Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

M3 Technologies

Photos by Bob Murrell

In the hard surface restoration business, there are many consumables that are required for the routine, everyday operations. Natural pads for polishing, Tape and Drape for masking off, diamonds for honing, and all of the necessary chemicals are just a few of the consumable products that are required for the business of restoration and maintenance of natural stone, terrazzo, decorative concrete, and even ceramic tiles. 

The only cost higher than the consumable items is labor. Even gas and maintenance for the van or truck is considered a consumable. What about your phone and internet connections? Yep! Equipment and replacement parts are another cost to consider. You could consider these items as operational costs but that would simply be splitting hairs, in my humble opinion.

Most every project will require masking off adjacent sensitive areas. Tape and Drape is an essential product to protect these areas from slurry splatter and chemical attack. Blue painter’s tape is also used to help secure the Tape and Drape. Red polyvinyl tape is used where a higher water resistance is needed, or when building water retention walls around a countertop edge. You should always have these masking products in stock on your van or truck.  

When you think of consumables, many items come to mind. There are obvious items like razor blades, which come in different sizes and gauges. I suggest that these should be purchased in quantities of 100 or more. It is very important to always use a fresh razor blade and to keep it on a sharp angle when removing things like paint, coatings, and mineral buildup. 

Rags are another consumable that must be kept in inventory. Soft, absorbent rags are used for many things such as impregnator/sealer applications, absorbing and removing slurry wastewater, and for additional water protection. Large absorbent towels, old sheets and blankets are also used as drop cloths. These can be washed and re-used, except for those rags used in sealer applications, as these become loaded with sealer and lose their absorbency.  

Left: Keep blue tape, Tape & Drape, and drop cloths/sheets in your van or work truck. Right: ELF3- 40 grit Flexible metal bond diamonds with spacers, shown here for grinding terrazzo.

Of course, one of the big-ticket consumable items is your chemicals. Majestic Deep Stone Cleaner & Degreaser and Stone & Grout Intensive Cleaner (alkaline -based) are a must-have for many projects. Strippers are also important when removing coatings like finish and light acrylics. I don’t know how many times I have seen a contractor initially not see the light application of a “mop and glow“ type product that was previously applied to the surface. Majestic Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner (acid-based) is excellent for ceramic tile projects (and also other applications). 

Majestic No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner is the my recommended maintenance product for most all hard surfaces. All customers should have the No-Rinse pH Neutral Cleaner implemented into their maintenance program, by you, the contractor. This should be your standard practice. Always leave the customer with specific maintenance instructions and product. 

Above: Accordion foam splash wall, Majestic 5X Gold Polishing Powder, Diamond hand pad, and Tape & Drape are common consumables you might use with every job.

Majestic 5X Gold, Marble Polishing Compound, XXX, or 10X polishing products will, more than likely, be your biggest chemical consumable. Of course, there are other similar products like the Majestic Granite Polishing Powder, Honing Powders, tin oxide, Crystallizer, Tile Polish I & II, and some other specialty products. These polishing and honing chemical products are used in most every stone restoration project. At M3 Technologies Inc, our biggest selling product is our 5X Gold Marble Polishing Powder. We sell it to restoration professionals all over the world.

Re-polishing or re-honing is required periodically, especially on softer stones like travertine and other soft calcium-containing stones. The more the foot traffic the more and faster the wear patterns develop. Lack of proper maintenance will also increase the frequency of re-polishing. Ideally, you should implement a periodic follow-up maintenance program to deal with traffic wear and other issues. This periodic service agreement is a good source of recurring income.

Diamond abrasives and other grinding or honing products are used routinely to restore or change the look of a hard surface. When stone wears beyond what polishing or honing powders alone can correct, captured grain abrasives (diamond discs or pucks) become necessary. Typical honing steps, to correct traffic wear and acidic spills, normally begins with a 220 grit disc. Of course, regarding flooring, this depends on the degree of the existing lippage. If the lippage is very minimal, you may be good to start at a 220 grit. If the lippage is moderate to severe, it will normally need to be flattened. In any case, you should always have a good inventory of TX Triple Thick diamonds (say from 50 grit to at least 800 or 1800 grit as well as some 5-inch resin-bonded diamonds (same as TX grits) for edging/border work. I also recommend having some flexible metal-bonds (ELF series), both 3-inch for floor machines and 5-inch for use on a hand tool. Keep them in your toolbox, for any heavier stock removal requirements.

Above, Left: 400 grit diamond hand pad for spot repair, used here on Tennessee Pink marble. Above, Right: Majestic Stone Plus Concentrate left behind for customer’s “antique” Corian countertop.

Then there are the accessories like drive plates for floor machines and hand tools, splash guards, replacement Velcro, steel wool pads for polishing, more replacement Velcro, and spacers for added cushion or flexibility. Some contractors just don’t want to fool with scraping off old Velcro from drive plates and replacing with new and instead just purchase a new drive plate. Others prefer to save over $100 and replace the old with new. I suggest getting the regular Velcro-type drive plate without the added foam cushion. In this way, Velcro replacement is an easier task. You can use the 3-inch spacers, under your diamond discs, for extra cushion and flexibility.

Consumables are a necessary expense for this business. Be sure you keep them in stock to avoid costly last-minute purchases. Running out last-minute to a hardware store to get products that may not be the best design for our applications, takes away from your bottom line.  

As always and before beginning any new project, I recommend submitting a test area to confirm the results and the procedure, prior to starting a stone or hard surface restoration/maintenance project. Also, the best way to help ensure success is by partnering with a good distributor, like BB Industries, that knows the business. They can help with technical support, product purchase decisions, logistics, and other pertinent project information.

Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and is well known for his expertise in natural stone, tile, and decorative concrete restoration and maintenance. He helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the industry, and is currently the Director of Operations for M3 Technologies.

Send your comments and questions to Bob at attn:publisher@slipperyrockgazette.net .