Polishing stone tile edges

[Swin]

Hi all just joined,just asking the question what's the best way of polishing the cut edge of stone/porcelain tiles,been asked by a shop to do some work but told they don't use tile trim and polish the edges,now they have said I could use their polisher on their jobs but I'm thinking ideally I would prefer my own ,what does anyone use ?
also they would prefer me to use the lash levelling system ( I think that's the right name) ,I had a little play today and I must admit I liked the idea,but reading I see it can cause issues,time ,mess ,expensive

any help appriciated
thanks pete

 

[cam_low]

There are better levelling systems out there. Lash clips to me, are annoying and painful after using them on one floor. 20m2 iirc.
Are the shop going to cover your cost of them? Why do they want you to use them?

 

[DHTiling]

Silicon carbide pads work great dry on stone/porcelain etc..

 

[Concrete guy]

OK, I can help with polishing but not the lash clip business.

Wet diamond polishing pads.

Upside - These will polish everything and anything, it's why any major stone production line has wet polishing equipment. The degree of finish, speed and quality of polishing can't be matched by any other system. The pads are long lasting and economic.

Downside - It's messy, really messy. You'll need a full length apron and wellies, you'll look like a fishmonger! Plus the polishing tools themselves are pricey.

Dry diamond polishing pads

Upside - You don't have to dress like a fishmonger! But they are dusty. The pads are more expensive and don't last as long as wet pads. They work better on dense materials (granite etc) than soft materials (limestone, travertine). Can be used on site and in situ on a pre fitted product (in a customers house). The machines are less expensive to buy.

Downsides - cost of pads and lifespan compared to wet pads. Not great on soft stone of you want a high degree of polish.

Silicon carbide pads.

Upside - Cheap initial outlay and you don't need to dress like a fish monger. These will polish soft products to a high degree. These pads are still the pad of choice for stonemasons polishing marble, limestone and travertine unless they are doing vast quantities of it, in which case they go with wet diamond pads. The machines are relatively good value for money. These will also give you a very presentable edge on dense porcelain tiles.

Downside - The pads don't last a long time, they will not produce a very high degree of polish on very dense materials.


Recommendation

As a starting set up you'll be looking for 125mm Silicon carbide pads with a velour backing and a 125mm Velcro backer (to allow quick and easy changes).
A good variable speed machine is the Makita 9565CVL - nice tool used by pro's and not stupid money.

If this starts becoming a regular thing, diamond pads will reduce the processing cost long term. One set of Diamond pad will last through many sets of Silicon Carbide pads.


Silicon Carbide (also known as carborundum to us oldies) are similar to emery paper/sandpaper. So the lower the number the coarser the grit (as is the rule with diamond pads).

40 grit is savage
60 grit is removing saw marks and flattening material
200+ grit is starting hone
800+ grit is starting to polish.
1200+ is providing a finished polished surface

Well know brand names for these pads are Hermes and Sait. (Until we get our Silicon Carbide pads to market!).

Any questions just ask.

 

[Swin]

There are better levelling systems out there. Lash clips to me, are annoying and painful after using them on one floor. 20m2 iirc.
Are the shop going to cover your cost of them? Why do they want you to use them?

their other tilers use them ,and think it could be worth a go ,I can give them a go on next job aanyway thanks for the tip on the carbide

 

[Swin]

Any place you'd recommend to get them from ?the carbide pads for now

 

[Concrete guy]

Give these people a call, Silicon carbide pads generally need to be bought in boxes of 50/100 per grit - but that would be overkill for you. I think Crawshaws will do a "starter kit " with a variety of grades.

BI Crawshaw & Co Ltd, Stone Doctor - Tools and Consumables for Stone, Marble and Granite

Some of the other posters here may also be able to point you to other suppliers that can do a kit rather than sell volume.

 

[Tony73]

Hi Swin, I use [video]http://www.pureadhesion.co.uk/tiling-tools-hand-tools-tiling-accessories/polishing-and-finishing.html[/video]

 

[Tony73]

And you don't need to buy full box. Can order few of each , mainly I use 60, 120, 220. I also use FLEX polisher, but some stone masons say MAKITA is better now

 

[Concrete guy]

And you don't need to buy full box. Can order few of each , mainly I use 60, 120, 220. I also use FLEX polisher, but some stone masons say MAKITA is better now

FLEX used to be the "Hilti" of masonry tools but things seems to have changes lately. I think Makita have upped their game a bit and FLEX have given in to a bit of cost cutting bringing them closer together.

I think for wet polishing specialists tools FLEX is still the Daddy though.

 

[DHTiling]

Harbro supplies. Cheap as chips.

 

[Swin]

Cheers guys,I already have a couple of makita grinders,not sure if I could use them as a polisher though
i also have a blue Bosch orbital sander 115 mm one ,would this work ?

great advice so far

 

[Dougs Third Go]

Hiya Pete... Good to see you here mate. (Pete lives about a mile from me)

 

[Dougs Third Go]

Harbro supplies. Cheap as chips.

They didn't work when I tried them, came home all hyper though :lol:

 

[Concrete guy]

Cheers guys,I already have a couple of makita grinders,not sure if I could use them as a polisher though
i also have a blue Bosch orbital sander 115 mm one ,would this work ?

great advice so far

When polishing, machine speed is everything and absolutely critical. So you'll need a variable speed machine that will give you range of speeds from 2500 rpm to 4500rpm - that's the window for polsihing and profiling.