Help, I made a boo boo

[joey895]

I cleaned some stone today, travertine I believe.

I know enough to know not to use too high a pressure or acids but I still managed to screw it up.

Must have got some grit/rocks under turbo. The pic is of the worst one and only about 3 or 4 tiles were affected so I'm hoping this isn't too big of a deal to fix but I have no idea were to start. Can I get something from home Depot to buff these scratches out with? My concern is will buffing these out make it shine more in that area than the rest?

The customer was thrilled with the job otherwise and wants me to come back and do the rest of the house in the next week or two and I'm supposed to fix these when I go back.

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[Shane Deubell]

What pic?

Yeah, stone you need to sweep/vacuum really good and use a brush ring.

 

[joey895]

Oops, forgot to attach pic.

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[Ron Lippold]

What the hell do you have going on there.

 

[joey895]

Make the pic a little bigger if you can and you'll see very light scratching. It's almost in the center of the tile.

I almost think I was set up but I don't know for sure so I'd like to just take care of it. The reason I say that is because she added on this small hall after I was already started and then after I was done she spotted those scratches right away and as you can see they are pretty hard to spot from a standing position. Also there was nothing like this in the other areas I cleaned. Oh well it doesn't matter I just want to fix it when I go back.

I'm pretty sure they should be able to be buffed out I just don't know how to do it.

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[Mikey P]

Enhancer is your friend...


Call me..831 588 9063

 

[joey895]

Thanks for the info Mike. I'll post an update after I go back, probably next week.

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[kingjoelking]

Did you use a brush ring or the teflon ring. If you used a brush ring its not impossible but much less likely. If you used the teflon ring its entirely possible/probable that you caused them.

 

[joey895]

No, I didn't use the brush ring. Lesson learned.

I planned to fix it whether I caused it or not.

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[frresh1]

That is the weirdest pic I have ever seen, It looks like peeling paint

 

[Cameron DeMille]

Don't touch it. Whatever you do, it will stand out. It's an unfilled brushed finish. The finish is achieved with antiquing brushes and it's nearly impossible to match. If you sand it or do anything, do the whole tile, up to the grout. Are you sure you scratched it? These tiles come out of the crates like this a lot of the time. I would be cautious with enhancer. In this state, the travertine will absorb more than normal and may make it obvious. Always use a brush ring on stone.

Does the customer see it? If not, leave it alone. I would consider it normal wear and tear. If they are throwing a fit over this, I would say they don't have realistic expectations as to what they expect out of their floor.

If you sand one spot, I guarantee it will show. You might be able to get away with it if it's the whole tile, but you're going to have to get it pretty close, depending on where it is in the room and how the light hits it. Make sure you have good lighting too. What may look good at 4pm won't necessarily look good at 9am with the sun coming through .

I know I'm repeating myself, but if the customer isn't fussing over it, and you're not sure you did it, don't be a hero, just leave it. These brushed finishes are a pain in the ass. I have a $9k setup just to do this crap.

 

[joey895]

Guess I should have taken a pic from a distance as well.

She's not pitching a fit as she wants me back to clean the rest of the house but she certainly believes I made the scratches and expects me to fix it and since I stupidly did not use the brush ring I can't really deny making the scratches so....

Being they are so light do you think they'll go away on there own with time?

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[Cameron DeMille]

It's possible. If it's not in a well lit area that shows natural light, you might be able to get away with enhancer or really light sandpaper, just enough to turn the scratch from a while line to blend a little.

Or you can use super glue. it can be tricky if you have never done it before, but we use it to fill scratches in granite occasionally. mix a color that matches and pour it in there, then spray the accelerator, then shave it down

 

[Bee Busy]

super glue with color would be the way to go i think but he may not know the technique on how to shave it off? or handheld honing?

 

[joey895]

Went back today to fix this and clean a some more of it. I went armed with a black scrubbing pad, makita, quart of enhancer and my brush ring installed on my turbo.

I ended up scrubbing in a little of the enhancer by hand with the black pad and then wiping the tile down with a rag. Of course I did the whole tile so it would be even and then put a fan on it so I could see what it looked like dry. There was about 4 tiles effected and they all came out flawless. I even took care of a scratch that the customer had done.

So huge success and thanks for the help, especially Mike for the phone call.

I will now always have a bottle of enhancer (or what I now call insurance in a bottle) on the van.

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[Cameron DeMille]

Just keep in mind that the enhancer will eventually fade when exposed to sunlight.

 

[joey895]

This short video was of a deeper scratch that she did herself moving a piece of furniture.

I did explain that over time the scratch may start to show again but hopefully not for a while and not as obvious as it is now.

Hiding scratch on travertine: http://youtu.be/7C031XV0D_s

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