Materials
What your stone is made of changes everything
The same mark means different things on different stones — and on some it is not a mark at all but damage to the surface itself. Start with the material and the right answer follows.
Stone types
Choose your material
Each page covers how the stone behaves, the failures we are most often called about, and whether they can be put right.
Marble
3 projectsSoft, calcite-based, and the stone most often damaged by ordinary cleaning products. Restores exceptionally well.
Marble restorationLimestone
Softer and generally more porous than marble, with the same acid sensitivity. Most at home in a honed finish.
Limestone restorationTravertine
A limestone formed with natural voids. The holes — filled or open — drive most decisions about how it is finished.
Travertine restorationTerrazzo
Stone or glass chips set in a cement or resin matrix. Two materials in one surface, each behaving differently.
Terrazzo restorationGranite
Silicate-based, hard, and acid-resistant. Does not etch — which means dullness on granite has a different cause.
Granite restorationSandstone
Porous, textured, and mostly used outdoors. Cleaning, sealing, and slip resistance matter more than polish.
Sandstone restorationBluestone
Dense basalt, common in Australian paving and pool surrounds. Durable, but prone to iron spotting and coating failures.
Bluestone restorationOther Natural Stone
1 projectSlate, onyx, quartzite, engineered surfaces and less common stone — assessed individually before any method is chosen.
Other Natural Stone restoration
Why it matters
Two stones, the same spill, different outcomes
Calcite stones
Marble, limestone, travertine, onyx
Acid dissolves them. A splash of lemon juice, vinegar or an acidic bathroom spray leaves a dull patch that is a chemical burn into the stone, not a film on top of it. No cleaner removes it, because there is nothing sitting there to remove. The surface has to be cut back and refinished.
Silicate stones
Granite, some engineered stone
Chemically far more stable, so the same spill usually does nothing at all. When these do go wrong it is more often a failed topical coating, a stain that has soaked in, or mechanical damage — different problems needing entirely different work.
Not sure what your stone is?
Most people are not, and guessing from photographs is unreliable. Send us a picture and where it is — we will tell you what we think it is and what it needs.