Polishing Black Marble?

[Lynn Kull]

Hi Guys, does anyone know what it takes to polish black marble? I am wondering if this can be done with a buffing wheel of some sort?

Would use it mostly to polish edges on Marble that I cut and if it worked well and didn't take all day, to remove scratches or try and reuse mistakes.

thanks lynn

[Keith Outten]

Lynn,

I would love to know the answer to your question as well. What research I have done leads me to believe that some expensive stones are required to polish marble. I have had some success with abrasive belts but not to the high-polished level yet. Most of the web sites I have found show some expensive machines being used with diamond wheels and of course it is a process that is done using plenty of water. I have found a local company that provides this service but haven't visited them yet, possibly they will share some knowledge.

[Tim Sproul]

diamond compounds with a hand held buffing wheel will work. Diamonds are used by granite fabricators so I'm certain they'll work just fine on marble as well. arrowhead lapidary supply is the least expensive retailer that I'm aware of.

I know about this because I use diamond compounds to sharpen my tools.

YMMW

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Lynn;
Check out this website:
http://www.granitecitytool.com/stone-tool.cfm?itemnum=1638&catnum=0

These flexible discs are fairly inexpensive and last long. You need an assortment of grits.
These are fine for putting a polish on a flat surface or edge. Hope this helps.
George M. Perzel

[Michael Wells]

Hey Lynne,

In order to get the high shine that the marble has on it's surface you would generally need a polishing wheel and several steps (about 8) of rouge to get to the final buff. It does take a long time unless you have an automatic polisher like the marble companies have. Personally I think that you can use several quick sanding steps and and a couple of quick intermediate rouges to get an acceptible edge. It's not going to be the high polich but it should only take 15 to 20 minutes to do.

The sanding you can start with a 440 grit wet, if the edges are pretty clean, and run in about 3 steps to a 1200 wet. Then use two or three intermediate rouge steps with a wheel.

Most tile and marble supply companies carry the polishers and the rouge for small jobs.
Michael