How to Polish Granite
Ask Danny, Kitchens and Baths by Danny Lipford
We had granite countertops installed in our kitchen over a year ago. The installers neglected to polish the edge of the granite. They came back several times to polish this but it still looks dull. Is there a way that I can polish this myself? I have purchased many different products for granite polishing and I have had no luck in making the edge look the least little bit shiny. -Trish
Hi Trish,
Polishing the edges of a granite countertop can be pretty labor intensive and requires a delicate touch. If you decide to give it a try, you’ll need to use a grinder or stone polisher equipped with various grit diamond pads (these may be rented at tool rental centers). The pads start at 50 grit and go up to 3000 and more. If your granite has already been partially polished, you can skip the lower grits.
Be sure to wear the proper safety equipment including a dust mask, safety glasses or goggles, and ear protection. You can read more about polishing granite on our website at How to Install a Granite Tile Countertop
Good luck with your project,
4 Comments on “How to Polish Granite”
You can follow comments to this article by subscribing to the RSS news feed with your favorite feed reader.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
The granite installers lacked both experience and skill if they were not able to shine the edge. I would not recommend a homeowner trying on their own because it does take a huge amount of skill and good supplies. You may just want to call another company to fix it which will probably cost the same amount as you buying supplies to do so yourself.
May 7th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Our granite tile has pits in it, is that normal and can we polish them out and how? The tile came that way.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:26 am
I bought a cheap granite polishing pad set off ebay for about $45 shipped. Fits right into my 4″ hand held angle grinder. I’ve never done granite work before and was able to polish the edges of my tile just fine. Couple passes with each pad working from 50 grit up to 3000 grit then the buff pad. Mist some water before each pad on the edge. Not hard at all, unless I’m missing something, but they look great. BTW… this is on a tile granite countertop in my kitchen that I installed.
Ben Erickson Says:June 2nd, 2009 at 7:33 am
Hi Craig,
Thanks for the feedback on polishing granite. Glad to know it worked well for you.