Carrara Marble Restoration

The Everyday Italian Marble

Carrara marble is quarried in the Apuan Alps of Tuscany, near the town it is named for, and has been used for sculpture and building for centuries. Today it is the marble most homeowners picture when they say marble: cool white or blue-gray, with delicate, soft-edged veins. It costs less than Statuario or Calacatta and is widely used in bathrooms, kitchens, and foyers.

Because the veining is subtle and the background often has some gray in it, Carrara tends to hide minor wear a bit better than the bolder white marbles. That does not make it tough. It is still calcium carbonate, still soft, and still etches.

Honed or Polished: Which Do You Have?

Carrara is installed both ways. A polished finish is glossy and reflective and shows the veining more strongly; a honed finish is matte and softer-looking and hides etching better. The finish matters for restoration, because the goal is to return the stone to what it was, not to change it.

If you have honed Carrara and someone polishes it, it will look different and show etching faster. If you have polished Carrara and it was only honed, it will look dull. We confirm the finish with you before we begin and test it in a small area.

Common Problems We See

The issues that bring homeowners to us most often:

• Etching: dull rings and spots from lemon, wine, vinegar, and cleaners.
• Staining: oil, coffee, and makeup that soaked into unsealed or worn-sealer areas.
• Hard-water haze in showers: mineral film and etching on shower walls and floors.
• Scratches and wear paths: foot traffic and furniture on floors.

How We Restore It

For etching and scratches we hone with progressively finer diamond abrasives, then polish if you want a glossy finish. For stains, we use poultices matched to the stain type, which draw the stain out of the stone instead of just bleaching the surface. After restoration we apply a penetrating sealer so liquids bead on the surface and give you time to wipe them.

Our guide to Statuario and our overview of stone types explain how other stones differ.