And since sealing marble can actually be a DIY project, many opt for this route. But even if you decide to seal marble surfaces, other questions arise. We have already answered the question, "Does marble have to be sealed? The frequency with which to seal marble is dependent upon certain factors.
There are some things that will influence how often marble sealant needs to be applied. A simple way to determine if it is time to seal your marble surface is to put a small puddle of water on the surface, if the water begins to be absorbed by the stone quickly, then it is time to add marble sealer to the stone.
Adding marble sealer will slow the rate of absorption way down so that the owner will have plenty of time to wipe up any spills that could stian or damage the marble. Now that we have covered how to tell if a marble surface needs sealed, let's look at some factors that will affect how often a given slab needs to be sealed. Marble sealers penetrate the surface of a slab and form a barrier beneath the surface of the stone that inhibits absorption.
However, using the wrong cleaner can effectively completely undo all of the work that goes into sealing the stone. Some cleaners that are not made for cleaning sealed stone, will breakdown the sealer's barrier and basically remove the sealer. Another thing to keep in mind when determining how often marble needs sealed is the kind of sealer that will be used. There are various types of marble sealer just like there are various types of granite sealer.
Both impregnating sealer for marble and topical marble sealers are to common ones used. The idea is to choose the best marble sealer for the stone that is being sealed. So what is the best sealer for marble? Much like the question about how often to seal the surface, determining the best marble sealers to use will be affected by many other factors.
We will consider a couple of the big ones in this part of the discussion. These factors ave to do with the finish and the location of the surface. There are various finishes that are available for marble. Polished and honed marble are two of the more popular ones out there. The reason that the finish is important is that it is related to the porosity of stone. Using the best sealer for the type of finish that the marble has will ensure the greatest degree of success.
Polished marble surfaces have a tendency to be less porous than their honed counterparts. This is mainly because the polishing process closes up the pores of the stone.
Additionally, other techniques are sometimes used to decrease the porosity of a particular marble slab. This means that it is important to choose the best sealer for polished marble.
These tend to be ones that can penetrate through the smaller pores, penetrating deep inside the stone to do their work. The sealer carrier works by physically being absorbed by the stone. But what if the stone will not absorb the sealer? Unlike what many people say, some marble will absorb very little liquids with absorption rates of 0. Thus in this case, the sealer is useless and will most likely cause more harm than good.
If the sealer is applied to a marble surface that will not absorb it, then a lot of times the sealer will not be completely wiped away and will ultimately evaporate and leave behind the solid resin creating a hazy look that ruins some of the marble's shine. So how do you know if your stone can benefit from a marble sealer?
Try the water test , it will tell you if your stone will absorb liquids, thus benefiting from a sealer. Each marble stone is unique, it has unique color, hardness, and porosity. Some stones will naturally soak up liquids, while others may take hours to absorb a few drops. The marble's surface finish will also effect the absorption of the stone.
Polished marble will absorb much less than natural unfinished stone because in order to polish marble a lot of the pours on the surface are removed during the polishing process. Honed marble will also absorb less than natural unfinished stone. Like polished marble, the surface finish removes pours on the surface thus preventing liquids from penetrating the surface.
Do to the uniqueness of each stone, and the differences in surface finishes we recommend you run the water test to determine if your stone will even absorb liquids, this way you will truly know if your stone will benefit from a natural stone sealer.
The fact that your marble absorbs liquids is not enough to require a marble sealer. It is also important to know if there is an actual probability of staining your marble surface. For example, shower marble rarely comes into contact with liquids that may cause stains, unless your drinking your morning's coffee in the shower. So a shower's marble for this example does not need to be sealed more on this later. On the contrary, a kitchen countertop will come into contact with liquids that can stain on a daily basis so if that stone is absorbing liquids it will benefit greatly from a marble sealer.
In most cases marble has the possibility of encountering liquids that can cause stains, but it is beneficial to consider this prior to applying marble sealer. In general assuming the marble is absorbing liquids , here are the recommended applications of marble sealer:.
Kitchen Countertops encounter staining agents on a daily basis and can greatly benefit from a marble sealer. Bathroom Countertops encounter staining agents like cosmetics and lotions on a daily basis and can benefit from a marble sealer. In most cases marble showers do not need marble sealers. They rarely come in contact with liquids that can stain, and if they do, in most cases water will be running and will just wash the potential stain down the drain.
Not only is unnecessary to seal marble in a shower, it is possibly counterproductive. Sometimes if sealers are applied to marble in the shower, water can get trapped under the sealer and damage the stone. There is one exception to this rule. Carrara marble white marble in your shower should be sealed. Carrara marble contains iron or metallic minerals inside the stone, and in a shower environment the stone will repeatedly cycle water in and out of the stone.
Over time, this cyclical nature will cause the water to rust the metallic deposit inside the stone turning the stone a yellowish color. Check out this awesome video that goes through a lot of these principles about marble sealers thanks to Dan DiTomaso at Stone Master Inc.
If this article did not answer all your questions about marble sealers, please comment below. It is more susceptible to scratches, and less resistant to acids. What does this mean? Well, it means you may develop permanent stains if your marble is not sealed properly.
Think: red wine, lemon juice, tomatoes… all acidic, all make unsealed marble vulnerable. Even something as simple as water rings can put unsealed marble at risk. Sealing marble countertops should get off to a safe start.
It is common practice in the stone industry for the installer to seal natural stone countertops and floors during the installation process. At that point, it is up to the homeowner to keep it up. There is a simple test you can do to determine if your marble needs to be sealed. Follow these steps:.
0コメント