/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>2719727
Stone autist here. I apprenticed for old school guys. My first teacher was a boomer who would move all his chemicals and products into new containers and rename them to letters in the alphabet. So the chemical crystalizer was in a spray bottle named "A", the tin oxide in a small Tupperware named "D" etc. he was paranoid AF his secret mixtures would be known.

In the meanwhile better products are on the market and I never use his techniques these days. But basically any unregulated or untaught niche trade will have a few crazy people in it with their own methods. I freely tell people what I use because there's tons of work out there for me and why not help other people out when they are stuck.

Specific to my trade is understanding how different stone types have different volumes of calcite, lime etc. have highly variable porosity, what a dolomite calcite stone will do - and how to adjust your speed, pressure and chemical concentrations to accommodate those mineral differences. There are so many types of stone you can't exactly write a manual about it, you sort of feel it out, even down to the smell. Example, some black stone smells like rotten eggs when you hit it with an acid based compound, you know right away it's a high sulfer material and should increase your water and reduce the compound or you'll bite too hard. Other stone is highly porous, eg. Some vein cut limestone, this would mean playing with a densifier to close up some of those internal voids chemically, this takes 24 hours to do, and not doing it will severely impede your ability to work the surface, so, yes that esoteric voodoo knowledge is necessary but only gained with experience.

Hey anons, it's been a while since my last thread, figured I'd throw this up and let it dwell for the day. Will be around this evening to answer questions.

>Over 20 years working with natural stone
>Installation, stone types/application, repair questions etc.
>Business questions acceptable
>I don't source stone but work with everyone from fabricators and designers to on site installers, mostly high end residential but can advise on both interior and exterior applications.