Tavertine steps need advice

[Scott S.]

I have a customer who wants me to polish and seal tavertine steps i need advice. its kinda worn and dull.

i wanted to start with 300 grit resin bonded dimond discs and get to 800grit. then seal.

i need to know:

how much area will a spinergy 3" resin bonded dimond disk do before it is worn out?
are they two sided?
what is the best tool to use as far as power tool?


any help would be great. customer knows im not a pro at this type of stuff. and i have not made any promises to the customer.

 

[Luis Gomez]

I'm sure that they are one sided. Also, most stone pros use the Makita PW5001C.
Luis

 

[alazo1]

what does he mean by polished?, shinny like marble?. 800 won't get it shinny, you'll need either a powder polish.

Albert

 

[sweendogg]

.... or a polish pad like 11000 to finish Albert's statement... And you may not need to start at 300.00.. I'm going to make a huge bet that they are honed.. not polished and it really comes down to what level of honing or shining do they want.

 

[Louis Noble]

scott,

What stone tools do you have? you might not have to buy a bunch of new tools to finish this job.

 

[J Scott W]

The resin bonded diamond discs come in two grades, a budget and a premium. The difference is how thick the layer of diamond abrasives is. So the premium ones will last more than twice as long as the budget one.

Exactly how long they last depends upon lippage and other factors that may gradually break down the discs. Using them on a floor with a rotary machine, you should get 6,000 to 10,000 sq. ft. from a set of budget discs and much more from the premium.

I have not used them on stairs, so I can't really give a number. Doing walls, We did not count sq. ft. either, but did 10 or 12 bathroom walls with a set.

Use three of the pads with a variable speed grinder / polisher. The Makita 9227C is another good choice.

As mentioned, you would need to go onto Spinergy pads and higher grit for a really polished look. The grits you considered using with give a honed look.

 

[Louis Noble]

With Travertine you can start with a higher grit like 400 if the stone isnt too bad and end at 800 or 1800 then use the polish pad...

use a makita 9227 on the low speed with the 400 and 800 and go higher with the 1800 grit with a little less water. when you use the polish pad go from wet to dry with high rpms for a nice pop.