The Washington Post - 05.03.2020

the washington post

.

thursday, march

5

,

2020

dC

2

Home

columnists:

Adrian Higgins, Meghan Leahy

email: [email protected]

telephone: 202-334-4409

Mail:

local living section,

the Washington post, 1301 K St.

NW, Washington, d.C. 200 71

AdVertIsIng

doug Coffelt, 202-334-4440

on tHe coVer

photo of G il Schafer-designed

kitchen, featured in Barbara

Sallick’s book “the perfect Kitchen,”

by eric piasecki/otto

editor:

Kendra Nichols

deputy editors:

elizabeth Chang, Amy Joyce,

Mari-Jane Williams

Art director:

Victoria Adams Fogg

designer:

J.C. reed

Photo editor:

Jennifer Beeson Gregory

staff writers:

Helen Carefoot, Jura Koncius

locAl lIVIng

BY JEANNE HUBER

Q: Te n years ago, a bathroom

vendor installed three cultured-

marble vanities in our unit but

said nothing about applying a

product to keep the surface

looking fresh. This year, I noticed

that all of the vanities have very

fine scratches. Our project

manager said that the vendor

has gone out of business and that

no one else is interested in trying

to restore the vanities. I found

online advice suggesting using

“automotive paint buffing

compound and a handheld

buffer.” There seem to be a lot of

liquid granite/marble products

on the market, but nothing

exactly called automotive paint

buffing compound. Can you

provide details, and is this

something an able 80-year-old

can do?

Gaithersburg

A: Yes, even an 80-year-old

should be able to make scratched

cultured-marble countertops

look better.

Cultured marble is a mixture

of polyester resin, catalyst, fillers

and pigments that are molded in

forms coated with a clear gel

coat. When the mixture cures

and is flipped out of the mold,

the gel coat becomes the top

surface. It’s what gives cultured-

marble countertops their

smooth, glossy look.

To keep cultured marble

looking like new, manufacturers

recommend sticking with

cleaning products that don’t

contain abrasives, because those

would scratch the surface. But

over time, scratches can still

appear, either because someone

used an inappropriate cleaner or

just from ordinary use.

If the scratches are very fine, it

might be sufficient to coat the

surface with a product such as

Gel-Gloss Kitchen & Bath Polish

($7.95 for an eight-ounce bottle

from Amazon). You could also

use a similar product, Original

Gel Gloss RV One Step Polish

and Protector, which is sold by

Home Depot in 16-ounce bottles

for $7.17. A customer service

representative for TR Industries,

the manufacturer of both

products, said they are identical

except that the product with RV

in the name contains ultraviolet

inhibitors to protect against sun

damage. Both products, she said,

would be fine to use on

countertops. The products’ safety

sheets are identical and list only

two ingredients: water (80 to 90

percent) and very fine quartz

particles (10 to 20 percent).

For use on a countertop, TR

Industries recommends applying

the liquid with a clean

microfiber cloth and using

another clean microfiber cloth to

buff it out. But the instructions

warn that that treatment might

not be enough for countertops

like yours: “For the older, harder

to clean surfaces we recommend

using an orbital buffer if the

manual process is not effective.

Multiple applications are

recommended for better surface

protection, and a superior shine.”

But if too much Gel-Gloss is

added at a time, the surface

could wind up looking foggy. You

would then need to remove the

Gel-Gloss with soap and water,

as well as mineral spirits.

Given that, it might be wiser to

use Gel-Gloss as the last step and

to concentrate first on removing

the scratches. That is what’s

recommended by Luke Haas,

who is president of Elite Marble

Company (608-297-2175;

elitemarble.com ) in Montello,

Wis., and a board member of

trade group International Cast

Polymer Association.

His company offers a repair kit

for its customers that has the

same materials his crew uses to

take out scratches on

countertops in factories.

Depending on how severe the

scratches are, they first sand

with 600- to 800-grit sandpaper.

They then switch to an

automotive buffing compound

and buff out scratches left by the

sandpaper.

“It’s more effective if you use a

buffing machine, but it can be

done by hand,” Haas said. “But if

you’re doing it by hand, you’d

have to go to higher and higher

grit” of sandpaper, to 1,000 and

then 1,200. (With sandpaper, the

higher the grit number, the finer

the abrasive.)

For the sandpaper, you could

use wet-dry sandpaper or

sponges such as the 3M Sanding

Sponges sold in a set on Amazon

for $9.79. You would need only

the two finest-grit sponges:

ultrafine (equivalent to 800 to

1,000 grit) and microfine

(1,200 to 1,500 grit).

For the buffing compound,

Haas’s company uses Aqua Blue

100 Fast-Cut Compound, which

is sold on Amazon in gallon

containers for $44.95. “But that’s

because we use so much of it,” a

spokeswoman said. “You could

use any auto buffing compound.”

One example is Turtle Wax T-

241A Polishing Compound &

Scratch Remover ($5.49 on

Amazon for a 10.5-ounce

container). Any auto-parts store

or the auto-parts aisle of a

hardware store or home center

would have equivalent products.

Just be aware that products

labeled as “rubbing compound”

are more aggressive than those

called “polishing compound.”

The rubbing compound might

substitute for the sandpaper, but

whatever you use to get the

existing scratches out, you need

to follow it with a polishing

compound.

If you decide to invest in a

buffing machine, avoid models

with 10-inch-diameter pads;

those need two hands to

maneuver and are oversize for

use on a vanity. Instead, look for

a lightweight, one-hand model

that’s easy to handle, such as the

Ryobi 0.5-amp corded six-inch

orbital buffer/polisher, $34.97 at

Home Depot.

Removing the faucets before

you sand and buff would allow

you to refinish the countertop

evenly, but that would add

plumbing steps. Rather than

tackle that, Haas suggests

leaving the faucets in place but

wrapping the base of the metal

with painter’s tape in case you

accidentally get too close with

the sandpaper or buffer.

As a final step, he

recommends coating the

countertop with Gel-Gloss. “It’s a

fantastic product,” he said, and it

will give your countertops a like-

new gloss.

 Have a problem in your home?

Send questions to

[email protected]. put “How

to” in the subject line, tell us where

you live and try to include a photo.

How to

Restoring the gloss on scratched cultured-marble countertops

reAder pHoto

A reader wants to repair scratches on a cultured-marble countertop. Unless the scratches are very fine,

start by sanding and buffing the surfaces to remove any scratches, and finish by applying a gel coat.

S0136-3x1.5

“Away from the

noise and bustle”

Discover great area neighborhoods in

“Where We Live,” Saturdays in Real Estate.