Letter: Crystallization Clarification

Recently, much has been said with regard to the effectiveness of a certain maintenance procedure for marble. The procedure that we are speaking of is crystallization. I urge the reader to seriously consider the source and the source’s background in the stone industry when reading articles on this subject.
First, I would like to give you the background of our company, VMC Technical Assistance Corp. In 1986, our company was formed to provide solutions to problems in the stone restoration and maintenance industry. Our background and knowledge dates back decades through a related company in Verona, Italy, named Santa Margherita. Santa Margherita is a large stone-processing company, as well as one of the largest producers in the world of agglomerate material and engineered stone.
VMC Technical Assistance Corp. not only gains its knowledge through the benefit of dealing directly with marble factories, but we are constantly in the field, around the world, providing technical assistance for our customers’ natural-stone-care needs. Prior to VMC’s founding, most marble floors in the United States were restored using sanding screens and/or frankfurt bricks. Through collaboration with another company, VMC was instrumental in revolutionizing the stone restoration industry by using Velcro® resin-bonded diamond abrasives under a floor machine to begin restoring floors. As you now know, marble floors are almost exclusively restored using Velcro-backed diamond abrasives today. This is one example of how we look out for the customer and the industry, attempting to provide better solutions to problems.
Another way VMC has provided solutions to the stone industry is by proper education and use of crystallization. Unfortunately, this beneficial process has recently come under unfair criticism. For you the reader, I have given you our background, now I will attempt to dispel the myths and misleading information generated by unqualified individuals with regards to crystallization.

It’s not a wax
You will hear many individuals in the stone industry, who have not researched the stone maintenance market adequately, strewn about terms like “crystallization products contain “wax” or “they rot the stone.” These claims are reckless and usually originate from individuals who are attempting to sell you something else. Remember this, the burden of proof falls on the accuser’s shoulders. When someone makes an uneducated statement misleading the reader into believing all crystallizers contain wax, I say prove it. When someone makes a ridiculous claim that crystallization rots the stone, I say prove it. These comments and claims have flown in the wind for 15-16 years, but every time you confront the accuser asking for proof, and spalling is not proof, the accuser either goes away, or they are exposed. To date, there has never been a single shred of evidence that all crystallizers contain wax or that crystallization rots the stone.
The reason wax in crystallization alarms people is because it gives the impression that you are applying a coating on the floor just as you would with a floor finish. I cannot speak for people who provide or use crystallization products which contain wax. What I do know is that VMC provides one of the most sought after crystallization products in the industry, which is produced by Coor & Kleever in Barcelona, Spain. This was the first crystallizer ever produced in the world, dating back to the 1960s and it contains absolutely no wax. We have the independent laboratory analysis of this product for our proof. Where is the accuser’s proof?
Recently, people have been led to believe that the purpose of crystallization is to chemically apply a wax to a stone surface to coat the stone. The reader should ask them self this … if the first ever crystallization product did not and does not contain wax, then why would the purpose of crystallization be to apply wax on the surface? The true purpose of crystallization is simple. It is to provide the industry with a safe, effective and efficient method to maintain polished marble & terrazzo floors. Nothing more, nothing less.

It adds or puts calcium into your marble
Some people may claim that crystallization adds calcium back to the marble. Others fire back that this is an untrue statement. VMC is one of the leaders, if not the leader, in informing the stone industry about crystallization and we have never made a claim that this process adds calcium back to marble. We simply provide product, and educate from experience and factual evidence.

Stone Processing factories
There have been recent claims that acid and calcium have a bad reaction to each other. This claim is spoken in generalities with an attempt to draw you into believing that acid from a crystallizer and calcium from marble will have a bad reaction. In these same claims you are lead to believe that stone-processing factories put the final polish on marble with diamond tooling.
The above two claims are very interesting as well as misleading. The fact is, in the factory, after the marble block has been cut and the slabs and/or tiles are calibrated, the material is ran through a polishing line. The entire process is wet. After the material has passed various grits of abrasive stones, a last step is applied to most marbles. This last step is where a 5X brick is run over the material. The main component of this brick is oxalic acid or potassium oxalate. The wet slurry that is created has a ph of 1, which is acidic as one can get on the ph scale. This acidic slurry produces the beautiful polish that marbles are so famous for. So why would someone make a general claim that acid and calcium have a bad reaction and also claim stone processors put the good polish on marble with diamond tooling, while conveniently omitting information of the 5X brick process?
You may conclude that either these persons are not informed or they are purposely misleading you. I would surely hope the latter is not true. This brings me back to the beginning of this article where I urged you to seriously consider the source. One of the main reasons crystallization is not used in the factory is because the factories polish marble with large amounts of water. The crystallization process cannot be used in a wet environment. It was developed for use as a safe way to maintain polished marble in public areas where people are walking. By using crystallization, you can avoid the hazardous wet slurry on the floor that 5X type products produce.

Durability
Some of these same sources will attempt to lead you further down the path of believing crystallization does not make the floor more-durable and it is just a way for someone to sell a maintenance product for profit. I encourage you, the reader, to look into the background of some of these individuals lobbing these accusations. These very individuals are actually selling maintenance products themselves, in the stone industry! Again, consider the source.
With regards to durability, the truth is that there are crystallization products in the market place that do make the surface more durable by chemically transforming microns of the stone surface. VMC, in conjunction with Coor & Kleever, had the independent lab testing done many years ago. The results are readily available for anyone who would like to review them. As mentioned earlier, the burden of proof falls on the accuser.
To conclude, crystallization is not the answer to every marble floor and we do not claim so. But when used properly in the right situation it provides the industry with wonderful benefits. It is our responsibility in the stone industry to provide accurate, truthful information. Introducing negative, misinformed opinions helps no one. VMC’s role in the market place is to properly educate, train and service our customers, and the industry as a whole. If we all take a positive approach and pull together everyone will be better off.

Paul Lundberg
VMC Technical Assistance Corp.