On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 09:43:36 -0700, "Charles Spitzer"
wrote:

I polish granite (and marble) using a set of diamond pads from Harbor
Freight (about $40) and a cheap random orbit sander (about $25) .
The pads don't need to be flooded , just kept wet .
The 'proper' tool is a Mikita PW5001C (about $275) .

Fred


"PaPaPeng" wrote in message
.. .
My project is to renovate the bathroom. For the vanity top I intend
to use polished white marble 12 x 12 tiles, the proposed countertop
being 24 in x 6 ft. There will be an undercounter ceramic sink.
This is like the set up found in hotels and restaurants where the
countertop has a cutout for the sink and there is a slight overhang.
I like the idea of just wiping stuff into the sink without having to
run the rag over a raised lip as would be the case of a surface mount
sink.

I shouldn't have too much trouble making the cutout for the sink. The
question is what do I have to do to polish the cut so that it matches
the glass smooth finish of the marble tile? I suppose I will have to
use whetstone to polish it to glass smoth. Is there a clear wax
varnish I have to apply after that?

this is typically done with diamond backed wet sanders. the tooling will
cost you about $500 to start with. you can do small edging with wet/dry
sandpaper, starting at a low number grit and progressively working to a very
high number, and then polishing with cerium or rouge. use it wet to contain
the dust, as inhaling that can lead to silicosis.

warning: it takes a LOT of elbow grease.

conversely, you can get them polished by counter fabrication places. that
runs $15-20 linear foot.