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Polishing out scratches in natural tile

6K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  HandyHails 
#1 ·
I got a call earlier this week from an existing customer who had me install 12x12 travertine throughout her first floor. She had a new stove and fridge installed and the goober who put them in put some pretty deep gouges in the tile especially in front of the stove. The fridge wasn't too bad because of the plastic casters, but there were a bunch of fine scratches.

Anyway I assured her I could get the scratches out. My normal method is to get out the ROS and start w/ 80 grit and work my way up to 220 and then hand sand the dull area w/ 320, 400, and lastly 600. This is for honed and filled. Generally this matches up pretty close to the original finish from my supplier.

What I'd like is to find some sandpaper for my ROS (5" 8 hole), that runs up to the needed 600 grit or even higher if I'm running polished.

I think Mirka goes up to 320 if you order online. 400 for 5 hole sanders.

Anyone have a line on the finer grits for ROS w/ holes so I can use a vacuum attachment? I've been looking for a while and I've come up dry.

Also interested in any more effective methods if you've come across any.

Thanks
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I have looked hard for those when I was making a bird cage with acrylic. Ended up using 400 and 600 paper attached to sanding block and some elbow grease. Would be nice if someone has source.
if you can not find,Novus makes "heavy scratch remover" and "fine scratch remover" lotions to eliminate scratches. I have used them over acrylic and stainless steel and have great results after 400 and 600 grit. I assume it will work with travertine, but test before of course.Check with your local plastic sheet supplier.
 
#7 ·
Handy,
Here's my experience with this since I used to work with acrylic...
Wet sand by hand with aluminum oxide sandpaper, go in the direction of the scratches. 600,800,1200,2200
Then I would use a buffer with a standard sponge pad. We used to use a car polish (name unknown) but there was a pink and blue... rub the compound over the area, let it sit for a minute and buff with a dry pad(place pad on product before you turn it on). The compond had a little bit of grit so it would finish sand and polish simultaneously.
Give it a shot on a scrap piece of travertine...
 
#14 ·
Nah, it hasn't been bad at all. Get it to 600 and its fine after a good seal. Travertine has so much difference in the tiles that when your talking honed and filled, its just a matter of making sure you get the whole tile that you are working on and reseal. GTG.

Astor,
Love the canaries. For us it was between a group of finches and a pair of canaries. The finches won out mostly on price, but also because of the cool socialization they have w/ one another. I bet the acrylic cage was a lot of fun to dream up and implement. Looks good.
 
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