Marble Polishing
Honed, semi-polished, or high-gloss finishes for floors, counters, stairs, and vanities.
Professional marble polishing in Montreal, Laval, Brossard & Westmount. Diamond process, dust-free, all finishes, honed to high-gloss. Free estimate 24h.
Marble loses its gleam. Foot traffic abrades the surface. A glass of red wine etches the veining before anyone notices. Common household cleaners strip the sealer and leave a milky cast that no mop can fix. I have been polishing marble across Montreal, the West Island, Laval, and the South Shore since 2000, and I have restored thousands of surfaces that their owners had written off as ruined.
My name is Gen Schiavone, founder of Techni-Marbre. I specialize in diamond marble polishing for residential and commercial spaces: foyer floors, kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities, fireplace surrounds, heritage staircases, and hotel lobbies. Every job runs through my own hands or under my direct supervision. I do not sub-contract.
If your marble has dulled, scratched, or lost the tight optical reflection it had when installed, polishing is almost always the correct fix. I bring the equipment, the diamond abrasives, and the dust containment to your home or property, restore the stone in place, and leave you with a finish equal to (or better than) the day it was installed.
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Honed, semi-polished, or high-gloss finishes for floors, counters, stairs, and vanities.
Grinding, repair, polishing, and sealing for worn, etched, or stained marble surfaces.
Chips, cracks, etching, stains, and countertop edges repaired on site with matched resin.
Travertine, terrazzo, limestone, slate, and adjacent stone restored with the right process.
Marble polishing is a mechanical process, not a chemical one. I use progressive diamond abrasive pads to grind away the top micro-layer of the stone, exposing fresh marble underneath and rebuilding the optical clarity that makes polished marble read as luminous rather than dull.
Cleaning is not polishing. A good cleaner removes soil and residue from the surface; it does not touch micro-scratches, etching, or the dull patina that builds up from years of wear. Crystallization, which some services promote as polishing, is a chemical treatment that creates a temporary high-sheen layer on top of the stone. It looks bright for 6 to 12 months and then it wears off. In some cases it leaves behind a film that is difficult to remove without diamond work. I do not use crystallization for this reason.
Restoration is a step beyond polishing. If your marble has chips, deep scratches, lippage between tiles, structural cracks, or staining that has penetrated the stone, a spot polish will not correct those defects. Polishing and restoration share equipment and vocabulary, but restoration is the broader scope, including repair, deep grinding, and complete refinishing. If your marble also has deep damage, full marble restoration may be the right next step.
My diamond polishing process is the same regardless of project size. I follow it on a 2 m² vanity top and on a 400 m² hotel lobby. It is the sequence that protects your floors, your air, your furniture, and my finish quality.
1. On-site assessment. I visit the property, identify the stone (Carrara, Calacatta, Statuario, Emperador, Nero Marquina, or one of the less common varieties), measure the area, survey damage, discuss the finish you want, and quote a fixed price. No guessing from photos.
2. Surface preparation and dust containment. I mask adjacent millwork, cover floors along my work path, set up HEPA dust extraction directly on the grinding head, and seal off adjacent rooms where needed. On an occupied-home job you should expect clean air and a usable kitchen the entire time I am working.
3. Diamond grinding, 50 to 400 grit. For floors with lippage, deep scratches, or substantial wear, I start at a 50 or 100 grit diamond pad to remove the damaged top layer and level the surface tile-to-tile. On countertops with only light wear, I may start at 200 or 400. Each pass steps up the grit, 100, 200, 400, 800, and so on, to progressively refine the surface. Chips and cracks are fixed before polishing; for that, see my marble repair service.
4. Honing. At 800 and 1,500 grit I refine the surface to an even matte finish. If you have chosen a honed finish, the job ends here and I move directly to sealing. Honed marble is the correct choice for bathrooms, high-traffic kitchens, and any surface where safety and etch-forgiveness matter more than gloss.
5. High-gloss polishing. For a polished finish I continue to 3,000 grit and then apply a diamond polishing compound to bring the marble to a mirror sheen. This is the finish you expect in a formal foyer, a hotel lobby, or an executive countertop.
6. Penetrating sealer application. I finish every job with a pH-neutral penetrating sealer. Unlike topical coatings, a penetrating sealer sits inside the stone, repels oil and water, and does not yellow or peel. I recommend re-sealing every 18 to 24 months on countertops and every three to five years on floors.
Marble does not have to be mirror-shiny. The finish you choose should match the room and how you live in it. I offer three standard finishes and I will make a specific recommendation at the assessment.
Honed is a matte, low-sheen finish. It hides etching better than polished marble because the surface already scatters light. Honed marble is my default recommendation for kitchen countertops that see daily citrus, wine, and tomato, for bathroom vanities, and for bathroom floors where slip resistance matters. A honed finish also reads as more contemporary.
Semi-polished sits between matte and mirror. It has visible light return and shows the stone's depth, but it forgives small etches and water marks better than a full polish. This is my most-requested finish for kitchen islands in Westmount and Outremont homes, and for condo foyers in Griffintown and Brossard where the owner wants luminance without daily maintenance anxiety.
High-gloss is the classic polished marble look, a true mirror. This is the correct finish for formal foyers, dining rooms, hotel lobbies, corporate headquarters, and any space where the marble is meant to perform visually. A high-gloss finish needs a committed sealing schedule and pH-neutral cleaning, which I will walk you through before I leave.
Residential polishing is the heart of my practice. On a typical week I am polishing a Westmount townhome foyer on Monday, an Outremont kitchen island on Wednesday, an Old Montreal heritage staircase on Thursday, and a luxury condo bathroom in Griffintown or Brossard on Friday. The scope varies; the standards do not.
I handle every marble variety regularly installed in Montreal homes: Carrara and Calacatta from Italy, Statuario for feature walls, Nero Marquina for accents, Emperador brown for warm-palette interiors, and Crema Marfil for transitional spaces. On the South Shore, where many of my Brossard and Saint-Lambert clients live in newer luxury builds, Calacatta Oro is the dominant choice, and I maintain it to the finish that matches its substantial cost per square metre.
For hotels, restaurants, boutique retail, and corporate headquarters, the difference between a polished floor and a dull one is part of the brand. I restore and polish hotel lobbies, concierge desks, restaurant floors, executive boardroom tables, condo tower lobbies, and high-rise corporate reception areas across Greater Montreal and the South Shore.
Commercial work runs on a different calendar. I schedule after hours and overnight where the space is occupied. I carry commercial general liability insurance, I phase work across multiple nights when a property cannot close, and I coordinate directly with building managers, concierge, and cleaning teams. For large Brossard office towers and DIX30-area retail, overnight phased polishing is standard.
I do not list firm prices on this page because every marble job is specific to the stone, the area, the damage, and the finish. What I can tell you: my typical kitchen countertop polish takes one working day, a full room floor runs one to three days depending on size and damage, and a heritage whole-house polish can take five to seven working days.
I provide a free on-site estimate within 24 hours of your first call, in writing, with a fixed price and a scheduled start date. No hidden fees, no change orders mid-project unless you change the scope.
I serve Greater Montreal and the South Shore from my workshop base.
If you are outside this list, call me. I have travelled for the right project.
A sample of recent polishing projects across Montreal and the South Shore. See more on my portfolio page.
I also work on travertine, terrazzo, limestone, slate, and other natural stones; see my natural stone repair service for those cross-applications.
I have been restoring marble in Montreal and on the South Shore since 2000. Polished perfection, with the same pair of hands on every job. If your floors, countertops, or stairs need to look like they did when they were installed, I will come see them and quote honestly.
Free on-site estimate within 24 hours.
| Call me directly at 438-887-2356.
Residential floors typically need a full polish every 5 to 10 years, depending on traffic. High-use kitchen countertops may need a spot polish every two to four years. I recommend an annual sealer refresh between polishes; that small step extends the interval between full polishes significantly.
Honing and polishing are two stages of the same mechanical process. Honing uses medium-grit diamond pads (typically 400 to 1,500 grit) to produce a smooth, matte, low-sheen surface. Polishing continues the grit progression up to 3,000 grit with a diamond compound to produce a high-gloss mirror finish. A honed floor is fully finished; it just stops at the honing stage on purpose.
I use HEPA dust extraction mounted directly to my grinding equipment, which captures the vast majority of particulate at the source. In an occupied home I also use floor-to-ceiling containment sheeting where appropriate. You will not live with dust on your furniture, your art, or your HVAC filters after I leave.
Yes. I polish countertops in place. Slab removal is unnecessary and risks chipping or cracking the stone. My equipment is built for in-place work, and I complete most kitchen countertop polishes in a single day without moving a single appliance.
Light etching and surface scratches, yes, polishing removes them completely. Deep etching, chips, cracks, or lost material require full marble restoration, which includes fills, deep grinding, and refinishing. I assess damage depth at the on-site visit and tell you honestly whether polishing alone is sufficient.
A kitchen countertop runs one day. A single-room floor runs one to three days. A whole-house foyer and stairs runs three to five days. A commercial lobby depends on area and phasing, from one night to multiple overnight shifts. Every quote I issue includes a specific scheduled duration.
I offer a free on-site estimate and usually respond within 24 hours.