About Sungloss Marble Co.

Specializing in the polishing, wet grinding - which creates no dust-cleaning, honing and sealing of natural stone surfaces in the Chicagoland area.

A member of the Marble Institute of America, National Association of the Remodeling Industry, and the Better Business Bureau, among others, Sungloss is committed to the professional servicing of stone surfaces such as walls, countertops, floors and facades for commercial, residential and post-construction customers.

More About Sungloss »

Sungloss Marble Co. News & Advice

Green Practices in Our Marble Restoration Contractor Work, February 2nd, 2010

Sungloss Marble Restoration Company admittedly goes through a lot of supplies in our daily work of marble, granite, limestone, terrazzo, slate, and other natural stone restoration, cleaning, and polishing. We have ‘honed’ our practices over the 20 years in this business, to recognize ways to deliver high quality stone restoration work while being smart about resources. Some of the day-to-day decisions we make are fueled by our dedication to green practices.

Although it seems common sense, rags are the single biggest item we reuse. During a typical stone cleaning and sealing project, enough rags to fill a garbage bag may be used. What to do with that bag? Wash them! These all-cotton rags can be used at least two or more times, if properly cared for. And on top of that, they are sourced from clothing that is recycled to start with. When we buy the rags sometimes you can see t-shirt slogans peeking out from within the bundle! You wouldn’t think, but the clean cotton rag can be one of the most important tools in finishing a marble, granite, terrazzo, or other stone restoration project. So many times we are called to assist contractors or stone installers who have issues with their penetrating stone impregnators and sealers. We’ve seen these problems stem from the sealer applicator in a few cases being wrong for the application—for example a roller was used and the sealer went on too thick. After stripping the floor and analyzing the situation, what applicator do we determine is best?—cotton rags. Simple and effective, and natural as well.

Not every tool we use can be sourced from natural places. Plastic sheeting and tarps are used at every jobs to protect home and property owners’ baseboards and adjacent walls. However, we are not above cleaning and re-using plastic when it is not stretched or torn. In fact, the tarps are washed, but they will not re-enter a customer’s home or business unless they are dry and free of any residue. Customer respect is a primary tenant of Sungloss Marble Company’s operating manual—we will take any and all precautions to make our customer’s experience only about the beautification and restoration of their natural stone.

Besides these tangible items, we also pay close attention to an oft-overlooked detail about our vehicles: the tire pressure! Making the investment in indicating valve stem caps was one of the best in Sungloss’ history in terms of the return on investment. These caps tell when our tire pressure is falling below the recommended pressure. However, by keeping the tire pressure at optimum, our vehicle gas mileage is as good as it can be while maintaining the health of the tire (over-inflation of tires might get you better mileage but it will make the ride very stiff while wearing out the tire, and even lower tire grip on the road). All that saved gas not only adds up to money in our pocket, but also less demand for oil. Think of what would happen if all of us kept our tires inflated!

---

Maintenance and Planning Tips For Natural Stone Restoration, January 25th, 2010

The goal for our blog about natural stone is to provide education and tips about natural stone care and maintenance, as well as explore ways we all can contribute to a greener world. This week, we at Sungloss Marble Restoration Company observed two recurring things our customers encounter, and wanted to share.

Murphy’s Oil Soap, and Flax Soap, are both common examples of vegetable oil-based soap. Murphy’s Oil is mainly intended to clean sealed wood floors. Although they claim no residue is left behind when used properly on wood surfaces (although some wood professionals disagree), when used on natural stone floors such as marble, granite, terrazzo, limestone, or slate, we have seen disastrous consequences. The vegetable oil residue over time imbeds into the pores of the stone. This process is invisible, and the use of Murphy’s Oil Soap is impossible to detect without a verbal acknowledgement by the caretaker. However, when we’ve been hired to refinish, or seal a floor with this issue, the imbedded residue clashes with our processes and chemicals creating unforeseen problems. For example, the floor will not take a polish, or the stone sealer reacts with the residue and ‘blooms’ (white powder forms). Only after we realize why we’re having problems, can we address the issue by aggressively cleaning and stripping out all imbedded residue. We’ve said it before (and we’ll say it again) DO NOT use Murphy’s Oil Soap on any natural stone surface. Following our 20 years experience and the Marble Institute of America’s Maintenance Guidelines, we recommend a neutral PH rinseless stone soap, used with an unbleached clean nylon pad to clean stone.

Another item we wanted to talk about is what to do with pets during a stone maintenance project in the home. Pet owners know there are many indoor and outdoor dangers to pets (click here for a full list from the Humane Society). When contractors come into the home to do work, new dangers can sometimes be introduced. Sungloss Marble Restoration Company’s environmental motto is to use water-based cleaners and sealers at all times unless a specific circumstance calls for a solvent-based product (in which case we will only use low-VOC products). Our approach to having pets in the home during work is cautionary: even if only water-based products are in use, cats, dogs, or other pets should be strictly kept in another part of the house. While no offensive odors would be present with water-based sealers, accidentally ingesting any of the solutions we use would be bad for them (luckily we have never had any cases of this occurring). In the past when solvent-based sealers were required, the fumes have been harmful enough to recommend pets be removed from the house, or at least far enough away so as to not subject their lungs, which can be as sensitive as a human infant. Another more practical consideration is the fact strange people and noises in the house might confuse or rile up the pet. We’ve even had customers who chose to board their pets for the days we were hired for stone maintenance.

---

Commercial Marble and Granite Restoration – What Exactly is Wet Grinding?, January 18th, 2010

Being in the business of commercial marble, granite, limestone and terrazzo restoration in lobbies, reception areas, and the like, we at Sungloss Marble Restoration use a process called ‘wet grinding’ often. However, not all our clients would be able to accurately describe that process, or its’ parameters.

Simply speaking, wet grinding stone is akin to sanding a wood floor. The stone is ground by pads of industrially produced (man made) diamonds, filtered in the same way grits of sand are filtered for sandpaper. The pads are affixed underneath a machine designed to evenly apply rotation and pressure on the floor, and supply a small amount of water during the grinding process. This is the difference between sanding a wood floor and wet grinding a stone floor – the water traps the stone dust and leaves it suspended in the water for easy squeegeeing or wet vacuuming.

The thickness of scratches is relative in the eyes of the beholder, but we can tell you some basics about scratch removal. In softer stones (almost all but granite) fine scratches develop over time with foot traffic (debris or sand tracked in), vacuum cleaners, wheeled equipment, etc. A moderately significant scratch would be one you can actually feel with you fingernail. Anything deeper than the thickness of a business card is considered a ‘deep’ scratch.

When a floor is ground to specifically remove scratches, removing the thickness of a business card (approximately .012 to .014 inches) is not harmful to the integrity of the surface, nor is it noticeable height-wise. When deeper scratches are a problem, there is a limit to grinding, when the structural integrity of the stone can become affected, or the area with the scratch will actually be noticeable lower (ground down) than the surrounding tiles or stone.

Lippage is a term describing the phenomenon when a tile edge is crooked or uneven, and does not line up flat with the adjacent tiles. This can be remedied by grinding too, although it is usually harder to remove than scratches. The severity and individual configuration of each affected area needs a talented professional’s hand to grind the tiles (not too little or too much), to blend edges in hopes of achieving the most uniformly ‘flat’ floor possible. This process is frequently done with heavy rotary machines as well as handheld machines, or even handheld diamond pads for fine work. We’ve seen the whole spectrum of lippage (from hardly any to a disaster) and the final results will be on a spectrum as well. Some lippage may still remain, but the overall impression is more uniform than before…it all depends on the severity of the problem.

When it comes to scratch removal or lippage removal, our commercial clients including banks, hotels, developers, construction companies, and designers to name a few, have seen first hand how Sungloss adds quality to their commercial stone environment through restoration.

---