That's very good to know!

What grit did you use? I'd be curious to see a video, if you're bored next time 

The RO90 with Platin also does a spectacular job of buffing out well-worn polycarbonate headlight lenses so that they put light where it is needed once again.  I did my 13+ year-old truck's lights recently and was very pleased.  I also did a friend's truck's headlights with great success.  Nearly gave my friend a heart attack when I started using the 500 grit until I told him that it would look worse before it looked better.  When I got to the 4000 grit, he really started smiling.  A finish with Meguiar's PlastX on a felt pad on my RO125 brought things looking almost new. 

 

Steve, thanks for the assist!


Willy, have you ever used the Platin to polish painted metal surfaces on a vehicle?

Willy, thanks, I'll ask Tom about this.  I have a few stains and other thingss on our work trucks which I would like to make look better. I don't need a super finish like someone might want on their sports car, but at least I would like to keep the trucks looking decent (without buying a Shinex!)

I've got some edges of marble backsplash on which I need to hone a bevel/chamfer and the backsplash is already installed.  I tried my RO90 with 60 grit Granat in rotex mode (speeds 1-2) and it actually does a fine job of honing the chamfer.  However, I'm a bit worried about wearing out the pad - I tried this for about 5-10 minutes and already the pad was loosing its grip in a few spots around the edge (and it's a fairly new hard pad).  Any tips?

Thanks Tom, that's a good tip.  I'll run the vac (it's a Fein, gasp) at full power. 

Looking forward to getting past the honing and trying out the polishing with the platin assortment I got from you!

I'm thinking Platin is part of the trick, Jack. I would start with the 4000 and see if it worked. It may make sense to go a little rougher, say 2000, or even 1000 and work your way back up. I would start with the finest first as a measure of safety.

I know Rob (OP) uses Platin to finish glass tile edges and seems pretty satisfied and he's somewhat of a perfectionist.

I would certainly defer to his expertise because he does this stuff all the time. My personal experience with marble is that there appears to be a lot of difference in hardness from one sample/species to another. I'm guessing that to get a really nice sheen, you'll end up with a polishing compound and a sponge or felt.

Is there a spot on that fireplace that isn't too conspicuous so you can experiment a little?


Tom

Jack:

If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Rob and ask his opinion. I'd hate for you to go down a dead end...


Tom

It sounds like Mr. Sparktrician has the formula for certain headlights, Jack...

I'll try to talk to Rob tomorrow. We had a conversation today and I know he's quite busy.


Tom

Hasselfactor has a whole series on how she cleaned up and polished the clear coat on her big sailboat with a RO125.  It was on talkfestool.
She has a ton of expertise.

Rob,  I have a raised hearth on a 45 degree angle and I could use one of the ends to experiment with.  I would gratefully  appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks for jumping in, Rob. This is why I was calling yesterday...

I'm curious if Eddy has a technique for a high gloss finish on marble. What I've read about always included some sort of slurry with fine powder. I might have to give some 4000 Platin a try as an experiment. I did one of our bathrooms in 12" x 12" polished marble several years ago. It still has a nice shine so I haven't tried to fix it.

I have a couple of different types of loose marble tiles, the one I installed and one that appeared much harder. I chose the softer one for a couple of reasons, the look and thinking about fixing the cut edges.


Jack:

Can you take a picture of your mantle so we can see the type of marble and configuration?


Tom

So, I take it you want a mirror type finish on the marble and to clean up the edges on the travertine?


Tom

Jack, sorry it has taken so long to get back to this thread.   I just went into the shop and experimented on a piece of travertine. This travertine was honed, but had a bit more polish to it than what I normally see listed as "honed".

 I deliberately scuffed up the face with some 40 grit Brilliant, and then worked through the grits all the way through Platin 4000.  By the time I was finished, the "damaged" area was shinier than the untouched surface---the original honed surface.

I wouldn't consider this application to yield results equal to what can be done with traditional tools and method used by the stone fabricators.  I have Alpha wet polishing equipment, but it isn't suitable for use indoors or during the winter. I have some Alpha dry use pads, but they are dusty and again, not something I want to use indoors. 

I think with time and patience, you could use the RO 90 and get both those fireplaces looking really nice. I don't think you'll get it back to the original highly polished look that the dark stone once had.  The RO90 will be able to dress up those cut edges on the travertine hearth.  That's essentially what we did in the bathroom job which was pictured at the beginning of the thread. 

Hi Jack

You mention Platin 4000.....did you buy the other numbers, as well?   We've always worked our way through the range of Platin. 

Hi
Travertine is extremely soft natural stone and in my experience nearly any aluminium oxide paper will buff/shape it ! Any stone mason will tell you to use silicon carbide paper which is much tougher.also the shaped/sanded edge must be re sealed  as well!
  Gav.

Hello I just was referred to this forum by Festool as I live 20 min away from their Indianapolis office which is one of the many reasons I've invested into using Festool.  Anyways, I use a rotex 125 with a ct36.  I use my set up for and specialize in stone refinishing, I've done lots of testing trying to figure out different ways to incorporate  Festools.  In regards to your marble fireplace there could be a number of ways to approach it.  Generally walls or vertical surfaces (excluding showers) don't need much.  If you could post a picture I could probably get you going in the rite direction.

Thanks for the information but, my original question is how to restore the bright polished finish that has dulled over 30 years?  Perhaps it's too tricky for an amateur to tackle and I'll just leave it as is.

The Travertine doesn't bother us as much as other projects in the house so, It's a future project but, thanks for the suggestion.

Jack

Thanks for the advise, I'd hate to make things worst by bumbling along in the dark.  One person suggested that I just buff it out with a paste wax or leave it as is.

Jack

Clean it up with some denatured alcohol use a razor to scrape up anything that is stuck to it, throw some turtle wax on there, buff it with a microfiber and call it done.