Two major natural stone refurbishing processes exist to maintain your natural stone in Orange County. One is a natural procedure that incorporates the use of a series of steps that use very fine diamond abrasives. The other procedure is called crystallization and is also known as re-crystallization or vitrification. This maintenance process uses a chemical reaction to refinish your natural stone. To ensure that you get the best finish for your hard-earned money, and at the same time making the ecological choice, the natural polish procedure is much better when compared to the chemical crystallization procedure.

You must examine the physical make-up of the stone that you are refurbishing, first, to fully understand the drawbacks of the chemical crystallization process and secondly, to understand the harm it can cause to your stone. There are two major categories of natural decorative stone. These two categories are calcite-based stones, such as marble, limestone, and terrazzo and quartzite-based stones, such as granite. Chemical crystallization is advertised as an inexpensive way to maintain the lasting shine to your calcite-based stones. Not disclosed in this advertisement is the destructive effect that the chemicals will have on the stone itself.The chemical crystallization process uses dissolving chemicals to transforming a thin layer of calcite on the surface of your stone to create calcium fluoride. The chemicals used are a solution of fluorosilicate compounds and waxes that are buffed into the stone so that the acid in the chemicals will break down the calcite. In other words, a chemical reaction will take place that combines with the wax and produces the shining surface of the stone. This dissolving process changes the actual make-up of the stone degrading the stone physically, yielding a waxy and plastic looking appearance. The crystallization process may also cause your stone to become brittle. With every new crystallization process applied to your stone, getting the optimal shine becomes much harder to achieve, needing more frequent treatments. This increased amount of work needed not only raises the out-of-pocket cost of maintaining your stone, but now has to be done every month due to the waxy look that the chemical process leaves behind. The natural polishing  process is a greener, chemical free process which sustains the integrity of your stone. A proper natural polishing procedure that potentially has a better look to it than a factory finish.