Travertine Tile and Topical Sealers

Wax Removal

Waxing stone floors to give them a high shine look is a very popular thing people like to do. This is a less expensive way to get your travertine to a high shine sheen. Did you know this is very bad for travertine and other stone floors?

When waxes or topical sealers are applied to travertine tile, it causes deterioration within the stone. Over time the travertine will start to wear down and can become unfixable. Now, by unfixable, I mean achieving the high gloss like shine becomes unattainable.

Travertine and Marble stone floors are the most beautiful when they are shined up to their highest potential. This sheen gives the stone tiles a very luxurious and high-end feel when done correctly. Waxes and topical sealers sit on the surface of the stone tiles and creates a barrier. Over time these sealers break down and can start to flake off or peel off.

Have you ever noticed that your travertine tile surfaces tend to scratch easily or scuff? Can you run y our nails across the top and draw a line? We can identify these ways without seeing your stone, that you have wax on the surface. Now how do we recommend restoring your travertine tiles when your wax has started to break down?

First, we need to get rid of the wax topical. The only way to remove wax is to strip it off! We use a stripper agent and then we get on our hands and knees and take a razor blade to the surface after letting the stripper agent dwell for a bit. Slowly we scrap each travertine tile surface and remove as much of the wax as we can. Once we have finished scrapping, we suck up all the wax debris and stripper. Typically you can still find remnants of the wax that did not come up. 

Technically we can stop here for you but most people want the wax completely gone. After scrapping the surfaces and removing most of the wax, we do a process called honing. At this time we can know for sure what sheen we will be able to achieve for you. Honing is a process of removing the top layers of travertine. It is like wet sanding. 

We use honing pads to remove any excess wax that did not come up and shine the entire floor to a semi-gloss. We tend to stop shine wise because the wax has damaged the stone underneath to the where the calcium in the stone can only help shine up to a semi-gloss. Sometimes we can polish the stone and achieve the gloss like shine but not always. 

Waxes over time absorb into the natural stones and once the wax has absorbed into the stone, it is almost impossible to remove without causing more damage. Yes, as I said above, we can hone the remaining wax off but we can only hone so much before we start to reduce the stone's integrity. We are very cautious about this because we can cause the stone more damage than good if we over hone. 

Once we have determined the best sheen for your travertine, we seal it with a penetrating sealer after removing the wax. This sealer absorbs in and does not sit on the surface. This type of sealer is way better for natural stones because it helps block substances from seeping into the stone without causing a harmful barrier. Over time this sealer will wear down, but you will not see the wear down, like peeling or flaking, because the sealer is within the stone. 

As you can see, once you have wax on the stone, there is a lot that goes into removing it and restoring the stone back to its true beauty. Waxes may seem like the best route to get the high shine you are looking for but keep in mind the hardships to remove it and the potential damage it can cause to your natural stones. Travertine and other natural stones are natural stones and beautiful on their own. Do not ruin your stones by applying a topical sealer or a wax sealer. Do it right from the beginning and call AriStone Cleaning &Restoration to help you properly bring out the beauty in your stone floors. 

For more information or to find out if you have a wax that needs to be removed, check out our website at www.travertinecleaningaz.com or give us a call anytime at 480-352-2987. We look forward to helping you with all your tile flooring needs.

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