Hi, I had a travertine floor installed last year with a polished finish. Many years ago, my bathroom was done in crema marfil. For the first few monthes the travertine looked great but then it started to lose its shiny finish and become dull looking. It also scratched very easily and the grout darkened (mainly in the higher traffic areas). The crema marfil still had a shine to it, but was not as shiny as it should be. The grout also had started to darken a bit. Six monthes ago I hired a marble installer to clean/polish the travertine floor as well as the crema marfil and he also regrouted everything. This was not the same person who initially installed the travertine floor because he went out of business. After the installer cleaned everything, the grout and floor looked very clean. However, the travertine still looked dull and not shiny. He also cleaned the crema marfil marble in my bathroom and made the grout white. He said that he did not know how to get it the original polished finish of the travertine. Also, after he cleaned the crema marfil that became really dull -- like the unpolished travertine finish. He told me that I should hire someone to diamond refinish the crema marfil to get it back to its natural shine. A few monthes went by and the travertine floor got scratched, dirty and the grout darkened and actually came out in many areas leaving these ugly black lines. The crema marfil grout darkened too. I then hired a company who advertises locally as a marble restoration professional to come out and "diamond refinish", "polish" and restore the travertine and the crema marfil to new, polished, clean and shiny condition. I do not know what to do because the travertine and crema marfil look awful -- scratched, dull... it just looks like caked up sealer all over. I can even see the mans sneaker prints in the sealer -- it says "new balance" on my bathroom floor not to mention all dust and even hair caught up in the sealer. He said that the sealer would make it shiny. He also "painted" the dark dirty grout with a white grout paint and it looks grey. In areas devoid of grout he said that nothing could be done -- grout would not stay, and there's nothing I can do about the black lines... that's just the way travertine is because the tiles are so close together. There also were circles all over where the machine "polished". I saw the man used a machine with a home depot label on it and painted "sealer" before polishing. The circular machine then polished and cleaned everything with the sealer. End result is that my floor looks awful. Please help. I have spent thousands of dollars on these "marble restoration" guys who promised me the world but were unable to deliver. I was looking at how to do it myself --- I think my three year old son could do a better job. My goal is to find someone who knows how to polish travertine and crema marfil to restore it and make it look beautiful. I then would like to set up a maintenance program for every few monthes. Does it need crystallization? I do not understand the whole process. Any professional out there in the S. Florida area that I can hire to fix my floor and also hire to come out for maintainence every few monthes? What should the cost be for marble care? Also what about the oreck orbiter -- does that work well for home use? What do I look for in hiring a marble restorer next time so I get quality results? Also, what can I do to prevent the scratches -- I have dogs and one son? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
