Marble and Granite - What Produces the Shine?

Article by: David Andrew Smith

Many people make the assumption that marble, granite and other finely polished natural , Planning Permission Tips Uk - How To Select A Property to Extend or Develop stones shine because a 'polish' has been added to them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Natural stones , Blinds The Perfect Window Covering are made of crystals. The crystals are made up of different minerals. Each mineral forms a different crystal shape. These different crystals interlock together to make up the stone. , Flooring Tips You Must Know When stone , The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guide is first quarried it has a very rough texture to its surface as it breaks along the crystal joints. By using a series of graduated grinders the stone , The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guide is ground down. The grinders are normally made from industrial diamonds and to start the process a very rough one is used. It is the same principle as sanding down wood. , How To Clean A Cuckoo Clock You start with glass , Let’s “Clear the Air” Shall We? paper that is very coarse and gradually use finer and finer glass , How to Build a Home Sauna - Three Important Questions to Answer Before Building paper until you have a fine, smooth finish to the wood. , Adding Stairs Into Deck Railing Plans With stone , The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guide the glass , The Basics Of Integrated Circuitry paper is replaced with diamond studded pads and these get finer and finer.

What the grinding is doing is cutting the rough edges off the stone , Glass Sinks – 4 Unbreakable Rules of Buying a Glass Vessel Sink by scratching it and as the diamonds become smaller and smaller the scratches become finer and ultimately microscopic. What you end up with is a very smooth surface to the stone. , What Every Kitchen Needs The crystals have by a slow process of finer and finer grinding been worn down until on the surface they are all perfectly flat , What Do You use Your Garage For? and smooth with each other. A perfectly flat , How Do Softeners Convert Hard Water to Soft? surface will reflect the light , 5 Ways To Dress Up Your Bath, In A Flash, For Little Cash! uniformly and will look like glass. , The Basics Of Integrated Circuitry

Consider a mirror that reflects light , How Do Softeners Convert Hard Water to Soft? uniformly giving you a clear sharp image. Make the glass , Effective Roofing Repairs curved or rippled and you get a less clear, less sharp image reflected back. The same applies to stone. , Preventing Basement and Crawlspaces Mold If the crystals are flat , What Do You use Your Garage For? then you get a perfect image reflected back and the stone , How To Clean A Cuckoo Clock looks incredibly shiny. Roughen the surface slightly and the reflected light , Is Laminate Flooring Your Choice? ceases to give you a perfect reflection and the stone , Adding Stairs Into Deck Railing Plans begins to dull. Any interference with the stones , How to Create an Ideal Kitchen surface can cause this dulling to appear. It could be a series of minute scratches made by dirt or it could be caused by acid materials etching into the stone , Tinkling wind chimes destroying its shine in that region.

To get the shine back the stone , Home Security Tips For Those On A Budget must be ground down again. Consequently the shine on a stone , Old Cabinets Look New! is not the product , How to Create an Ideal Kitchen of adding some chemical to the stone , French Country Kitchen Decorating but is a property , Blinds The Perfect Window Covering of the stone , How to Create an Ideal Kitchen itself.. The harder the stone , Laminate Hardwood Flooring – What Is It And Why Is It So Popular? the more difficult it is to grind but the greater degree of shine that can be achieved, which is why polished granite has the greatest degree of shine, followed by marble then limestone.

David Andrew Smith is the owner of http://www.wesparkle.co.uk a cleaning services company involved in the care and maintenance of natural , “5 Fast Ideas to Freshen the Look of your Room " stone flooring , Why Should You Need Tools for Everyday Living as well as providing cleaning services throughout the UK.

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