at Tile Doctor we are in contact with various companies that make reproduction tiles, so it is not a problem finding matching replacements. In this case I managed to find suitable replacements with a company called Original Features who specialise in reproductions. We visited site to have a look at the job and gave the owners a quote for the work which they were happy to accept.

Cleaning and Repairing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

The first day was spent restoring the damaged floor by carefully cutting out the old cement backfill and replacing to a level that was just deep enough for the replacement tiles to fit. I then made up a concrete adhesive mix and smoothed this in the hole and laid the tiles making sure they were level with the original floor. This was then left to set overnight.

Day two’s focus was cleaning the floor, however given the age of the property I knew it would not have a damp proof membrane, so I was concerned about the use of too much water. Not wishing to exacerbate any damp issues I decided to go with a low moisture cleaning approach.

To do this a gel cleaner known as Tile Doctor Acid Gel was applied to half the floor and then scrubbed into the tiles using a rotary floor machine fitted with a coarse 100-grit diamond pad. Once done this was repeated on the other half of the floor. The tiles were then rinsed with minimal water and the soil extracted with the wet vacuum.

A 200-grit diamond pad was then fitted to the rotary machine, and this was used to further refine the appearance of the tiles using some water for lubrication. This was then followed by a series of Tile Doctor burnishing diamond pads with just water to rinse, clean and force a natural sheen on the floor, again a wet vacuum was employed to vacuum up the slurry. Last step before leaving for the day was to mop the floor with Tile Doctor Neutral Floor Cleaner and left the floor to dry.

Sealing a Victorian Tiled Hallway Floor

Returning on the final day, I set about sealing the Victorian tiles with Tile Doctor X-Tra Seal which is an oil-based sealer that enhances the Black and White colours in the tile. This sealer can also be used externally so it will cope happily with any damp issues that can occur on old floors.

Victorian Hallway Floor After Restoration Headington Oxford

Two coasts were applied allowing each one to dry before applying the next. When the seal was dry, I buffed the floor with a 3000-grit diamond pad to leave a hard-wearing natural sheen. The floor looked great, fully restored, and gave the homeowners a traditional welcoming hallway.

Professional Restoration of a Victorian Tiled Hallway in Oxfordshire

Restoration of Damaged Victorian Hallway in Headington, Oxford Read More »