Thanks to the finishes we can make on marbles and natural stones, it’s possible to exalt the characteristics of the materials and intensify their natural beauty and make a lot of possible combinations. Fantasy is the only limit.
Finishes
SMOOTH AS MARBLE
Using abrasive grinding wheels with different types of fineness it is possible to reach the smoothness and the level of brilliance or opacity most suitable for any project.
In order to obtain a bright, specular effect, the stone can be polished, in this way the material’s pores are closed and it highlights its veins and natural colour.
Through the honed finish it is possible to obtain a matt and porous surface, but also smooth with different kind of shine.
A particular type of honed is the leather finish, which exalts the material’s structure, giving it a warmer effect and making it soft to the touch.
Thanks to these finishes it is possible to obtain a simple but at the same time a high-impact effect, perfect for indoor uses.
A TIMELESS STONE
Some finishes can be used to give natural stones an aged look, as if they had been worn out over the years, giving them a timeless charm.
There are different techniques in order to obtain a such effect. One of these is acid-etching finish: immersing the stone in the acid and after the porosity reaction, we obtain a rough and aged effect.
Through brushing the surface with abrasive brushes it is possible to obtain an “orange peel” effect, but smooth and soft to the touch.
To obtain a more rustic and aged effect, it’s possible to apply the bush-hammering finish, which consists in hitting the stone with percussion hammers.
Finally, another alternative is sandblasting, with which we can obtain a rough and matt surface by using a high pressure sand-jet.
NATURAL BEAUTY
In some applications it is the natural look of the stone that guarantees an extraordinary visual impact. For this reason, some finishes have been developed to exalt the original rough beauty of natural stones.
The most authentic effect is obtained by the natural split finish, which consists in putting pressure along the breaking lines of the stone block, so it separates naturally. This kind of finish can be obtained only if the characteristics of the material allows it, as for slate and other stones.
Another rough effect is obtained with the raw cut finish which consists in cutting the block with a diamond saw.
Through flaming the surface takes on a rough and vitrified effect, very natural, given by the detachment of small parts due to thermal shock. The same effect can also be obtained by high pressure water jets, in this case we talk about hydro-finish.
These finishes highlight the inner structure and the natural colour of the materials, but also increase the adhesion of the surface and the resistance to weather effects. For this reason, they are particularly suitable for outdoor use.
ENDLESS CHANCES
These are just some examples of finishes that can be applied to marble and natural stones. There are also special finishes designed to embellish and to give an external texture to the stones, especially to the flat ones with few veins. With these finishes it is possible to obtain surface effects that reminds bamboo, fabrics, tranchè wood, and so on.
Choosing one finish over another, the same natural stone can have completely different effects, making each creation unique and unrepeatable.