Colonial Floor Care vs. Crystallization
Why Colonial Terrazzo Restoration Is the Best
At Colonial Floor Care, we pride ourselves not only on providing the best finished product when it comes to terrazzo floor restoration,but also the most environmentally sound methods. WE USE NO CHEMICALS when we restore your terrazzo floor! We polish your terrazzo floor with high quality, diamond metal pads and then with resin diamonds, finishing them with a non-toxic, high quality 5x polishing powder. The result is a maintenance free (no waxing or stripping), non-toxic, high gloss shine. The shine on Colonial’s restored terrazzo floors lasts from 7-14 years. It doesn’t get better than that.
Why is this important.?
Most terrazzo restoration companies use a product called terrazzo and marble crystallizer”. This is a highly toxic chemical compound. There are many, many problems associated with using this product.
I went to a conference a few years ago, and came upon the following information. It’s from an article entitled The Truth About Crystallization”, by Dr. Ing. Yannis Pomakis. It was published in the December 1999 Building Stone Institute Newsletter.
Dr Pomakis writes The so-called crystallization or re-crystallization process is a chemical process frequently promoted for use in the restoration field, although it is totally unacceptable. This method, sold as a new process to refinish floors, is supposed to produce a more durable and glossy surface. According to its vendors, treatment of stone with this chemical will produce a shiny, hard and durable surface.
In reality, this method has only a temporary effect and as I shall demonstrate, will , in the long run, destroy the structure of the stone… Depending on the type of acid used in the crystallization agent, salts such as calcium phosphate, etc. will form during the reaction. The new surface is, however, only a few microns thick, and consists of a large amount of calcium fluoride. It is indeed harder and more brittle than the original surface.
Can you imagine what a high-heeled shoe does to this surface? The question is do we really want to change the somewhat softer and fracture resistant surface to a thin, brittle one?
The sheen on the surface stems from the wax and acrylic resins contained in the formula. This is where the polish really comes from.
Because of the chemical reaction between the calcium carbonate and the acids, salts form. These salts are only partially soluble and therefore impossible to remove entirely. These salts are overwhelmingly harmful to the structure of the stone. They form new crystals which need room to expand and since the new surface does not allow enough space, tension starts to build up under the crust and eventually causes pitting and spelling on the surface of the floors.
After this type of refinishing, it is obvious that these floor surfaces are doomed and very soon require another refinishing treatment.
This is what vendors of this system have been called upon to do every six months, then monthly, then weekly and finally daily. The truth about the crystallization of stone floors is that it is not an acceptable restoration method.”.