Cheap travertine

Old Coastie

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Today we tackled a floor made with cheap travertine. "Cheap" means the tiles averaged better than 50% filler on the surface. This stuff was uneven, dull and had lippage like a pouting toddler.

We offered a basic hone and polish, then sealer. It worked. However, not glassy and deep like other jobs. I used Venom Premium Sealer, but am open to suggestions for next time.
 
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Old Coastie

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image.jpeg
The difference between a polished tile and an unpolished one.
 
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Old Coastie

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It had a reasonable shine on it, so we started at 800, 1800, MB-22. The picture doesn't capture the end result well, other than showing how focused the reflection is (by comparison).

My concern was that if we cut it significantly, we'd open up the porosity and have to fill holes.
 

srosen

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waldwick,nj
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stuart rosen
Sometimes on those cheap travs the MB-22 works better if you cut deeper. If you consider starting your stone jobs around 220 grit and moving higher from there until you see some clarity from the diamonds. That will happen in most cases after 800 and from there you can produce a great polish. If you have the time and the pricing is good take it on up to 1800 then polish.
Only metal bonded diamonds will pull the fill-
Starting at 800 you wont be eliminating wear from the surface which will effect your clarity.
Just a thought to consider-basic can be defined by a client as economical or lower cost.
Don't do anything basic-let your client know every stone is treated specifically to the character of their stone.
Clients can take their stone very seriously-which can equate to higher revenue.
 

Old Coastie

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Stuart, I appreciate the advice.

Say, can Bona be used to clean travertine? The customer has hardwood and wanted to know if the same cleaner was okay.
 

Jimmy L

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Hey PorkBUTT can you send me a gift card for a KFC buffet for all of the advice I've given you over the years? Not asking much but I like KFC.
 

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