Black Marcqino on cladding

rupen59 · 02-22-2008, 07:03 AM

I was called to a site where the client has installed Black Marqino on the wall cladding.The polisher used wax to finish the marble now what has happened that the seems to be wearing off and patches has started appearing on the surface the client wants me to polish the entire marble which is approx 2500 sq ft and he would like to know how he can maintain the same so that it remains clossy and black.Please also note that it is quite difficult to polish the marble on the wall cladding.

glenn k · 02-22-2008, 09:02 AM

You may want to test removing the wax with a razor first to see what shape the marble is first. If the marble has retained it shine, you will not need to grind or even use a polishing compound, just remove carefully with razors.

I know that this sounds menial and tedious. But your arms will become very sore holding a hand held machine up to a wall for the many hours to do 2,500 sq.ft.

Since you live in India, I beleive that you can find some inexpensive labor workers to help complete the large task, but they must be very careful not to cause scratches. Work slow. You will need many many razors. I usually use on razor per square foot. So you may need 2,500 razors.

Another process, which may cause ethcing to the stone is using a stripper to remove the wax. I am not sure what types or brands they have in your country, If the ph level is too high, you will cause etching, and then you will need to polish (maybe even grind) to correct this procedure, THEN you will have to repolish. Since this is black marble, make sure you do not make waves when polishing. Your arms will be very sore.

Both ways will make lots of money.

Huligar · 02-22-2008, 12:38 PM

This is a large job job and it will take you some time. If this was my job, I would wash the wall with vinegar and water just to cut the wax, than hit it with 5x or B52 and re-polish the stone. I can get about a 100 feet a hour with out killing my arms. Test the your vinegar and water solution, this solution can damage the stone, so please test in a small area. also start from the top and work your way down. clean and naturalize all the run off and drips. Seen that you are in India, I hope you get paid what this job is worth, I also hope you can get all the stuff that is needed to do this job.

david bassler · 02-22-2008, 03:46 PM

If I was doing a test area to see what is under the wax, I would use a solvent such as lacquer thinner, or acetone. Solvents work quickly to remove waxes.

Huligar · 02-22-2008, 04:40 PM

Davis I agree with yo but, that stuff may cost too much for this job, plus that stuff works fast but dry even faster, and he may end up with darker drip lines on the stone.

deted1 · 02-22-2008, 07:53 PM

This material is very reactive to the mineral content is acid rain and other environmental factors.

Build a machine that uses a pulley system to suspend a hand machine. We just finished a 24,000 square foot white marble refinishing job on walls in this manner. With four men we were able to refinish and polish 800 square feet per day.

The polishing process on this material can be done with 5x. Seal the stone very well right away to reduce moisture intrusion in the mornings. This can cause the surface to look cloudy in the veins as the moisture evaporates in late morning.

On some walls we have used graffiti film to protect the surface and eliminate the cost of maintenance. This can be applied only to a dry surface. Once this is done the surface will appear reflective and be protected from the weather. Maintenance consists of replacing panels periodically. Test this extensively before you apply to make sure it works for the materials.

This job should take four trained men around five days with one DS300 and a pulley system.

glenn k · 02-22-2008, 08:51 PM

Deted,

That is a great idea about using a pulley system to hold up the machine, although i do not know how that passes OSHA rulings.

Huligar · 02-22-2008, 09:52 PM

I can not find any information on the DS300 and a pulley system. Can you point me in the right direction.

deted1 · 02-23-2008, 01:34 AM

We had to build a pulley system. check out my pictures under large projects - spring after. The first picture shows one in use. This was a very crude design, since then I have refined it but it effectively made a 30 pound machine feel like a 4 pound machine. There is still a little fatigue because you have to move the machine. After eight hours though your guy won't feel like he's going to call in sick the next day.

Use a cable system similar to a nautilus machine. Balance the machine with weight by trial and error. The smoother the cable the easier it will be to move it. If you use a square fitting at the bottom with a round vertical pole you can get a little swing out of the arm and it will allow you to work on up to 50 feet at a time. You still need to finish with a 0-1500 hand machine and 5X. I like pure oxalic but very few know how to use it properly.

The idea here guys is to reduce operator fatigue and save money by eliminating man power. I originally built two of these simple machines for that job and was about to buy another machine from intertool. I only needed one because when we put it into production we were moving so fast that the other one would have actually slowed us down.

And the beautiful thing is that I designed it drew it on a piece of paper, took it to a metal fabricator, and he had them built the next morning for $400. The pulleys and the cables were separate but the whole thing was less than $500.

We estimated that it saved us 2 weeks of labor or approximately $8,000 in profit.

deted1 · 02-23-2008, 01:41 AM

I do not think OSHA would disapprove of the use of this machine. It was stable and safe. It was so safe that you could just let go of the machine and let it hang in the air and it would not move because it was being supported by a counter weight.