How to refinish and polish granite counters

This is a scratch removal project (first video listed) on an exterior granite slab performed by a Sureshine Service Network technician. The Sureshine Service Network is a group of elite stone restoration pros that can handle any stone repair or restoration project. The service network has pros throughout the United States. You can find a trusted pro at sureshineservicenetwork.com.

This is a memorial in Buena Park, California to honor fallen police officers. I was honored to be able to repair these scratches prior to the dedication. The scratches occurred when positioning these large bronze statues. They were not deep but were very evident on this dark polished granite.

If you are interested in learning how to perform these services, you can find a comprehensive how-to on this repair at stonecareedu.com in the Master Stone Restoration Class Bundle. Of course, all sureshineservicenetwork.com technicians have access to these classes in their continuing education. If you are interested in joining the network and are a skilled technician or business owner we would love to have you. Please get in touch with us at sureshineservicenetwork.com. Just click the join our network tab on the home page.

Evaluating is Important

When evaluating a scratch for refinishing the starting grit is super important. If you start too high you will have to do areas over and feather them out. As a result, your repair becomes bigger than you intended. There are some risks to starting too low such as waviness and rogue scratches caused by the rocking of the machine. As you develop your skills, these concerns lessen and you will be able to start lower and actually reduce the time of your repairs. The scratches on this slab (video above) were minimal but I want to make sure I remove them on the first pass so I am using the NSI 300 grit turbo pad.

Define Your Work Area

I outlined the repair area with a yellow crayon or wax pencil. This defines the repair area and makes it visible when you spray water on it. When outlining the repair you want to look carefully to make sure that you have all of the scratches in your workspace. At the same time, you want to keep your workspace as small as possible. To start, spray a liberal amount of water on the repair area and put your machine head flat on the surface. Start your machine and hold it so that you are placing direct pressure down the arbor of the machine. The Makita 9227c has little slots in the head so you can put your fingers in there. The new Makitas have a plastic covering on the head that prevents that but it is removable. Run your 300 pads thoroughly to ensure the complete removal of the scratches. I like to run my turbo diamond grits at a slow speed. I keep the dial set to one. If you are using a Milwaukee you will need to run your dial up a little because the amount of pressure needed to keep the machine flat will not allow the Milwaukee to run properly at the lowest setting on the dial. The Milwaukee is a great tool though and will work well. Back to the repair at hand. Run your Makita from left to right or in the direction of the machine spin. This will keep the water in the repair area so it does not fling out and dry the area under your diamond. This is a large area. When refinishing a scratch or seam in a home the area will be smaller.

With each grit, you will define your repair area with a wax pencil or crayon and run in a similar manner. Each grit must remove the scratches from the previous grit. So when you are using your wax pencil make sure your line is outside of all scratches from the previous grit.

When running the machine in the repair area you will want to concentrate first along the outside of the area then work your way in. I like to leave the line there until the end until I am satisfied that I have the hone that I need. Then I will run my diamond slowly around the outside of the area to remove the line but also create a new line with the current grit. I tend to know when I am done by the feel of the machine but you can define the number of passes you want to use if you wish. This can be a little dangerous though on some harder granites and quartzites though so learn to feel when the diamonds stop cutting.

A little about scratch patterns. With practice, you will be able to recognize the finish of each grit. To learn to recognize the scratch pattern and differentiate lower grit scratches from a higher grit hone I recommend using a scrap piece of granite and putting a 150 scratch pattern in it and studying the texture. Recognize the distance between the scratches and their depth. Then hit it with 500 or 300 lightly, not enough to remove the 150 scratches but enough to put even 300 or 500 hones on the surface. Then study the surface to recognize the difference in the distance between the new scratches, the depth, and how they differ from the deeper scratch pattern. Studying scratch patterns will make you a better technician.  

Always check for stray scratches

Between grits look closely at the work area for rogue scratches. The best place to look for rogue scratches is on the outside edge of the workspace and on any place on the piece where you felt your machine chatter. Chattering causes the edges of the granite diamonds to dig. Chattering is the sudden uncontrollable wobbling of the diamond pad on the stone. This usually happens when there is not enough water between the pad and the stone or you are holding the machine in such a way that the diamond is not consistently flat on the surface. I have taught a lot of technicians in hands-on classes and this is the most common mistake that we correct. ­If you are not able to hold your machine flat, you may want to consider using 4-inch granite polishing pads. There are several brands out there for this. Four-inch granite polishing pads extend the size of your work area though and can take longer because your psi is less but they are easier to keep flat on the surface.

1000 is the last three-inch turbo pad you need to use. Some pros like to go higher with the NSI Turbos. They have 2000 and 3000 grit and they can definitely help you achieve a polish if you are unsure about your skills with the resins or you want your resins not to have to work so hard. The method you are seeing me perform here has been used by me several hundred times so I can safely say that you don’t need to worry that your resins will not do the job. You just need to take the time to learn how to exploit them to get the most work out of them.

Your going to see the clean lines on this piece suddenly become hazy. That is because I initially used the NSI Redeemer pads 1000-3000 to finish this off. I did not get the results that I was looking for. But before I criticize the pads I have to admit that they are new to me, and I have not used them very much. With every innovation in tooling, there is a competence level that must be achieved to use it right. So I will continue to put these pads through the wringer until I have a conclusion either way that they are useful. At this point, I will keep recommending the use of Alpha Ceramica to finish the repair. I was expecting the same finish after 1000 Redeemer as the 1000 Alpha. That did not happen. In fact, I didn’t get a very good shine even after the 3000s so I went back and redid the area with the Alpha 1000 and they worked flawlessly.

When using the Alpha resins to finalize the polish on your granite repair, you work them wet to dry as shown here. Work in sections and as the water under your pad starts to haze, apply a little more pressure and work the surface until you achieve an even finish. I like to keep the Makita at level 1 but I do tend to turn it up as the haze develops. I have found that it takes less downward pressure and can yield fantastic results. Going as high as between 2 and 3 is fine.  With these granite polishing pads, you can run them several times over the same area and when you stop seeing an improvement in the shine you want to move on to the next area. In the video, you can see the light that is covered with plastic and tape there. With obstructions like this, you want to make sure you run your resin diamond as close to them as possible to remove the previous grit and blend with the surface. No need to get close if your previous scratch pattern is not but in this case I blended right up to the light. If you don’t run them right up to the edge thoroughly you will see a halo effect around the light that will be difficult to remove with MB20.

Run your Alpha resins in such a way as to remove the clean line from the 1000-grit NSI Turbo pads. When you do this right, you will be able to see better shine and color in the refinished area and the finish will slowly dissolve into a haze surrounding your work area and that haze will slowly dissolve into the factory finish of the surrounding area. In a kitchen, you will be able to see the light bulbs in the shine. Some loose-grained granites can get the sanding just stuck in the fissures or pours so doing a quick wet run may help reduce that.

How to pop the shine before MB-20 Granite Polish is used

So you don’t always need to use 2000 and 3000 Ceramicas but I chose to on this repair, not because I was worried about getting the shine, this is actually a pretty easy granite to polish, this is an exterior repair and the surface was starting to get hot from the sun. MB20 granite polishing paste can be tricky on exterior hot surfaces and I didn’t want the MB20 to have to work that hard to achieve the shine I was looking for. Running the 2000 and 3000 created much more depth and clarity in the finish so when I ran MB20 the deep color and shine were achieved much faster with less effort.

On to the MB20. Most of us already know how to polish granite counters with MB20. I have several videos detailing that service. I have a few of those videos posted in this article. This repair was outside in direct sunlight so I used a water bottle to keep it wet. On interior counters, I tend not to use water. I also tend to use a 5-inch polish head on interior counter repairs because it throws less material around. This was an exterior repair so I used the 7-inch.

I like to apply a liberal amount of MB20 granite polishing paste to the pad and start the pad at a low speed in a concentrated area. If I am using a 7-inch pad I will increase the speed as it starts to haze up and burn it in with no downward pressure on the machine. It may take a couple of times to achieve the finish we are looking for here but the result will be a factory finish. Remember that the seven-inch pad provides a lot more friction than smaller pads so a water bottle helps to reduce those light swirl marks that can be left behind. A quick squirt with water and a few passes with the machine and removal with a microfiber cloth before it dries will provide a streak-free finish.

You do the same when working with MB20 around obstructions or in small areas. A three-inch NSI Velcro backer pad is perfect for running MB20 in these areas. In a kitchen, you may want to run a small pad like this around the back of a sink or on bullnoses. When using a 3-inch pad you can run the machine at a higher speed because the smaller diameter means the outside edge is running slower so it is not going to throw the polish around as much.

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How to polish marble with MB-12

This is a short one on the use of MB-12 polishing powder to pop the shine quickly and easily on a marble counter. This process can be done on most marble surfaces including polishing marble showers, tight areas on floors where floor machines can’t reach, as well as small touch-ups on polished marble surfaces.

I recommend this product for professional use and for ambitious homeowners that have the right tools and take responsibility if they end up needing to call a pro.

How it’s Done

You start with a small amount of MB12 marble polishing powder (a pinch) and squirt a few drops of water on the powder. Using a low-speed polisher and a white or hog’s hair pad (I prefer a white pad), start working the powder into the polishing area slowly. Work your marble counter polishing powder until it dries completely and keep buffing as the shine improves. The process should take just a few minutes. If it takes longer, you are using to much water. It should dry out almost immediately.

As you keep using your pad through multiple polishing steps with the MB12 marble polishing powder, the pad will load up and become caky and hard. This is good for you because you can use that pad after that with just a small amount of water to polish your marble counter. I save all of my pads in case I have a small touch-up on a marble or travertine floor that I have just polished. I like to use my Makita at low speed with my loaded pad. I squirt a small amount of water on the pad and blend the area to a perfect polish.

What to look out for

The best philosophy when using any wet-to-dry polish on a marble counter, shower, or floor is: less is more. By this, I mean that you should always use a small amount of material to polish your marble surface. Plan on polishing the area more than once. Whether you are polishing a large counter or behind a toilet, work your polish slowly and plan on polishing it a couple of times. This will prevent you from using too much marble polishing powder or too much water.

Some issues that occur when you try to overdo it are burning of the material, orange peel, streaks, spatter marks on already polished areas, and other issues related to acid reactions on marble and metals.

Check out the videos

The videos on this page are all related to the use of MB-12 polishing powder and other wet-to-dry polishing powders on marble and other surfaces. There are a lot of great nuggets of information shared in these videos. One such nugget is to always treat the center of your marble polishing pad as the area that is doing the work. So when you are polishing edges around sinks and the fronts on counters, you should hang your machine off the edge by about half. This will make certain that you have a perfectly polished marble counter across the entire surface.

You can find a professional to do this at Sureshineservicenetwork.com.

We need Contributors

If you are a pro and want to contribute to this site, I welcome your input. If you are interested, please post a comment and I will get in touch. Your articles can be backlinked to your website, videos, and other content.

@sureshinesn#polishing a #marble#counter in 40 seconds with MB12. We are #marblepolishing♬ original sound – Sureshine Service Network

How to Polish Marble without Polishing Powder

The following is a summary of a demonstration performed by Cameron DeMille using MB Stone Professional, Inferno Marble Polishing diamonds pads. My thoughts are at the end.

Please enjoy the video as well. There are some very good nuggets of wisdom as Cameron makes his way through the grits.

An etch was put into this marble piece during the recent Surfaces TISE 2023 trade show In Las Vegas. Cameron DeMille of MB Stone Professional is demonstrating how to remove the etch and bring back a natural-looking polished finish without the use of polishing powders.

Cameron is using the new MB Stone Professional Inferno Diamond Pads. The Infernos range in grit from 60 – 6000. The actual grit sequence of these marble polishing pads is 60, 120, 220, 400, 800, 1800, and 6000. The first four grits are diamond-cutting grits. The last three grits (800, 1800, 6000) have a diamond matrix combined with a unique blend of a compound and other abrasives that allows the user to achieve maximum gloss with minimal effort and mess.

Cameron uses the 60-grit Inferno to remove the heavy scratches and the permanent marker that he put on the piece.

It is important to note that most counters do not need to be ground as low as 60 grit. I recently completed a small white marble counter with heavy veining by removing the initial etching with 220. The resulting shine was perfect. In fact, the piece used in this demonstration may have resin filler in the fissures and cracks so the 60 grit did open it up a little. You will be able to see this in the final polish at the end of the video.

Cameron recommends the use of a plastic putty knife to remove the diamonds from the backer pad. The Velcro on these marble diamonds is very “sticky” so it is difficult to remove without a wedge of some kind.

After the first cut that removes all of the existing damage, Cameron recommends polishing the marble counter up using, “three passes with each step we’re not doing more or less on the lower grits or the higher grits it’s just three passes all the way through so we’re going to do one overlapping vertical pass,” then one side to side overlapping pass, then one in small tight circles.

You are putting 8-10 pounds of pressure on the machine, “about the pressure you want is like imagine if a gallon of milk was sitting on top of the machine with about eight pounds of pressure.”  

As you move the machine from vertical overlapping passes to side and then to circular you will start to feel the surface becoming smoother. This happens when you feel less resistance to the machine. Make sure you have enough water down to keep the diamonds cutting as you move across the marble counter.

The first grit removes the damage you are trying to correct. The second grit removes the first grit scratches, and each successive grit removes the scratches from the previous grit until you achieve a high polish from the final 6000 grit. Make sure you are using plenty of water to keep the diamonds cutting the marble counter and hold the machine in such a way that the diamonds stay flat on the surface and do at least three overlapping passes across the marble counter.

Cameron goes on to say, “a major upside of these pads is they’re very hard and they’re very rigid they don’t curl up in the toolbox.” Additionally, “they keep a flat finish if you have stone where somebody else has gone in like a limestone or travertine top and they kind of like orange peeled it and stuff the 60 will plain it flat.”

The Inferno marble polishing diamonds are very smooth so they’ll adjust to your machine. The first couple of times you use them you may have to apply more pressure to sufficiently open up the resin and make sure the diamond’s matrix is exposed across the entire marble polishing pad. If necessary the user can use a weighted pad driver for their Makita or Milwaukee variable speed polisher. In fact, as you go up in grit you will move slower and can apply more pressure if you feel it’s necessary. When I am polishing with them I will work each of the polishing grits for three passes, then I will spray a little more water and do three more quick passes with a little higher speed and pressure. I have found that this maximizes each of the diamonds and provides a very nice finished product.  

When you have moved through the grits and removed your residues, your results will be a beautifully polished marble, travertine, or limestone surface. The cost of these marble counter-polishing diamonds can be pricy. I think the 5-inch set is nearly $500.00. But most of the grits will last for hundreds of counters so there is real value there.

I recommend these diamonds to all of my Service Network Members and friends in the industry.