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D.I.Y. instructions for diamond polishing and or repair kits.

#1. prep the terrazzo floors:

floor prep is the single most important part of any diamond polishing project.
it is vital that the floors are free of deep penetrated stains, surface stains and grime, extruding
nails, adhesive residues, thinset residues, paint overspray or droplets, sealers, mop and glow,
dust, dirt, metal or any small particles, etc. the floors should be clean and dry and free of any
foreign objects. just a dull dingy ready to polish floor, use water and a zep stripper (home depot)
with a 17 inch resin sandpaper pad the most aggressive they have preferably 35 grit resin pad. i
think it's 6 dollars. or a black nylon 17 inch black stripper pad and the rented floor machine and
a shop vac to properly strip, clean and prep the floors. if you have adhesive residue use the
“henry brand” home depot adhesive residue remover found in the tile section.

#2. prep your perimeters:

the edges or perimeter of the entire area to be restored is going to get wet.
if you have a small gap between the terrazzo floor and the bottom of your walls or baseboards
you need to caulk that entire gap along the entire perimeter with a general purpose almond or
beige or white colored non siliconized caulking.
if you have baseboards and or quarter round you should still caulk the entire perimeter.
the easiest way to do it is to use the same method as when grouting. fill up a 5 gallon bucket
with clean cool water and use a large grout sponge. apply the caulking generously and follow it
up with the damp grout sponge constantly rinsing and wringing it out in the 5 gallon bucket.

#3. prep the jobsite:

make sure you cover up or protect your kitchen and or bathrooms stainless steel appliances,
stainless steel fixtures, your walkways to and from the outside, the walkways in and around the
house leading to the terrazzo floors.
you can cover up the pathways with brown craft paper and masking tape, protect your fixtures
with plastic garbage bags, protect your appliances with large plastic garbage bags or a roll of
cheap visqueen or plastic.
remove all encumbrances including, furniture, appliances and interior doors.
remember to use a piece of masking tape and LABEL each door and each hinge because after
time the doors will breathe and expand and you will NOT be able to remount the doors after
your done if you forget exactly what goes where.
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please note:​ you do not have to protect anything or cover anything up if you have someone
behind you with a 5 gallon bucket and a couple of large grout sponges constantly wiping up and
cleaning up the baseboards, doors, and walls behind you and refilling the bucket constantly with
cool clean water.

If you have no repairs and just bought the polishing kit then skip to step #6

#4. prep and fill the holes:

with the included metal cut off disks and the hand held grinder / polisher (not included) grind
down the exposed nails from the previously removed tack strip flush with the floor.
with a spray bottle of windex or alcohol and a stiff brush (not included) spray the holes and
scrub them good remove all debris and clean them out as good as possible.

in the kit the is a tube of hardener and a metal tin of white epoxy resin. do not open these yet !
these are the 2 elements in the patch. there is also multi colored aggregate. and color tint
bottles. use a piece of cardboard or paper plates to mix the color tint first. don't even think about
mixing the 2 part epoxy together until you have achieved the right color match with the tint
bottles .
you will notice immediately how much color is in a single drop of tint so be carefull.

place a small amount of resin (a teaspoon) on a paper plate and then add 1 drop of white to
make your base. then add tiny amounts of your color tints on the end of a toothpick to the base.
practice on these small teaspoon size amounts until your exact color tone is matched, it doesn't
have to be perfect but it helps to get as close as you can.

once you have perfected the formula of how many drops of tints you need etc now you can
make a batch ready to be mixed with the hardener and applied to a few holes at a time.

open the can of resin and spoon out only enough to fill the first 2 or 3 holes.
it's approximately a golf ball sized mound.
mix up your formula with the drops of tint until blended.
add a pea sized drop of hardener, mix until blended and immediately apply the mixture into the
hole with the plastic spreader.

remember the ratio of resin to hardener is equal to a golf ball and a pea. a golf ball size of tinted
resin to a pea size droplet of cream hardener. if you add two droplets do not worry it will just
take a little more time to dry but you do want to stay within the recommended ratios.

you will only have around 2 minutes to apply the patch before it becomes useless.

throw out the paper plate and repeat the steps above for the remaining holes that are too small
to fill with aggregate.
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for the holes that are big enough to fit stones of aggregate you do the same thing as in above
but you only fill the holes ¾ of the way with resin.

then you immediately sprinkle the stones onto the wet patch and gently push them down into
the resin as far as they can go, make sure the stones are covered at least ½ to ¾ of the way up
the stone with resin.
after that has dried for at least 20 minutes you can fill and topcoat the rest of the hole with fresh
resin allowing it to be just above flush with the floor. the sanding process coming up will level
everything out.

#5. sanding down your repairs

so know it's time to attach the sanding disc adapter to your grinder.
it screws right onto the ⅝” nub.
the sanding pads are the exact same ones used in the big machine simply take 1 of the 50 grit
electroplated stock removal pads and attach it to your 3 inch driver adapter included in the kit.
to sand down and smooth out the dry repaired areas.

next put on your safety glasses and grab a milk crate and start sanding down the repairs. or if
you have several holes grouped together in a random area of the floor you will want to sand
down at least an area large enough around the holes so it doesn't look like spots and looks like
one whole sanded area. unless of course there is only one hole then you simply sand as close
to the actual area of the hole as possible.

ok so now you have filled and sanded down your repairs, now is a good time to sweep the floors
again, we want to make sure there is no debris or particles left over from nail grinding or repair
sanding. you are ready to start the wet diamond polishing process.
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#6. starting the diamond polishing process wet.

operating the buffer and running the diamond pads.

unlock the lever that controls the main handle arm of the floor buffer so it is straight up and
down. lock the handle again. pull down on the top of the handle resting the machine on the floor
exposing the bottom of the buffer
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left: home depot driver plate - middle: 17” hogs hair pad - riight: 17” adaptor pad

attach the PROVIDED HOME DEPOT driver plate with the bristles or plastic teeth, (left side of
pic) to the buffer while it's laying down on its handle with the bottom up and exposed and turn it
until it looks and is securely fitted.

place the first set of diamond pads 9 (the electroplated ones) marked 50 grit in and even star
shape all 5 pads evenly distributed along the outside edges of the 17 inch white plastic diamond
pad adaptor plate (far right in pic above)

place the diamond pads and adaptor on the floor with diamond pads down of course. place the
17” burnishing pad (middle pic) on top of the diamond adaptor (right side of pic) perfectly flush
on all sides. then roll the buffer over to the pads and carefully tilt up the buffer resting directly on
top and ​centered on​ the burnishing or black pad that is on top and ​centered on​ the diamond
pads and adaptor.
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unlock the handle and lower the handlebars to approx hip level and re-lock the handle tightly
loop the cord over your shoulder and keep the cord out of the way of the buffer pad, keep the
cord behind you by flicking the slack away with your free hand.
always plug in the cord as far away as possible to prevent the cord from being tangled in the
moving parts !
get a gallon jug or garden watering can and fill it with water and add just a couple of drops of
liquid dish soap to help lubricate the diamond pads or use floor stripper and water.

start in the farthest back corner of the project and wet the floor with the gallon of water use a
garden hose or a watering can, not too much water about a gallon per small bedroom or 12 x 12
area.

bring the machine into the area and now you need to place the weight on the machine. it is
highly recommended that you weigh down the buffer for the first step or 50 grit diamond
electroplated stock removal pads

my secret invention for weighing down a rented machine is cheap and effective. while you are in
home depot renting the buffer go to the outside garden area and buy this exact bag of
landscape pebbles > vigoro pea pebbles, the big 45 pound bag , make sure it is not broken or
has any holes in it. it is advisable to put this bag into a duffle bag or pillow case or another bag
just in case it is ripped open by some crazy fluke.
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believe it or not this is the best way to weigh down a machine because the pebbles act as a
stabilizer and settle down the rented machines natural wobble in the right areas to run smoothly
and level.

simply place the bag laying flat with both overhangs being equal, on top of the motor housing
and grab both ends of the bag and jiggle it a little allowing the rocks to settle and that's it now
you're ready to start running the machine and restoring your floors!

starting with the back left corner, operate the machine from left to right and from front to rear
and along the edges rubbing and riding the wall or baseboards. the machine's rubber collar is
supposed to be anti marking and is designed to glide up and down the edges.
if you feel like you are going to lose control of the machine please remember to let go of the
handle, do not try and catch or stop the machine from spinning around. you can injure yourself
or break a glass door so be careful, remember ​let go of the handle​.
it might take a few minutes to get comfortable operating the machine. I suggest you start in the
middle of the room until you get a handle on the machine. you can go to youtube there are
dozens of instructional videos that you should watch first to get a general idea of how to operate
the floor buffer.it is very easy actually and is designed to swing left and right and front and back
with just a gentle guiding with your fingertips.

Remember, home depot or most tool rental spots will provide free training on operating the
buffer.

so you start at the back corner and stay in a 3 foot by 6 foot area not moving your body and only
polishing the area that you can reach by outstretching your arms to the front and pulling them all
the way in to you and then outstretching your arms all the way to your left and then all the way
to your right.

remember to get the machine to go to the left you pull down on the handlebars to get the
machine to go to the right you pull up on the handlebars when you have made several passes
then you can take a few steps back and start on a different but overlapped 3 foot by 6 foot area.

the easiest way to remember is to break up the room into 4 equal quadrants and remember to
overlap a little on the previous area you just polished to not have any missed spots.

remember do not miss any spots, it will show up later and haunt you .

ok so now you are on the first set of 5 pads the 50 grit electroplated stock removal pads and you
have placed the bag of rocks on the machine now go over the entire area making sure you
overlap and do not miss any spots.
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THE LONGER YOU SPEND ON THE FIRST PADS, THE ELECTROPLATED STOCK
REMOVAL PADS 50 GRIT, WITH THE WEIGHT BAG, THE BETTER YOUR RESULTS WILL
BE

have someone behind you after you leave an area to clean behind you using a wet vac,
squeegee, mop and bucket if you have to. remove the (slurry) cloudy water, haze, or residue left
over from sanding the floors in between pads.

this is important you must remove the cloudy water and any haze in between each and every
pad or you will get a less than perfect result.

​ 7. polishing corners and hard to reach places

#
for around toilets, corners, and places the floor machine can't reach.
after you have ​completed your area with the first set of pads​, the 50 grit diamond
electroplated stock removal pads, remove 1 one pad from the driver plate and put it on your 3
inch adaptor:

using your handheld grinder polisher you can go over the area or corner the machine couldn't
reach for only a few seconds with up and down, left and right and small circular motions, 10
second maximum and ​then repeat the same process​ after you finish an area with each of the
remaining sets of diamond pads. repeat the process using all the rest of the sets of pads (resin
pads) in there order of grit from smallest number to largest number. > 50 - 100 - 200 - 400 - 800
-1500
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#8 USING THE STEP 1 OF 4 LIQUID WITH YOUR LAST WET DIAMOND PAD.

>>>>> STOP READ THIS <<<<<<

PLEASE NOTE AT 1500 GRIT OR YOUR LAST WET PAD YOU MUST USE STEP 1 OF 4
THE LIQUID SQUIRT BOTTLE INCLUDED IN THE KIT !!

STEP 1 OF 4 LIQUID HARDENER

use with your last set of wet diamond pads, the 1500 grit ones. wet the floor as usual then spray
a few times per small area onto the wet floor. start the diamond polishing with the last set of
pads and continue and repeat through the entire project. keep polishing wet with the solution
until the squirt bottle is empty and you have completely covered your entire project at least
once. rinse and shop vac dry the entire floor.

ok so assuming you have went through all of the pads in the kit
AND YOU HAVE SHOP VAC’D IN BETWEEN EACH AND EVERY PAD!
you are now finished with the wet part of the project.
make sure the floors are completely dry. remember just one drop of water can ruin an area in
the next few steps so please use fans, air conditioners, sunlight and time and let the floors dry
out before starting the vitrification process.

make sure the floor buffer has been rinsed and cleaned and completely dry and left resting on
the handle with the so the bottom of the machine is off the floor and allowed to dry including the
driver plate please also rinse, clean and thoroughly dry the driver plate before attempting the
polishing process

allow the terrazzo floors to completely dry at least 24 hours with all the fans on high and the air
conditioners on full blast with the shades drawn back so all the sunlight thats possible can come
in. you need to have bone dry floors including the edges and gaps.

try to remove any haze or dusty residue left over from diamond polishing, a damp mop or
microfiber mop will do a good job, the less residue the better the next steps will come out.

if everything above has been accomplished correctly your floors have been mechanically
diamond polished the right way and your stone floors are being transformed into jewelry. the
exact same method used by jewelers to cut, sand, hone, and polish rocks turning them into
jewelry
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#9. starting the vitrification and polishing process.

this is where the magic happens.

MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS DRY DRY DRY DRY !!!!
make sure everything is bone dry and free of residue from the sanding process, no haze at all or
white fingertips when you touch the floor.

set up the buffer the same way you have been doing this time you attach a hogs hair pad for
steps 2, and 3. then a steel wool pad for step 4 of the liquid additive dry burnishing stage. use
the hogs hair pad first then leave it on the machine when you use the steel wool pad as a buffer
between the steel wool and the rented machine.

STEP 1 OF 4 is used with wet floors and your last set of resin diamond pads.

steps 2, 3 and 4 are used with dry floors !

STEP 2 OF 4 vitrification
take the quart squirt bottle marked step 2 of 4
use the machine and the HOGS HAIR pad. doing only one section at a time approx 2 feet by 5
feet squirt a few sprays, 4 or 5 maximum! lightly mist the area then pass over it with the pad for
a few minutes until it heats up and is friction free. at first you will feel friction then you will start to
feel it gliding on the floor and you will immediately start seeing a shine.

move on to your next quadrant making sure you overlap a little from the previous quadrant.
repeat this over the entire area being attentive to how much you are misting making sure you
get all of the floors. don't forget to flip over the pad every now and then if you have some left
over you can go over the floor again and again until you run out of step 2 0f 4.

STEP 3 OF 4 vitrification
take the quart squirt bottle marked step 3 of 4
use the machine and the steel wool pad. doing only one section at a time approx 2 feet by 5 feet
squirt a few sprays, 2 or 3 maximum! lightly mist the area then pass over it with the pad for a
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few minutes until it heats up and is friction free. you will feel it gliding on the floor and you will
immediately start seeing a shine.
move on to your next quadrant making sure you overlap a little from the previous quadrant.
repeat this over the entire area being attentive to how much you are misting making sure you
get all of the floors. don't forget to flip over the pad every now and then.

STEP 4 OF 4 final polish

take the quart squirt bottle marked step 4 of 4
use the machine and the white 17 inch nylon buffing pad. doing only one section at a time
approx 2 feet by 5 feet squirt a few sprays, 2 or 3 maximum! lightly mist the area then pass over
it with the pad for a few minutes until it heats up and is friction free. you will feel it gliding on the
floor and you will immediately start seeing a shine.
move on to your next quadrant making sure you overlap a little from the previous quadrant.
repeat this over the entire area being attentive to how much you are misting making sure you
get all of the floors. After you finished the entire house you can go over it again with the steel
wool pads to finish off the job.

YOU ARE ALMOST DONE

#10 burnishing corners and around toilets

you have now finished vitrifying and burnished all your floors and you are left with the hard to
reach areas you sanded, honed, and polished earlier. now take the 17 inch hogs hair pad and
the 17 inch white nylon polishing pad and cut a circle out of it 3 to 4 inches wide to fit on the
adaptor included in the kit for your hand polisher.. mist a small amount of step 3 and buff it to a
shine with your hand grinder just for a few seconds is all you will need. buff them to a high gloss
shine with step 4 and the newly cut out circle of white nylon pad and the hand held polisher,, !!

you are almost done. the floors are grinded, sanded, honed, polished, vitrified and burnished to
a high polish, now all you have left to do is to ​DRY DUST MOP​ or​ DRY VACUUM​ the entire
floor, all corners, edges, closets etc.. and you will be ready to walk on your newly transformed
gemstone floor.

#11 final clean up

you have to remove all the steel wool residue and particles that get blown into all the corners
and edges. please remove them with a ​dry​ vac or vacuum cleaner and a ​dry​ microfiber dust
mop. a broom and dust pan will not cut it.

congratulations….
i think you did it ! we are all done and you should have a beautiful floor !
if you have any questions feel free to contact me 772-480-1970
Henry Gerstel DIY Kits by
www.mrterrazzo.com​ ​info@mrterrazzo.com
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#12 please send me before and after pics so i can include your project in my d.i.y. gallery