Burnishing Pads Archives - Oxfordshire Tile Doctor

Polishing a Limestone table in Burford, Oxfordshire

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

Damaged Victorian Hallway Floor Fully Restored in Headington

Restoration of Damaged Victorian Hallway in Headington, Oxford

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

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