Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing Archives - South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

Black Limestone Patio Renovation Gerrards Cross

Dull Black Limestone Patio Renovated in Gerrards Cross

This customer from Gerrards Cross contacted me about their Black Limestone patio which had not been laid that long ago but was already in need of attention. Having spoken to the owner on the phone I arranged to visit the property so I could assess the issues in full and prepare a quote.

Black Limestone Patio Before Renovation Gerrards Cross

I visited the property to survey the patio and could immediately see that the Black Limestone flags looked washed out and grey, nothing like the beautiful dark stone he was expecting. It was clear that the installers hadn’t done anything to the stone after laying the patio, excess grout (grout haze) needed removing and no protective sealer had been applied resulting in staining from plant pots and spillages.

I recommended a restorative treatment involving deep cleaning, removing the grout smears, oiling to restore texture and the application of a colour enhancing sealer. This process would restore its original appearance and get the patio looking as it should.

Happy to hear the situation could be resolved my quote was accepted and a date scheduled for the work to begin.

Cleaning and Restoring a Black Limestone Tiled Patio

I arrived on the first day and started by helping the customer move furniture off the patio so I had a clear work area. Then work started off by scrubbing the stone with a Rocky floor machine fitted with a silicon carbide brush. This action gets into the stone giving them a deep clean, with the brush I also applied Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a strong alkaline cleaner and left that down for fifteen minutes to soak in first. With the dirt released from the stone onto the surface a wet vacuum is used to hoover up the resultant slurry.

Once cleaned the patio was inspected and I could see there was still evidence of grout haze on the Limestone so I used a 400-grit burnishing pad with water to take if off and then left the patio to dry out overnight ready for sealing. This work as actually carried out in the summer of 2022 so the weather wasn’t a problem.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Patio

On the second day work started by checking the moisture readings of the Limestone tiles using a damp meter. The readings were within tolerance so I was able to apply an initial coat of Tile Doctor Colour Grow sealer which is a colour enhancing impregnator that soaks into the pores of the stone. A very thick first coat was applied and allowed to soak in which it did very quickly.

This was then followed by a thick coat of Tile Doctor Stone Oil and allowed to soak in for roughly an hour before buffing it with a cloth to collect any excess residue. The Stone Oil gave the tiles a very deep black colour which seeped into the stone and this is exactly the appearance my customer wanted. It was quite the transformation from the dull washed-out looking patio that was here before.

Black Limestone Patio After Renovation Gerrards Cross

Finally, I applied a third and final coat of Tile Doctor Ultra-Seal resulting in a resilient sandwich of coatings that should keep the stones appearance for some time to come. This last coat was applied using a microfibre cloth allowing it to seep into the stone. Once I felt the Black Limestone had dried sufficiently, I used a white buffing pad to buff over the patio and remove any residue.

The customer was very happy with his new patio and recommended me to a neighbour who had a similar problem with their patio.

Professional Restoration of a Black Limestone Patio in Buckinghamshire

Dull Black Limestone Patio Renovated in Gerrards Cross Read More »

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before and After Cleaning Knotty Green

Limestone Kitchen Floor Tiles Transformed in Knotty Green

Below are photographs of a Limestone tiled kitchen floor at a house in Knotty Green near Beaconsfield. The stone floor had lost its polish with use and now appeared flat and unattractive additionally the grout had darkened severely with dirt and was overdue a good scrub to get it clean.

Natural stone is actually a porous material that needs to be sealed in order to prevent dirt from becoming ingrained however unless its maintained constant foot traffic on floor tiles wears down the sealer leaving the stone vulnerable and difficult to clean effectively.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning Knotty Green

Burnishing and Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

If you have read other posts on my website, you will know that we find the best way to restore the appearance of polished stone is through the application of a set of diamond encrusted burnishing pads of varying grits to grind away dirt and slowly build the polish on the stone.

You start with the application of the coarse 400-grit pad which is fitted to a rotary buffer machine and applied to the floor with water to lubricate the process, the resultant slurry is then rinsed off with water and extracted with a wet vacuum. Next is the Medium 800-grit pad and then the Fine 1500-grit pad, both applied in exactly the same way.

Once I had completed the whole floor with three of the four pads I got to work cleaning the grout. For this, I used a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro Clean, our reliable alkaline cleaner, in combination with a handheld scrubbing brush. Once the grout was clean I gave the floor another rinse with water and then removed as much liquids and moisture as possible using the wet vacuum leaving it to dry off fully overnight.

Sealing a Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor

The following day I returned to complete the floor starting with the application of the fourth diamond encrusted pad in the set of four which is a Very fine 3000-grit using a method we call a spray burnish which essentially involves applying the pad dry to the floor with a small amount of water sprayed on the stone. This process closes the pores in the floor and adds a good quality sheen to the tile.

Finally, I applied two coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal which is an impregnating sealer that penetrates into the pores of the stone to provide maximum stain protection from within. This sealer is also completely transparent, so it does not affect the natural look of the stone.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor After Cleaning Knotty Green

The Limestone responded really well to the treatment and the floor now looks like new.

Polishing Limestone Kitchen Tiles back to Health in Buckinghamshire

Limestone Kitchen Floor Tiles Transformed in Knotty Green Read More »

Polished Limestone Before and After cleaning in Aston Clinton

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone in Aston Clinton Communal Hallway

2 Comments / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Stoke Mandeville Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jack Day

This Polished Limestone floor had been laid in the communal hallway of a block of flats in Aston Clinton and as you can see from the photograph below the stone had become ingrained with dirt over time and was now overdue for a deep clean and polish. Apologies for sounding like a dentist and also the photographs as the lighting wasn’t brilliant in the corridor.

Polished Limestone before cleaning in Aston Clinton

Cleaning Limestone Tile and Grout

Due to the heavy soling of the stone and grout lines we started by applying a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is an alkaline cleaning product that’s safe to use on Stone and Grout. The solution was scrubbed into the floor using a commercial rotary machine fitted with a fitted poly brush; once the cleaning solution had become dirty the floor was rinsed with water and the process re-applied until the stone and grout were clean.

Polishing Limestone Floor Tile

Our next task was to re-build the polish on the stone using a set of Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pads which are applied to the tile in sequence from Coarse to fine further cleaning and polishing the stone until its returned to its original condition. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the coarse pad together with a little water. This this cuts through and removes surface grime, dirt and any remaining sealer. The floor is then rinsed and you move on through the remaining pads until the polish has been restored to the tiles. This process took up much of the first day so the floor was given a final rinse and left to dry overnight.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

On the second day we returned to find the tiles had dried and we started to seal the Limestone using three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone bringing out the natural colours whilst providing that all important lasting protection.

Polished Limestone after cleaning in Aston Clinton

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone in Aston Clinton Communal Hallway Read More »

Deep Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone tiled kitchen floor in Marlow

1 Comment / Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Marlow Tile Cleaning, Work History / Jack Day

We were asked by the new owners of this property in Marlow to clean and seal the Limestone tiled kitchen floor which was in a heavily soiled condition and it was apparent that the tiles and the grout lines hadn’t been professionally cleaned for some time.

Limestone Tiled Kitchen Floor Before Cleaning in Marlow

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

To lift the ingrained soiling and restore the grout we started by applying a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which was hand scrubbed into the grout lines with a stiff grout brush, this was followed up with Tile Doctor Grout Clean-Up which returned the grout lines to the original colour. The resultant soiled solutions were then removed from the floor with the aid of fresh water and an industrial wet vacuum.

Polishing Limestone Tiles

Our next task was to re-hone the stones using the Tile Doctor Diamond encrusted burnishing pad system which cleans and polishes natural stone returning it to its original condition. The pads come in a set of four and you start with the coarse pad together with a little water. This this cuts through and removes surface grime, dirt and any remaining sealer. The floor is then rinsed and you move on through the remaining pads until the polish has been restored to the tiles. This process took up much of the first day so the floor was given a final rinse and left to dry overnight.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

On the second day we returned to find the tiles had dried and as expected and we started to seal the tile which we did with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that soaks into the pores of the stone bringing out the natural colours whilst providing that all important lasting protection.

The customer was amazed with the clean appearance of her tiled floors and said it had transformed her house ready to live in.

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing in Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Deep Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone tiled kitchen floor in Marlow Read More »

Limestone Floor Before and After Cleaning

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone tiled floor in High Wycombe

1 Comment / High Wycombe Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Jack Day

The photographs on the page come from the kitchen and dining area of a house in High Wycombe which had previously been rented out to tenants and the client wanted required the Limestone Tiled floor tiles to be cleaned and polished before the next occupant moved in.

Cleaning a Limestone Tiled Floor

We started the project with a deep clean of the tiles and grout using a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product specially designed for use on natural stone floors. This was left to dwell for a while and then agitated using a rotary machine fitted with a Black Scrubbing pad. The soiled solution was then removed using a wet vacuum and the floor was then rinsed down with fresh clean water; the process was repeated until a satisfactory result was obtained and we also treated the discoloured grout lines with more Pro-Clean and a stiff brush.

Limestone Tiled Floor Polishing

We used a set of diamond encrusted Burnishing Pads fitted to a rotary buffing machine to polish the Limestone floor. These pads are ideal for restoring the shine on hard stone surfaces such as Limestone and Marble, the come in a set of four and you start with the Red pad together with plain water and this cuts through and removes surface grime and any surface seal. The floor was then washed down again, this time with Tile Doctor Neutral cleaner which is an everyday cleaning product and then left to dry overnight.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

On the second day we gave the Limestone a polish using a Green burnishing pad which is a very fine pad that provides a high polish. The last step was to seal the Limestone which we did with two coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour intensifying sealer that brings out the colours in natural stone and provide lasting protection.

Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Cleaning and Polishing a Limestone tiled floor in High Wycombe Read More »

Limestone Tiled floor cleaned and polished in Little Chalfont

Amersham Tile Cleaning, Limestone Tile Cleaning and Polishing, Work History / Jack Day

This Limestone tiled floor with Slate Inlays was installed in a house in Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire; the previous sealer had failed and was no longer offering any protection allowing dirt to become ingrained in the stone and become dull from soiling.

Limestone Floor with Slate Inlays Before

Cleaning and Polishing Limestone Tiles

To get the Limestone Tiled floor back to its original condition we used a set of diamond encrusted 17” Burnishing Pads fitted to a heavy rotary buffing machine. It’s important to give the floor a quick clean first to prevent grit from getting trapped in the pads and leading to deep scratches on the surface. You start off with the coarse red pad together with a little water which can remove sealers before moving onto the other pads.

At this point we gave the floor a deep clean using Tile Doctor Pro-Clean which is a heavy duty alkaline cleaning product that’s safe to use on Stone floors mixed 50/50 with NanoTech Ultra-Clean which adds tiny abrasive particles into the solution; this combination is especially effective on grout so we took the opportunity to get into the grout lines as well. The resulting soiled solution was removed using a wet vacuum and the floor washed down with clean water before continuing the burnishing process with the White cleaning pad followed by the Yellow Polishing pad which smooth’s the surface and finally the Green pad which gives that high shine finish.

Sealing Limestone Tiles

The floor was washed down to remove any particles left over from the polishing and left to dry before we set about sealing using three coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow. Colour Grow is recommended for a number of stone surfaces and does well to lift the natural colours in the stone as well as providing on-going surface protection.

Before leaving we recommended that the customer use Tile Doctor Concentrated Tile & Stone Cleaner for cleaning going forward, like Pro-Clean it’s an alkaline cleaning product that will clean the stone without eating into the sealant. The house owner was very satisfied with the results and promised to recommend our services to family and friends.

Limestone Tiled Floor Restored in Buckinghamshire

Limestone Tiled floor cleaned and polished in Little Chalfont Read More »

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South Buckinghamshire Tile Doctor

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