Easy, How to polish marble, Glass or any stone tile edges.👍

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Sometimes it is necessary to polish marble or glass edges, or other soft stones, to finish a corner or edge of a wall where the tile ends. There are quite a few ways to accomplish this, and I have demonstrated it with other similar tools. Sandpaper made for this purpose is one of the most economical ways of doing this. In this video I demonstrate how to obtain a high polish on a glass tile edge to approximate a factory edge, or in the case of marble the degree of polish on the face of the marble tile. Like any polishing, it is a process of using pads of varying grits, starting from a coarse grit and working through increasingly finer grits to the point where a high polish is achieved, or stopping anywhere in between. A variable speed grinder will be needed for this with a Velcro pad attached to apply the sand paper which also has a Velcro backing. When glass tile is cut with a wet saw the resulting edges will be rough and unsuitable for use as an exposed edge of a tile installation, same goes for marble or any other tile edge, to avoid using transition trim or metals edges, or have bullnose made for finishing exposed edges of a tile installation, polishing them is a great solution.
It is advisable to clamp down the tile that is being polished for safety reasons. Apply a slight pressure to the edge of the glass tile with the polishing pad and use a back and forth motion to polish the tile. The pads are used in succession from coarse to fine grits for marble this means all the grits starting at 80 and going through the others,120, 240 320, 400, 500 and 600. Because glass tiles are very soft fewer grits can be used to achieve a great result. The pads are quick and easy to change because they are attached to the grinder by Velcro. These pads cannot be used with a high-speed grinder. It is a good idea to go through all the tiles with one grit and then repeat the process with all the other grits to reduce the number of times the pads need to be changed.
All tile installed by Sal DiBlasi, Elite-tile Company, in the Boston North Shore area. This video contains affiliate links, which means I will receive a small commission if you click on the product link.
#tile #transformthetrade #howtotile #installingtile #howtoinstalltile #Schlutersystems #TCNA #polishing #polishingglasstiles

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Velcro backing pad
Alpha 4in Sandpaper for Stone Polishing
Variable speed grinder

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[EricSpoeth]

Sal, you are such a wonderful resource. Thank you for taking time out of your jobs to make these videos for us.

[phillipgrandison]

u can also do it by hand if u don't have a polishing tool (only need sand paper wrapped around a block of some sort and some water for dipping) I like to start with 400grt, then 800grt, then 1, 000grt, and finally 2000grt. Always do my sanding wet, not dry, the water rinses away the fine particles as u sand, vs creating more scratches as u sand the marble). Polishing stone is very similar in techniques used by autobody shops to polish autobodies after painting/clearing (color sanding).

[bigdaddy]

Thanks for taking the time to show each polishing grit used. Another beautiful job.

[kalebmayberry]

Thanks for the help this video came in clutch and was the best one I found should definitely be higher up on recommendations

[cindycleland]

I like a polished edge BUT bull nose, Schluter edging or pencils ALL close your grout lines! If you're tile is going on a wall inside that is an exterior wall you will have quite a bit of movement with change of temperature. If you're grout isn't held on all 4 sides don't be surprised if it crumbles out on the edge.

[Relief]

It's great to see you polish the edges! Personally I use a silicon carbide grinding stone for most of my standard tile (not marble), works great.

I am installing a 8x8 hexagon tile floor in a basement unit, and I took a look at the shower tile that was installed by someone else years ago. It's 6x6 standard white, and none of the half cuts were polished or rounded, you can cut a finger on them if you run it across their grout line, completely unacceptable by my standards.

[KBM]

I need to cut a subway tile for use in the middle of a wall and not in a corner. Is there any way to round the cut edge to better match the factory rounded edge? Would cutting out the middle and butting them together be better? Is there paint to fill in the seam that matches the white gloss finish?

[firstpitstop]

Nice tip.. Hi Sal, is there any other types if tiles you can also polish?

[gonzalogomez]

If you make 45 the tile and polished ist look more beautifull

[GaryTheSnail-bq]

What did you use to fill the little space/groove where the tile meets the wall?

[jamesmedina]

Sal you have to seal the marble 1st then grout. Think 🤔 💭 Looks fantastic 👍🏽

[jerryhernandez]

Since you were on the marble corner finish it would be nice to get some your input on how the grout can change the color of marble. Always looking for your advice. I know this wasn't the forum for it, but for people who don't know and a quick little snip it adds value to the video.
Thanks Sal.

[pp]

Sal, to polish the edges do you have to use all those pads to polish one side to polish/get it smooth? 🤔 Thank you. 😊

[donpantolonez]

A tip from me only 400 or 600 is enough for small chamfer, kills the paper but saves time. You can go faster (2-3) for the 80 that speed generally won’t burn the stone until 180. Thanks for the good educational video 👍.

[vincenzodavey]

Love your work Sal. I am by no means on your level as a tile setter and I noticed on the backsplash is something I’ve always done also, is finish the backsplash tile at the edge of the cabinets not the counter overhang. On many jobs I see the tile going to the edge of the countertop and there’s a nasty little section of tile from the cabinet to the overhang of the countertop.

[IowaCoyotes]

Should of took your time in 45 your corner 😢

[Archer]

What speed on the grinder? I have that same one

[robbiedale]

Why do u finish it half tile short of the bench

[Sugarshane]

They didn't want tile edge on the ends eh weird

[nikolasvel]

Thank you for the video as always. What blade do you prefer to use when cutting marble tiles? Any specific brand?