Etching Marble with acid on purpose

99.9% of our calls for "stains on marble" are not stains at all (which is why products cannot remove them). Most often these "stains" are in fact etched stone. This video explains. This was a newly installed polished marble island that we were hired to take the polish off and take to a low hone. Bainbridge Island across from Seattle.
Www.nwstonecare.com

[@kemiri77]

i did polish dull marble by spreading water diluted citric acid crystal, sounds stupid but result look shiny tho 😅 is basically i did just melt the marble, like burning old dashboard plastic?

[@effiepapaioannou9532]

hi Mike, thanks for the video. I have a vanity countertop made from engineered stone ( do not have more info about exactly what kind nor can I obtain any) I've etched the top, I believe due to cleaning with diluted vinegar. How can I fix this? Please help! Thank you

[@CleanGroutNW]

There's a system for refinishing engineered stone called Quartz Renew. The process is similar to refinish real stone (honing starting with lower grits and working up to desired sheen) I'm not an expert on Quartz by any means.

[@CleanGroutNW]

There's a chance you just cleaned an area via the vinegar and you removed a layer of build up. I'd that's the case then deep cleaning everything with a product like MB StoneCare's "Easy Scrub" would do the trick. That would be worth trying 1st. (Before attempting to refinish)

[@llllllllllilillii]

Hello. If there is an actual stain that occured on the underside of a white marble tile, is there any way at all to fix the stain, it is about 3/4 of the 18 inch tile on the underside (it is not grouted, it's just a couple of unmounted tiles) and the stain is orangeish. I believe it's hard water/iron in nature (rust type). Would I be able to soak it in 3 parts water 1 part bleach? or something of the sort. In other words, is there a way to make white marble white again? Thank you very much. p.s. I don't care if it comes out dull I like dull.

[@CleanGroutNW]

That's a big MAYBE. There are rust removers that you can try, I believe 1 is called f9.

[@BROSKIWICKS]

Will this chemical give me a flat dry finish? As in looking like it got honed if I spread it threw all the marble tiles I work for myself and the job I picked up just requires me to clean the marble and get it to a flat finish of how it would look after it got honed but I once used a chemical to do the job for me but I forgot the name it was so long ago if you know what I’m talking about I’ll appreciate the help

[@CleanGroutNW]

It's very difficult to get a uniform honed look via etching. It is also dangerous to spread large amounts of acid, which can cause more harm than the good you're after. That being said I have seen matble floors that vinegar has been used repeatedly for years and the floors have looked uniform in sheen, and filthy since vinegar is a terrible stone cleaner. (Alkaline or pH neutral work much better) Honing a floor the correct way is not very difficult with a floor machine and diamond resin abrasives and honing powder.

[@BROSKIWICKS]

@@CleanGroutNW I gotta get some honing powered I’ve been honing for 2 yrs now with just water I was thinking since we in different times it would be a better a better choice to try a acid that can give a flat etch

[@caburtnett1980]

I was cleaning grout off a tile floor with muratic acid. 5:1 ratio. The bottle sucked and started leaking around the pump so I was washing it off after each use. I placed the bottle down after washing on my marble counter for maybe a min, but I never wiped the water ring. Now there is a small indent and etching. I'm looking for a filler and good polishing kit. Is there a filler you know of? Some sanding pads that work better than others?

[@mikeholm7640]

Your going to be better off honing down the etched area than you are going to be trying to fill the etched area. I'm a huge fan of easy stone care's copper resin hybrid 4 inch pads. If you're on the east coast then check out mb stonecare, they sell them too. Honestly though hiring a professional to take care of it is a good way to go. By the time you buy what you need to attempt to repair it yourself including a makita or similar variable speed polisher, backing plate etc. you could have hired it and had it done really well.

[@xinlinli459]

I have just burnt it. Should I immediately find a solution, or it doesn’t matter?

[@CleanGroutNW]

It's not an emergency (unless you are prepping to sell a high end home). It won't get worse unless you etch/burn it more. If you have a honed finish you might be able to sand it out a bit.

[@rogerkonarski6087]

I don't like acid etching marble - it erodes the various minerals differently, resulting in a slightly bumpy finish. Best to use diamond abrasives for a smoother finish. My background is 25 years plus in the stone restoration business.

[@CleanGroutNW]

Do you think I left it like this? :) This was just a demonstration before honing all of the marble with diamond resin abrasives.

[@rogerkonarski6087]

@@CleanGroutNW - 180 Grit - 220 Grit - nice, even, consistent finish. I have serviced tops in the past, and I can always tell it has been acid etched by the roughness of the finish. Plus, never use a coating - big mistake - it scathes easily, and over time it starts to peel or chip - when moisture gets under coating - there is a whitish haze. The worse part is removing a coating - I will not touch a stone with a coating - too messy to remove.

[@Eljoker007]

My pets cats urine cause my marble to etch(circle whit spots never removed by any cleaners even carbonate soda) so if i bring someone to polish my tiles can this etch be removed??

[@mikeholm7640]

Yes, a stone refinisher should be able to restore your marble to like new.

[@jurgenllanes8541]

What about for granite sir

[@CleanGroutNW]

Granite doesn't etch like marble does. It takes a significantly lower acid (like battery acid) to damage granite, whereas marble will etch with just lemon juice.

[@vashmarshburn7530]

whats the name of the acid you used??

[@CleanGroutNW]

Newline Lo-Test. Any acid will do the same thing. We like Lo-Test because it is metal safe & we use it in a lot of showers.

[@letsfaceitwithchannelle9367]

How do you remove the stain?

[@mikeholm7640]

We used diamond resin abrasives wet to hone (wet sand) the stone. This process removes a tiny amount of the surface of the stone. On this one we started with 220 grit, then did 400 grit and then finished with a pad to get a consistent finish.

[@mikeholm7640]

I didn't own this machine yet (I used to have to do these big islands with a 5 inch makita angle grinder) but this shows how honing is done kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4KpeYOnaad-nKs

[@MrHabitat009]

mike holm wouldn’t use a angle grinder but rather a variable speed polisher.

[@mikeholm7640]

@@MrHabitat009 Correct. That's what I should have said but more people know what an angle grinder is than a variable speed polisher. We have gone through several Makita 9227C's a 9237C, the Dewalt and the big Milwaukee variable speed polishers through the years of honing and polishing stone.