Have I ruined my marble tiles??? URGENT

[achillea]

Had cararra marble (honed natural finish) tiles laid yesterday. The tiler said he didn't have to seal before grouting (30 years in the business etc etc). He told me to wipe the tiles down today then seal. My plumber who is doing the bathroom refit gave me his LTP Grout Stain Remover and told me to wipe it down with that. I applied a 1:4 solution this morning, applying with a cloth then wiping with a dry cloth. I left it 30 mins and went back to have a look.

I've now got stains and drip marks... phoned LTP and they were horrified that I had used an acidic product on marble and that it hadn't been sealed.

I've tried wiping it with a wet cloth but I still keep seeing the stains. The tiler says to just let it fully dry out then put sealer on and it will be fine. I had bought Mattstone but LTP suggest the Colour Intensifier instead but can't guarantee that it will bring the stains out.

Anybody got any advice? I'm so upset here - £100 per square metre stuff.

cheers

 

[MARBLE_TONY]

OUCH! You have etched your marble! it will have to be re-finished in the way you do that depends on how deep the etch marks are if they are really deep then are metal sintered diamond grind maybe required then resin diamond to hone finish or to a polished finish. Putting the sealer on them will do nothing to them i'm afraid!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

 

[achillea]

.just as I thought. What a nightmare. Presume I need to get a stone restoration expert as i don't fancy even trying to sort this out myself! Any idea of what cost I'm looking at? Floor space is 1.5m x 3m.

cheers.

 

[Gazzer]

Give Marblelife a call and discuss the matter , much quicker.

 

[Topshop]

Sealer or no sealer if you put anything acidic on marble you will etch it. There are no sealers that will stop an etch. Kick your installer or whoever told you to do this in the teeth for giving out bad advice and maybe they won't talk about what they do not know again.

 

[Aston]

30 years experience is all well and good but theres a difference between a ceramic tiler and a stone fixer, thats why these mistakes happen. give marble life a call and make a bad situation a bit better...sorry to hear this has happened to you, all the best!

 

[achillea]

Hi

I called my local stone restoration company and they came around and sorted it out for me - resurfaced, sealed and polished. A relief that its fixed (looks even better than before) but plumber not accepting any responsibility - apparently its all my fault for using the product he told me to use, not doing a test patch and buying marble in the first place. He had spoken to the tiler who said just to wipe it down and leave it... all very worrying as you would expect the tiler to realise what had happened.. clearly not a stone expert as you say.

I totally going with porcelain when we do the kitchen floor!

 

[Topshop]

It is too bad that your sales and installer could not take the time to educate you on stone care and cleaning. It gives our industry a bad reputation.

Marble is a material that needs to be cared for properly. Anyone who buys it should be taught the facts of what they are buying. There have been stone floors for hunderds and hundreds of years and many are still in use. The trick is to keep it natural but there are too many snake oil sales people out there selling chemical alternatives to line their pockets when they have no clue or business selling stone or care products.

 

[Dan]

Hi

I called my local stone restoration company and they came around and sorted it out for me - resurfaced, sealed and polished. A relief that its fixed (looks even better than before) but plumber not accepting any responsibility - apparently its all my fault for using the product he told me to use, not doing a test patch and buying marble in the first place. He had spoken to the tiler who said just to wipe it down and leave it... all very worrying as you would expect the tiler to realise what had happened.. clearly not a stone expert as you say.

I totally going with porcelain when we do the kitchen floor!

Who was your local Stone Restoration company?

 

[achillea]

Stone Floor Refurbishment in Tonbridge, Kent Rick May | Stone Solutions | Stone Floor Refurbishment | South East England . I would recommend them - came and sorted it out the same day and advised on how to care for the floor going forward.