How to Effectively Grind and Polish Terrazzo

Source:www.stonediamondtool.com Date:2017/2/14 Read:627

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Heidi Hudnall

Terrazzo is one of the oldest flooring styles, but it’s still popular, even after all these years. In terrazzo, marble or granite chips are set in concrete or cement and polished, to provide a smooth surface. Unlike marble or granite slabs, terrazzo offers the potential of innovative designs and color combinations, and does not compromise the strength of the floor in any way.

The process of laying terrazzo floors is fairly simple, but still requires the use of the right tools to secure a floor that will last. Mix the marble and cement, or the other materials in use, pour it on the surface, ground it down flat, and smooth it out to the required finish, usually 100-grit. Next, apply a Terrazzo sealer, and multiple coats of floor wax or finish, as required.

Whether it is a new floor or a restoration, terrazzo grinding and polishing are the two critical tasks, on which the finish of the floor rests.

The standard method of terrazzo grinding is wet-grinding:

1. Ensure an even surface, by eliminating all grooves

2. Clean the floor to remove coarse abrasives and residual debris

3. Use a floor surface grinder machine with the proper terrazzo grit matrices installed

The terrazzo grinding and polishing process uses diamond abrasives categorized according to grit size. Lower number grits are coarser and higher number grits are finer. Diamond polished terrazzo maintains its shine for a very long time.

Specific types of marbles may require dry grinding, which is more complicated. In either instance, concrete grinding machines are necessary to acquire the finish and strength of the terrazzo floor you wish to accomplish.