Sungloss Marble Company

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About Sungloss Marble Co.

Specializing in the polishing, wet grinding - which creates no dust-cleaning, honing and sealing of natural stone surfaces in the Chicagoland area.

A member of the Marble Institute of America, National Association of the Remodeling Industry, and the Better Business Bureau, among others, Sungloss is committed to the professional servicing of stone surfaces such as walls, countertops, floors and facades for commercial, residential and post-construction customers.

Stone Restoration: Beauty Is In the Eye Of the Beholder, November 12th, 2010
We at Sungloss Marble Restoration Company have worked with thousands of customers over the years, and have seen everything when it comes to our clients aesthetics. It is our highest goal to satisfy our customers and provide eco-friendly processes to restore natural stone. In our 20-plus year history of polishing, cleaning, buffing, grinding, sealing, and honing natural stone, weve seen a whole spectrum of customer perspectives. Some customers high expectations can begin to enter realms of impossibility, while others are satisfied from the most basic of restoration. We even had a customer who asked us to actually rub dirt into his grout, so the new grout color wouldnt stick out so much next to the old grout.
Part of the reason our residential, commercial building, government building, construction company, and developer clients differ so much in their expectations of stone beauty, is because there is a huge amount of variety in stone, but very little foundational knowledge to assist owners when choosing stone, or to instruct owners on how to care for it. I dont know how many times Ive visited with a client who utters a few disparaging words about the stone that they have also grown to love. They say they love the stone, but if they had known what the properties of the stone (and thus, the best practices for maintenance), they definitely would have chosen another type of stone, or none at all. Stone Source, a stone provider literally down the road from us here in Chicago, provides their own anecdote about choosing marble versus granite (in terms of the aesthetic versus maintenance) on their web FAQ: As you well know, each client’s tolerances are different. Some love the aged look of a Carrara kitchen and others… we’ll just call them granite people. Their information is practical, and worth reading for those who are interested in learning more about the stone they have, or soon plan to buy.
Another reason for peoples occasional love/hate response to living with stone comes from the variance in the quality of the product available. There is stone being sold out there that is very low grade, and not a lot of up-front information to dissuade innocent buyers from installing it. Weve seen many writings on the subject, the most recent on an Australian website (the Australian Stone Advisory Association):
All but six of the listed green marbles are likely to require some form of repair before installation. A number of minerals [added to the stone by manufacturers] have been found to be detrimental to the performance of building stones due to their dimensional instability, solubility, loss of strength when wet (clays in general), reactivity (carbonates), instability, or color change. This very general advice is remarkably similar to a corresponding clause in an architects’ 1996 specification for a Sydney building now the subject of protracted dispute over poor performance of its green marble floors.
Weve also written before about fake black granite in this blog, which can throw professionals who maintain and restore it (us!) for a loop.
Our goal is to help educate our customers on what to expect with their stone, while delivering the highest quality, environmentally-friendly restoration, cleaning, polishing, honing, and sealing. Though beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, Sungloss Marble Restoration Company strives to meet the beholders expectations fully on every stone restoration project!

As Recession Wanes, Commercial and City Buildings in the Loop Begin Stone Restoration, November 5th, 2010
Sungloss Marble Restoration Company has an interesting vantage point these days. Our business was positioned well during the Great Recession. Luckily, our marble, terrazzo, slate, granite, limestone, travertine and other natural stone restoration work over the last two years did not fall dramatically, which meant practically no consequences to our employees or customers during the Recession.
At present, we are slowly witnessing the awakening of industries closely related to ours. Commercial buildings in the Loop, developers, Federal Government projects, and even City of Chicago projects (which for better or worse, involve the Chicago Plan Commission), have all contacted or touched Sungloss recently. And now is the best time ever to take advantage of what Sungloss Marble Restoration has to offer: cost-cutting (and environmentally-conscious) stone restoration, without sacrificing quality.
Soon we will begin one such project in downtown Chicago, restoring multiple floors of marble in a major Chicago Loop building. The project has been tabled since the financial meltdown, but has recently awakened from dormancy, and thats a good sign. Its a good vantage point to be in, when we can see the country slowly coming out of the worst recession in history. And we cant be more proud of our contribution to itproviding quality, cost-cutting, environmentally-friendly natural stone polishing, cleaning, buffing, honing, and sealing, to support fellow local businesses, and to beautify our citys natural stone!

Marble and Natural Stone Restoration: Oxidation in White Marble, October 29th, 2010
Sungloss Marble Restoration Companys had some experience over the last 20 years with various issues that come with owning limestone, granite, sandstone, marble, terrazzo, and other natural stone. Of all the wide assortment of maintenance and restoration issues we find solutions for, oxidation is one of our most despised. Natural stone, especially white marble, over time has the potential to yellow or discolor because of oxidation. Homeowners, developers, construction companies, and commercial building owners, and anyone who enjoys natural stone can attest to the blight of oxidation.

Even the best of our Restoration Technicians cringe when they hear oxidation because they know that some stone with significant rust spots cannot be fully restored. However, there is hope in trying multiple techniques, sometimes time-consuming, which could include a poultice that is applied for about a week. That, along with some other tricks of the trade might result in a significant improvement.
The best prophylactic is to stay on top of having the marble sealed with a quality stone sealer; we recommend annually or possibly bi-annually in high abuse areas, like a shower or vanity. Sungloss Marble Restoration Company mostly uses water-based sealers, which are better for the environment. Also, proper cleaning practices should be followed: the short version is to use a mild rinseless stone soap and appropriate applicator (think soft and/or gentle)the long version can be found here. And, a nice article about yellow staining here.

Testimonial

"Whether it's a simple repair or what seems to be the impossible, Sungloss always provides consistent, professional results."– Stoneworks, Inc.