How to Renovate Acid Etched Limestone Shower Tiles
I was recently asked to take a look at a Limestone tiled shower cubicle at a house in the market town of Huntingdon. It turns out a cleaning company had tried to clean the tiles with an acidic product which was unsuitable for a calcium stone. I suspect they used a limescale remover which is very acidic. The owner was horrified by the damage that had been caused which as you can see from the pictures had ruined the appearance of the stone.
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Always check the label before applying an unfamiliar product to natural stone as most household and commercial cleaning products are simply not suitable. It is essential that the correct product is used and if in doubt talk to Tile Doctor who have a product for everything related to maintaining stone.
I discussed with the client what needed to be done to rectify the job. They were happy with my quote and were relieved that their Limestone tiles could be salvaged.
Renovating Damaged Limestone Shower Tiles
With the extent of the damage, most of the work to rectify was to be done by hand. I started by applying a set of handheld diamond blocks to cut back the stone to remove the etching. This was then followed up with a set of small diamond encrusted burnishing pads. The pads are applied to the Limestone tiles in sequence using a handheld buffer with water for lubrication. The sequence runs from coarse to very fine and we rinsed with water between each pad to remove the soil.
With a lot of man hours and elbow grease later, we had corrected the damage caused.
Sealing Limestone Shower Tiles
Once the stone had dried, I moved onto sealing the Limestone to prevent dirt and other stains from shampoo dyes affecting the stone going forward. To do this I applied several coats of Tile Doctor Ultra Seal, this is an impregnating sealer that seeps into the pores of the stone leaving a natural look yet leaving a delicate sheen. As you can see from the pictures the results were dramatic and very successful.
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The client was impressed with the transformation I had managed to achieve and left the following feedback for me.
“Tom was punctual on both the day he quoted and on the day he arrived to undertake the work. He was also very mindful of our semi house cats and made sure he did not let them out. That sounds simple but of the many tradesmen we have had around in the last six months for restorative work on the house he was one of a couple that did not need constant reminding. The work he undertook was to rectify, as he put it, “some of the worst damage to tiles I have seen to date”! The tiles were limestone and had been badly marked by an acid based cleaner. By the end of five solid hours work he had got the tiles back to looking brand new with not a mark to be seen. He did so with no mess, a very cheerful disposition and several cups of coffee! I would not hesitate to recommend Tom to all my own clients and friends” Bob H, Huntingdon
Source: Limestone Tile Renovation and Restoration Service in Cambridgeshire