Been interested in DIY Granite and watched 6 or 7, but until THIS ONE, I didn't find a professional. You gave me the real instruction, and knowledge. I like the shots and the way you explain it. perfect DIY video, and I will subscribe.
Hey jgbloyd, I am blown away when I see old temples made of granite or large stone. The people who built them were obviously tougher and smarter than I am. We are fortunate to have modern tools and you tube videos to guide us through simple jobs. I wish I could view a video that would show how these tremendous feats were accomplished. Thanks!
Hey Doc01864, I do not use any specific brand, they are diamond pads and can be bought at any online granite supply store. Granite City Tool co. has a large selection, but you can shop around online. I'm sure a DA sander will work but you will need diamond pads for polishing granite. Thanks for the comment! Paul
Hi Levenorion, You are correct in saying that I was using an ager/color enhancer. Tiger Ager Sealer is a color enhancer but is also a sealer, I should have specified this in my video but I sometimes miss details. Unfortunately, I work from both ends of the camera. There are numerous companies that sell stone sealers that only seal. I no longer install granite but I preferred using Tiger Ager/Sealer when I cut would cut and install granite. Thanks! Features:
This was tremendously helpful to me! I am having to take granite pieces back to basic to get rid of the spiderwebbing and acid marks in the stone face. Great descriptions and I now feel much more comfortable in something I've never done before!
Heather Taylor Hi heather, This is a process for edging, not top polishing! Please do not attempt to top polish unless you have a lot of practice. It is very difficult. I would try Poultice before trying to polish it. I have removed stains from many granite tops with this product. You mix it with water to make a paste, you will spread it around your entire stain and leave it for 24 hrs. After 24 hrs. you can wipe it off with a clean rag. if you still see stains, you can repeat the process. It is a great product for stains but it will also remove the sealer, so you will have to re- seal the top when done. good luck! Paul
Thanks to Paul for the great video. I am too lazy to do my own, so my hat is off to him. I took his suggestions and ran them by the pros at YK Stone Center in Denver. They allowed me to spend some time in their shop, and it was very enlightening. Here are my suggestions, based on their expertise: 1) Never work marble or granite on sawhorses. You will probably break it. Support it completely. Always carry the marble so that the mesh supports it. That means that if you are carrying it flat, carry it with the mesh up whenever possible. 2) Run your grinder at full speed. Running slow will cause chipping. 3) Use medium pressure. If disks are wearing out too fast, you may be pressing too hard. 4) Do not use short choppy strokes. Use long passes that traverse the entire face of the work, regardless of distance. I watched the YK pros actually walking back and forth up to ten feet per pass to do this. 5) Do the sanding disk work dry. That would be grit 60, 120, and 220 for me. When you switch to your diamond pads, go wet. Not before. 6) Knife grade epoxy is a wonderful thing. I was able to fill depressions, divots -you name it. It sets up fast, and can be worked in 30 minutes. If you can do bondo, you already know how to use this stuff. It even smells like Bondo. 7) Use a grinder set up for 4 inch hook and loop. 5 inch is too big. 8) Use bathtub sealer to mount the granite to the frame below it. 9) If you crack the material, try cyanoacrylate glue. I use the thim stuff, and it worked very well. If there is uneveness, try knife grade epoxy over that. 10) Granite City has a lot of good supplies online. 11) The tools for rough-shaping granite are very expensive. I use a 4 1/2 inch masonry grinding wheel from Harbor Freight. It works like a charm. I then follow that with 60-grit and so on up the scale to 1600. 12) Do not try using sandpaper from Home Depot or Harbor Freight. You will go through it in five minutes.
Hi Chris, it sounds like you learned a lot from YK. That was pretty cool of them to allow you to learn from them. I remember when I first started cutting granite myself, I didn't know anyone. I taught myself and I learned from my mistakes. I remember breaking 2 island pieces. Lost money on that job, but it came out good. I will give you one suggestion, never carry granite flat! Especially if it has mesh on it. Mesh is applied to softer granite in order to give it more strength. I use a frame support when I cut large pieces. They were correct when they said that you can break it with saw horses. I cut this one on saw horses because it was a small piece with a small vanity cutout. It is is also a very hard granite.( Blue Pearl) I would not do this with a soft granite or marble, for it can break under it's own weight. Thanks for the good information! Paul
Paul: Thanks for the good tip. I must add that I cannot run my wet diamond disks at full speed, but try to keep them as fast as possible. Again, thanks for the great video.
Hi Christopher Okula, Yes you can make a full bull nose with your grinder and a 50 grit diamond polishing pad. Unfortunately, it is very hard to do. I have done it in the ends of my granite before, but I am not good enough to do it on long runs. I have some Asian friends that never use a router, they shape all of their bull nose and they are twice as fast as I am. If you want to learn, I would suggest you get several scrap pieces and practice before you try it on your work piece. Good luck!
Hey Death0Toll28, Yes you can do this by gluing your pieces on a board with liquid nail, or mastic. the only problem is that you will need to put an edge band on the table. This will have to cover the edge of the granite as well as the plywood. Thanks and GOOD LUCK! Paul
Paul, Ive seen a bunch of your newer videos. I just recently bought a new kitchen and am ready to install. I just wanted to say thank you for this detailed explanation of how to finish edges! If I could sub twice I would!!!
Thanks for the video. I have been trying to polish the exposed edge of some carrera marble tiles but the 1500 and 3000 dry polishing pads (on a Bosch variable speed grinder lowest setting) are leaving a brown residue on the marble. Have you run into this problem? Do I need better pads?
+Michael H Hi Micheal, I have had that problem in the past. You should try sanding it wet, this will remove the brown stains. lighter colors will sometimes have this problem. Let me know if you have any questions. I will do my best to help. Thanks! Paul
I know a number of people that polish the stone dry. Personally, I like to polish wet, Especially with light colors. If you have brown marks from dry polishing, you can go back 1 step and polish it wet.This will usually remove the burn marks.
Hmmm. I don't have stains on the granite pieces, just spider webbing and a few pits, that have not disappeared after 2 coats of Pectro. They are not deep enough to catch with my fingernail, however at an angle, the webbing can still be seen, even after polishing with MB-20 and a hoghair pad. I was told if it didn't come out, to try dry polishing first with 800 grit, then move to higher grits, ending with a 3000 pad. Your opinion on this?
Heather Taylor Hi Heather, I personally stay away from top polishing, you may wind up with dull spots on your top. This will look worse than your existing problem. If you do decide to try it, you should practice on a sample piece. You will have to go higher than 3000 grit. I used a buff pad and polish when I had to top polish. They make a black buff pad for darker granite and a white one for lighter ones. You should Google top polishing granite. I have seen a couple of companies that sell products and have videos on top polishing. I really wish i could help more but I have only top polished a handful of times. Most installers stay clear of it. I will speak to a few friends in the granite business and see what they say. If I get any new information, I will post it for you. Good luck! Paul
Do I have to use a rotating disc for sanding or can I use a vibrating sandpaper? are the sanders standard wood/metal or are they made specifically for stone?
Hey Ice Turf, Sorry to hear that! You may have missed a step along the way. You have to make sure that you polish each step with the next pad. If you leave the smallest scratches from the previous pad and move to another step, you will not get a shine.This is why I recommend starting from 100 when you see a problem. It only takes a minute or so when doing it a second time, because it should already be smooth. You just have to make a pass or two to get it right! You may have also been sold cheap pads or you may not be using diamond pads for granite. Your pads should start at 50 and go up to 3000. You can also get a buff pad that is used with polish. 3000 grit should give you a pretty good shine on the edges. Do not attempt to top polish. it takes a lot of practice to polish the top.
Paul Ricalde Well It kind of got away from me. I was glueing noseing tiles to my tile countertop (sharp black granite tiles). I did a similar process for some other counters I made, glueing my tile nose on and sanding (using the polishing pads) it to meet the surface perfectly. I hadn't had a problem in the past, so I figured I'd just go for it on this black granite. Not so good. I just lightly sand the horizontal edge to meet the vertical surface. In this case I slipped and I had a few inches of skid for my 50 grit so I had to polish it out, figured no problem. Ahhh. I am curious about this polish (I assume its a slurry you put on the tile, I don't know what it would be officially called though to look for it).
Great Video Paul! Thanks. Wow those profile bits are really pricey. $200 just for one! I guess purchasing the tools for just a single job wouldn't pay off? I really wanted to install my own counter tops, but the price of tools would be more than labor to install.
No backtrack to 400.If you go to 100 your fired !!!! 50 helps shape 100 shapes 200 shapes 400 hones 800 starts the polish 1500 polishes 3000 gets the shine on Buff brings out the Bling
Amazing Video, I am looking to make a coffee table out of granite, My only question is, I have a mix amount of granite slabs, is their a way to connect the pieces together? kinda like a grout with tile, to make it look like a solid piece on top. :o
Hey Paul, great job. wanted to share a couple of things with you. Way to go about wearing eye protection sir! These videos will save everyone some time.
+konstantinIII I use Makita and Metabo. I have always had good results from Makita,but the Metabo is heavier duty,or at least it has the feel of it. They both work great. Thanks!
Colin Matthew Blair Hi Colin, there are a number of places that sell these pads. You can Google, 4" wet-dry diamond polishing pads. Amazon and Ebay has them also. Thanks! Paul
Great info Paul! I'am currently working on an undercount sink with 24" granite tiles as the countertop. Do you favor any certain sealers for the edge sealing?
Been interested in DIY Granite and watched 6 or 7, but until THIS ONE, I didn't find a professional. You gave me the real instruction, and knowledge. I like the shots and the way you explain it. perfect DIY video, and I will subscribe.
Andrew Olmsted Thank you Andrew, I really appreciate your comment!Paul
Hey jgbloyd,
I am blown away when I see old temples made of granite or large stone. The people who built them were obviously tougher and smarter than I am. We are fortunate to have modern tools and you tube videos to guide us through simple jobs. I wish I could view a video that would show how these tremendous feats were accomplished. Thanks!
Hey Doc01864,
I do not use any specific brand, they are diamond pads and can be bought at any online granite supply store. Granite City Tool co. has a large selection, but you can shop around online. I'm sure a DA sander will work but you will need diamond pads for polishing granite.
Thanks for the comment!
Paul
Hi Levenorion,
You are correct in saying that I was using an ager/color enhancer. Tiger Ager Sealer is a color enhancer but is also a sealer, I should have specified this in my video but I sometimes miss details. Unfortunately, I work from both ends of the camera. There are numerous companies that sell stone sealers that only seal. I no longer install granite but I preferred using Tiger Ager/Sealer when I cut would cut and install granite.
Thanks!
Features:
Paul great video and explain. You help a lot of people who like to do it yourself and to prevent unexperienced people ruin their stone.
you are a natural teacher man, keep up with the good job.
This was tremendously helpful to me! I am having to take granite pieces back to basic to get rid of the spiderwebbing and acid marks in the stone face. Great descriptions and I now feel much more comfortable in something I've never done before!
Heather Taylor
Hi heather, This is a process for edging, not top polishing! Please do not attempt to top polish unless you have a lot of practice. It is very difficult. I would try Poultice before trying to polish it. I have removed stains from many granite tops with this product. You mix it with water to make a paste, you will spread it around your entire stain and leave it for 24 hrs. After 24 hrs. you can wipe it off with a clean rag. if you still see stains, you can repeat the process. It is a great product for stains but it will also remove the sealer, so you will have to re- seal the top when done.
good luck!
Paul
Greetings from Northern Ontario! Nice work Paul. I work in a hand-fab shop and am using a lot of your techniques.
Thanks to Paul for the great video. I am too lazy to do my own, so my hat is off to him. I took his suggestions and ran them by the pros at YK Stone Center in Denver. They allowed me to spend some time in their shop, and it was very enlightening. Here are my suggestions, based on their expertise:
1) Never work marble or granite on sawhorses. You will probably break it. Support it completely. Always carry the marble so that the mesh supports it. That means that if you are carrying it flat, carry it with the mesh up whenever possible.
2) Run your grinder at full speed. Running slow will cause chipping.
3) Use medium pressure. If disks are wearing out too fast, you may be pressing too hard.
4) Do not use short choppy strokes. Use long passes that traverse the entire face of the work, regardless of distance. I watched the YK pros actually walking back and forth up to ten feet per pass to do this.
5) Do the sanding disk work dry. That would be grit 60, 120, and 220 for me. When you switch to your diamond pads, go wet. Not before.
6) Knife grade epoxy is a wonderful thing. I was able to fill depressions, divots -you name it. It sets up fast, and can be worked in 30 minutes. If you can do bondo, you already know how to use this stuff. It even smells like Bondo.
7) Use a grinder set up for 4 inch hook and loop. 5 inch is too big.
8) Use bathtub sealer to mount the granite to the frame below it.
9) If you crack the material, try cyanoacrylate glue. I use the thim stuff, and it worked very well. If there is uneveness, try knife grade epoxy over that.
10) Granite City has a lot of good supplies online.
11) The tools for rough-shaping granite are very expensive. I use a 4 1/2 inch masonry grinding wheel from Harbor Freight. It works like a charm. I then follow that with 60-grit and so on up the scale to 1600.
12) Do not try using sandpaper from Home Depot or Harbor Freight. You will go through it in five minutes.
Hi Chris, it sounds like you learned a lot from YK. That was pretty cool of them to allow you to learn from them. I remember when I first started cutting granite myself, I didn't know anyone. I taught myself and I learned from my mistakes. I remember breaking 2 island pieces. Lost money on that job, but it came out good. I will give you one suggestion, never carry granite flat! Especially if it has mesh on it. Mesh is applied to softer granite in order to give it more strength. I use a frame support when I cut large pieces. They were correct when they said that you can break it with saw horses. I cut this one on saw horses because it was a small piece with a small vanity cutout. It is is also a very hard granite.( Blue Pearl) I would not do this with a soft granite or marble, for it can break under it's own weight.
Thanks for the good information!
Paul
Paul: Thanks for the good tip. I must add that I cannot run my wet diamond disks at full speed, but try to keep them as fast as possible. Again, thanks for the great video.
Anytime Chris, Have a good day!
Hi Christopher Okula,
Yes you can make a full bull nose with your grinder and a 50 grit diamond polishing pad. Unfortunately, it is very hard to do. I have done it in the ends of my granite before, but I am not good enough to do it on long runs. I have some Asian friends that never use a router, they shape all of their bull nose and they are twice as fast as I am. If you want to learn, I would suggest you get several scrap pieces and practice before you try it on your work piece. Good luck!
Hey Death0Toll28,
Yes you can do this by gluing your pieces on a board with liquid nail, or mastic. the only problem is that you will need to put an edge band on the table. This will have to cover the edge of the granite as well as the plywood.
Thanks and GOOD LUCK!
Paul
you are a very professional instructor in my book.thanks a lot.
Thanks uniruleguy, You have a great product yourself.
Paul, Ive seen a bunch of your newer videos. I just recently bought a new kitchen and am ready to install. I just wanted to say thank you for this detailed explanation of how to finish edges! If I could sub twice I would!!!
Thanks Barney!
Paul
Thanks for the education. It is nice too get info from a pro. All the best to you
Thank you Willis!!
Thanks Ararxos!
Have a good day!
Paul
How much pressure do you put on the grinder and what should the rpms be on the grinder when wet polishing.
Thanks for the video. I have been trying to polish the exposed edge of some carrera marble tiles but the 1500 and 3000 dry polishing pads (on a Bosch variable speed grinder lowest setting) are leaving a brown residue on the marble. Have you run into this problem? Do I need better pads?
+Michael H
Hi Micheal,
I have had that problem in the past. You should try sanding it wet, this will remove the brown stains. lighter colors will sometimes have this problem. Let me know if you have any questions. I will do my best to help.
Thanks!
Paul
+Michael H Acetone on a rag and a little elbow grease should take it right off.
I know a number of people that polish the stone dry. Personally, I like to polish wet, Especially with light colors. If you have brown marks from dry polishing, you can go back 1 step and polish it wet.This will usually remove the burn marks.
Hmmm. I don't have stains on the granite pieces, just spider webbing and a few pits, that have not disappeared after 2 coats of Pectro. They are not deep enough to catch with my fingernail, however at an angle, the webbing can still be seen, even after polishing with MB-20 and a hoghair pad. I was told if it didn't come out, to try dry polishing first with 800 grit, then move to higher grits, ending with a 3000 pad. Your opinion on this?
Heather Taylor
Hi Heather,
I personally stay away from top polishing, you may wind up with dull spots on your top. This will look worse than your existing problem. If you do decide to try it, you should practice on a sample piece. You will have to go higher than 3000 grit. I used a buff pad and polish when I had to top polish. They make a black buff pad for darker granite and a white one for lighter ones. You should Google top polishing granite. I have seen a couple of companies that sell products and have videos on top polishing. I really wish i could help more but I have only top polished a handful of times. Most installers stay clear of it. I will speak to a few friends in the granite business and see what they say. If I get any new information, I will post it for you.
Good luck!
Paul
Do I have to use a rotating disc for sanding or can I use a vibrating sandpaper? are the sanders standard wood/metal or are they made specifically for stone?
Hey Guy O
Yes these are special pads made for polishing granite. Sandpaper will not work on granite.
Sorry!
Great work!!..I got a lot of good info out of your videos..your a rock solid granite guy in my book..thanks for the videos..
1 question can you make a full bull nose without using a router??
I use an 80 grit stone then go from 200 pad to 300. is that alright?
Nice demo. Very helpful. Thanks
Used a similar polishing set (2x # of grit steps), ended up with a dull matt granite finish. No idea why. Used a buff pad, did not resolve the polish.
Hey Ice Turf,
Sorry to hear that! You may have missed a step along the way. You have to make sure that you polish each step with the next pad. If you leave the smallest scratches from the previous pad and move to another step, you will not get a shine.This is why I recommend starting from 100 when you see a problem. It only takes a minute or so when doing it a second time, because it should already be smooth. You just have to make a pass or two to get it right! You may have also been sold cheap pads or you may not be using diamond pads for granite. Your pads should start at 50 and go up to 3000. You can also get a buff pad that is used with polish. 3000 grit should give you a pretty good shine on the edges. Do not attempt to top polish. it takes a lot of practice to polish the top.
Paul Ricalde Well It kind of got away from me.
I was glueing noseing tiles to my tile countertop (sharp black granite tiles). I did a similar process for some other counters I made, glueing my tile nose on and sanding (using the polishing pads) it to meet the surface perfectly. I hadn't had a problem in the past, so I figured I'd just go for it on this black granite. Not so good. I just lightly sand the horizontal edge to meet the vertical surface. In this case I slipped and I had a few inches of skid for my 50 grit so I had to polish it out, figured no problem. Ahhh. I am curious about this polish (I assume its a slurry you put on the tile, I don't know what it would be officially called though to look for it).
Paul Ricalde I'm seeing a product called MB 20 Stone Polishing Cream, but I don't think I can purchase that in Canada......
What are you trying to polish and are you polishing the edge or the top?
Paul Ricalde Now, both.
Great Video Paul! Thanks. Wow those profile bits are really pricey. $200 just for one! I guess purchasing the tools for just a single job wouldn't pay off? I really wanted to install my own counter tops, but the price of tools would be more than labor to install.
No backtrack to 400.If you go to 100 your fired !!!! 50 helps shape 100 shapes 200 shapes 400 hones 800 starts the polish 1500 polishes 3000 gets the shine on Buff brings out the Bling
Great video! Can I use a sanding DA/ orbital sander? What brand pads are you using?
How to polish granite
Amazing Video, I am looking to make a coffee table out of granite, My only question is, I have a mix amount of granite slabs, is their a way to connect the pieces together? kinda like a grout with tile, to make it look like a solid piece on top. :o
Thank you, Paul.
Hey Paul, great job. wanted to share a couple of things with you. Way to go about wearing eye protection sir! These videos will save everyone some time.
what brand/model of wet polisher/grinder do you use?
+konstantinIII
I use Makita and Metabo. I have always had good results from Makita,but the Metabo is heavier duty,or at least it has the feel of it. They both work great.
Thanks!
+Paul Ricalde (Paulstoolbox) Thank you very much, your videos have been very hlepful to an aspiring hobby stonemason
Mr Paul--where do u get to buy these sanding/polishing accessories from?
Colin Matthew Blair
Hi Colin,
there are a number of places that sell these pads. You can Google, 4" wet-dry diamond polishing pads. Amazon and Ebay has them also.
Thanks!
Paul
Colin Matthew Blair I sale polishing pad , stone tools . you can send email to me . Email : annehong1@hotmail.com
Learnt alot, awesome, thanks Paul
Polishing granite and adding a profile
Good show, learned a lot, thanks
Great info Paul! I'am currently working on an undercount sink with 24" granite tiles as the countertop. Do you favor any certain sealers for the edge sealing?
great video mate
very good information...thanks
Polishing granite
heads up the audio is not working correctly.
beautiful
Awesome video,very helpful!
Hi Paul nice video thank's!!!
Thank you Julio!!
Thanks for the video it was a great help
its very instructive
Great video - thanks!
this is awesome man.
nice video love it. something to learn! thanks!!
Great video thank you
jasdec while Hi Jasdec while,Thanks for the comment!Paul
+Paul Ricalde (Paulstoolbox)
Polish Granite
Thanks very much for the video
Thank you Russel Kirk, I really appreciate your comment!
Paul
what brand of grinder do you use? where can i get one? Thank you
I use Metabo and Makita grinders myself. Metabo is more pricy but Makita makes a good grinder that holds up well.
thanks brother!! great video
that wasn't sealer that was ager. a color enhancer . not a sealer.
pretty good pretty mean!
+++ I like it!
No backtrack to 400.If you go to 100 your fired !!!!
Safety First!
You need goggles and a mask while doing this!
Thanks Mel,
I used both on my video.
wuooo
I use an 80 grit stone then go from 200 pad to 300. is that alright?