Hard Crystal Case

May 23

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An Education On Crystallization

There are many opinions when it comes to the best way to maintain polished marble and terrazzo floors. With regards to what is best, no one should claim – or can claim – such.

One of the most popular methods is crystallization. Before we delve into this topic, let us first review some points:

• The first crystallization product for maintaining polished marble and terrazzo was developed in the 1960s by Jorge Riera More', who owns a company in Barcelona, Spain, named Coor & Kleever. Hardly a new process.

• The Coor & Kleever crystallizer contains no wax, and has been used for decades to maintain polished stone surfaces in many of the finest casinos, resorts, homes and public buildings around the world.

• The process is designed as a safe maintenance procedure to remove the light wear patterns, created by foot traffic, in the polished surface.

• This is achieved by chemically transforming microns of the surface from calcium carbonate to calcium fluorosilicate.

• Laboratory tests have proved that this chemical transformation creates a more-durable finish, thus enabling the polish on marble to last longer under foot traffic.

A large part of the success that crystallization has seen over the decades is due to its ease of use and production as compared to alternative methods of maintaining stone surfaces. However, just because something is easy, does not provide enough merit for use.

With that being said, I'll attempt to provide you with the benefits and drawbacks of this widely accepted process.

WHEN AND WHERE TO USE

To begin with, there is no one product or process that is the be-all and end-all to maintaining polished marble & terrazzo. Crystallization is simply one method of many that may or may not be the application of choice depending on the floor.

Obviously, you would not want to use crystallization on a honed, non-reflective surface. This process is meant only for polished surfaces. If you are confronted with maintaining a large polished marble or terrazzo floor with high foot traffic, an excellent way for maintaining this polish, more times than not, will be crystallization.

Keep in mind that, today, some crystallizers contain wax. This can create a build-up on the stone surface over time. When this happens, you will need to use an alkaline detergent, recommended by a professional in the industry, to remove this build-up. If the alkaline detergent does not remove the build up, then you will need to use diamond abrasives to remove the build-up before continuing the maintenance program.

There are proven crystallization products in the market place that contain zero wax. To find one of these no-wax crystallizers you can simply research the marketplace, find a company who claims their crystallizer contains no wax and have it analyzed. Then, you can be confident you're on the right track to using the correct product.

Crystallization product with no wax will take much longer to create a build-up. If a build-up does eventually occur it will be from the chemical reaction, which we discussed earlier.

A proper maintenance program should not allow the crystallization to build up on the stone surface. If you begin to see a build-up when using a no-wax crystallization product, you're attempting to use the product in a way that it was not intended to be used.

This is a maintenance process, not a restoration process. By overusing a no-wax crystallizer and allowing it to build up on the surface, you're pushing the product to remove deeper scratches in the surface that it cannot remove. This type of damage should be removed by restoring the floor with diamond abrasives.

Another popular method of maintaining polished marble is the use of powder/paste compounds, which contain oxalic acid or potassium oxalate, among other ingredients. Here, you're attempting to recreate what happens in the stone processing factories around the world.

The factories polish most marble in a polishing line, running the material through a series of abrasive stones. The final polish is achieved by using something such as a 5X brick; this brick's main ingredient is oxalic acid or potassium oxalate.

The factory polish is created by chemically transforming the marble surface with the acidic slurry from the 5X brick. This transformation changes microns of the surface from calcium carbonate to calcium oxalate.

Maintaining polished stone surfaces with oxalic acid compounds usually provides great results and is a widely accepted method. However, these types of products may have adverse effects on green and maroon stones. These compounds will also begin to build up on the surface if overused.

In many cases, the build up occurs quicker than crystallization. Also, when compared to crystallization, the process can be slow and messy.

FULFILLING THE NEED OF THE CUSTOMER

It's impossible for the factory polish on marble to last forever under foot traffic. Therefore, these methods were created to fill a need for those who wanted a solution to their problem.

Both crystallization and oxalic acid compounds achieve very similar results. Both create a chemical transformation, and both achieve a high degree of reflectivity on the stone surface. Depending on the situation, one may be better suited than the other.

But no one process is best for everything. These two methods are only portions of a maintenance program for polished stone surfaces.

In the end, when looking for a complete maintenance program for natural stone, I would suggest that you ask for name brands proven to be successful with decades of documented historical evidence, and backed by trained, qualified people or firms familiar with stone and the stone industry.

About the Author

Paul Lundberg - VMC Technical Assistance Corp.

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