Marble Care For Scratches

by Bonnie Kelly
(Chicago,IL, )

QUESTION:

I have black marble with streaks of gold, white and gray in it I forget the name. But I was told that marble should be sealed right after installation and I didn't. So, now I have scratches and dullness in my tile. Please tell me what I can do to get at least the dullness out because you really can't see the scrathes because of the pattern. I've tried almost every cleaner.

ANSWER:

Okay... I'm going to clear up a couple issues for you.

First, marble is not as porous as you might read on the internet. In fact, polished marble is NOT very absorbent and may not need or even capable of being sealed.

The way you determine if and when a stone should be sealed is to test it. Very simple and will give you the correct answer every time.

Sealing does not prevent scratches or dullness. Applying a sealer decreases the rate of absorption making the stone harder to stain... that's it.

Experimenting with all sorts of cleaning products is no bueno. Most typical household cleaning products you buy at any store will damage your marble. In fact, these products may be the reason your marble is dull.

That's what they do... the wrong products ruin the shiny marble surface and make it dull. It's called "etching."


You should ONLY use products safe for cleaning marble & granite.

Marble is much softer than granite and will scratch, so you shouldn't use a vacuum cleaner on it and of course, try to figure out how you got the scratches to prevent future occurrence.

The good news is that the dullness/etching and scratches can be fixed using SCP- Marble Polishing Paste.

This paste is specially designed to restore the color and shine on mildly etched and/or scratched marble, travertine, limestone, onyx.

However, if this is a large area and/or the scratches are deep, then you should call in a marble restoration professional.

I'd use the paste first, since it is way cheaper and you're likely to get great results unless severe damage, but I'm just letting you know that you may need a pro.

Good Luck,
Ryan

P.S. Get all the facts, answers, explanations and simple solutions with step-by-step instructions for any issue, problem or question with our Granite & Marble Maintenance Manuals.

I highly recommend Stone Care Pro Products to maintain all your marble, stone and granite countertops and floors in optimal condition. I've used other good products (Stone Tech, Miracle, MB) but found Stone Care Pro is the most reliable and effective and cheaper too!