Page 29 - Demo

Slippery rOck Gazette
Stone Restoration & Maintenance Corner
OctOber 2020|29
Intruder Alert
Police in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, say a homeowner ignored a warning from his pet parrot on August 17 because the bird “isn’t always a reliable source of information,” CTV reported.
As a thief entered the home through an unlocked door, au- thorities said, the parrot issued a friendly “hello,” which didn’t alert the homeowner or deter the man from taking a credit card from a wallet. Luckily, an obser- vant neighbor photographed the suspect leaving the scene, and security cameras later caught a 33-year-old man using the stolen card at a store, said police, who promptly arrested him.
Fine Points of the Law
Utica (New York) City Court Judge Ralph Eannace was outraged, but did not set bail for defendant Anthony Walker at his August trial, which surprised even Walker, who had been ar- rested for the second time in two days for leading police on a dan- gerous high-speed chase.
“Because, I guess, of the new bail reform law,” Walker said, Judge Eannace said he had no choice but to let Walker go. Only 2 days previous, Walker had hit another car while driving an expensive Maserati that had been reported stolen.
“I plan to do the right thing this time, man. I’m tired of this,” he told WKTV, apologizing if anyone was hurt.
Utica police noted that Walker made the same pledge after his first arrest. “Yeah,” said Walker, “I did take them on a high-speed chase ... nobody’s perfect, dude.”
Above: Vintage Saltillo tile floor before restoration. The
white patches are salts left from using the wrong cleaner (probably acidic).
Right: Views of the extensive Saltillo tile floor after clean- ing, restoration and sealing. The new owners specified
a high-gloss, water-based acrylic sealer. The sealer was applied with a lambs- wool applicator.
Continued from page 23
These areas were lightly abraded using diamond hand pads (220 and 400 grit).
After the cleaning process was completed, two days of forced air (fan) was used to dry the floor. Once the floor was lightly abraded, cleaned, and dry, ap- plication of the sealer began. As previously stated, a water-based high-gloss acrylic was the sealer of choice. A lamb’s wool appli- cator was used, and at least three applications (coats) were applied. Several hours were given between applications. A few areas that had been abraded enough to expose the bare tile required even more coats to help make the floor look consistent.
The Saltillo tile restoration in this house turned out very nice. The new homeowner was very pleased. With proper maintenance consisting of frequent dust mop- ping, walk-off mats, and routine cleaning with Majestic No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner, this resto- ration should last at least another five years or so before an inten- sive cleaning and possibly some touch-up with more applications of sealer will be necessary.
As always, I recommend sub- mitting a test area to confirm both
the results and the procedure prior to starting a stone or hard surface restoration or maintenance proj- ect. Also the best way to help ensure success is by partnering with a good distributor, like BB Industries, that knows the busi- ness. They can help with technical support, product purchase deci- sions, logistics, and other perti- nent project information.
I pray you all stay safe and healthy.
Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the resto- ration industry.