Have to say chaps, the thread made for some very entertaining and interesting reading... Not sure I would entertain the idea of diamond pads with travertine due to the results I had on this job. Although, I'm always open to new ways of working.
Hi Stu, as pointed out already there are lots of different ways to achieve the same aim. Which one you choose is down to the individual, I use pads because they are easy (stick them on and go), we use them on lots of different materials and they work well for cleaning, maintaining and buffing of tile & stone. The main thing to remember with diamond pads such as twisters, kgs and 3m pads is that they can only do so much, they will not remove lippage or major scratches from floors, but they will smooth deep scratches and remove fine scratches, add gloss and reflectivity a floor.
I've attached a couple of photos of a travertine floor we did before christmas. A very quick job for two guys, we used 3 pads on a 150 rpm numatic, a little pH neutral cleaners and some extra weight on the machine, a long handle grout brush for the joints. 55m2 cleaned in a morning, sealed after lunch; easy peasy.
Naturally the finish doesn't have the clarity of a full grind and polish, but neither does it have the associated cost. Any easy mornings work.
