TIPS: Top polishing seams
You cant be serious! Mark, you mean to tell me you top-polish every seam?
YUP!
It takes 10-15 mins…and it makes the job perfect!
It takes alot of practice to master! At first it will take longer.
The only tools you need to perform this task are:
Matabo 125 quick variable speed polisher
Alpha turbo backer
200 grit alpha turbo
500 grit alpha turbo
1000 grit alpha turbo
4" Alpha hard backer
1000 grit alpha resin pad (not ex)
white & black buff (ya buy Alpha, they are the best we have found)
(occasionaly…seldom…use a little polsihing powder)
Roll of masking tape
Pentel Presto White out pen
Note1: when you get your new turbos you MUST index them.
Make a mark on the turbo holder and the turbo…run them on the back of some black absolute until the turbos no longer chatter. Put them on the same way everytime…do not attempt to top polish with a chattering turbo!
Note 2: Top polsihing is no substitute for a crappy install you MUST have your counter flat and true or you will create optical distortions when you are done.
Step one: Scrape down seams with razor blades, make a tape damn, make some reference lines with a presto white out pen
Step Two: Set the speed on the Matabo between 1-2 (kinda slow) Start with 200 grit use a small amount of water and work the polisher in little figure 8s until you mill the seam down. The white out line give you a reference.
Do not go hog wild you can easily over do this. Once lines start going away you are getting close…use you fingers to feel the seam and work until lippage is removed most of the way.
We are done with the 200! Note the shiny spot on the right…that is the natual bow in the material…we are going to fix that! Now we switch to the 500 grit turbo to take the seam all the way! Same procedure as 200 grit. (we are talking about microns of difference…the human finger can feel this!)
We are now done with the 500. It is critical to dry and examine your work area closely. Make certain you have removed all 200 grit scratches with the 500. The 1000 grit will not remove them. (there is nothing more annoying than finishing a seam and finding a 200 grit scratch that was missed)
Repeat the procedure with the 1000 grit turbo…take your time and use plenty of water.
You are done with the turbos! This next part is the killer trick! SWITCH to a hard backer and do the 1000 grit with a normal amount of water and work the area.
Note: as you move from one grit to the next make the work area a little bigger
After you have worked the whole area wet start to polsih wet to dry. This is an art. You make a small puddle and dip into it and run to dry…the stone will start to shine.
Set the speed to 2 on the matabo.
WOW! Time to bring out the BLING BLING! Switch to your buff pad (note alpha works the best) and work wet to dry…dont use much water. The tool will start to get real hot! We allways use two polsihers but it can be done with one.
Sometimes you may need to sprinkle a little powder to get the polish to pop…we rarely use powder and when we do the amount is miniscule!
Work it wet to dry…trust me, you dont need 2000 or 3000 grit those steps are a waste of time.
BANG! Time to watch your customers surprise when he or she realizes that you can NOT feel the seam. You are a HERO!
When you are done inspect the area…use a good enhancing sealer (we like AquaMix Enrich & Seal) This will color correct any issues that may arrise from the procedure when polishing resinated or dark slabs.
This simple process has solidified our company as a High End Custom Operation!We make more money and get more referals.
I hope you take the time to learn this skill. Eventually, it will become the standard. Feel free to visit my website http://www.stoneworks.cc and try to find a seam in the pictures.
If you have any questions…post them in the forum…I may make a video one day.
I hope you found this helpful!
Warmest Regards and Happy Fabricating!
Mark Lauzon
Stone Cutter
