How to Polish Green Marble

Polish green marble tiles to keep them looking attractive.

Green marble is a frequently used material for floors, walls and counters. While it is sold as a marble, what this product actually is, is a serpentine. Serpentine is a mineral which gives the stone its green color. It also gives the stone a different texture, finish and durability than other marbles. While you can polish your green marble, you should treat the stone more like a granite than a marble since it is harder than marble. Additionally, its surface is made up of small "scales" which may resist the polishing that marble will take.

Things You'll Need

• Stone cleaner
• Lint-free cloth
• Chamois
• Granite polish or shine enhancing sealer, such as MiraShine

Instructions

1. Clean the green marble thoroughly with a stone cleaner before buffing it dry with a lint-free cloth. Pour the cleaner onto the marble, and run the cloth over its surface to clean.

2. Rinse the marble well and buff it dry with a clean cloth. Green marble reacts poorly to water, as well as to liquids which contain water if it remains wet for long periods of time, so take care to dry it well.

3. Apply a coat of granite polish or a shine enhancing stone sealer to the stone, and begin to buff it with a lint-free cloth.

4. Buff the marble until you remove the spots and streaks from the surface and the entire marble is one, even finish.

5. Dampen the green marble slightly, either by spritzing or sponging some water on its surface, and put a final, high shine on the surface with a chamois. The chamois will buff and shine the stone as it dries it, bringing out the highest shine the green marble can offer when combined with the shine enhancer or polisher already used.

Tips & Warnings

• You can reseal your green marble on a regular basis with a shine enhancing sealer to help protect it from scaling, spalling or staining. The sealer will bead water up off of the marble's surface; green marble will actually begin to flake if it is exposed to too much water, or any liquid containing water, so sealing is recommended.

References

• Natural Stone Interiors: How to Polish Granite Counters
• The Mineral Seprentine