Scratched floor tiles repaired for Porcelanosa

This was very much the case when one of the country’s biggest names in bathroom design put in a call to the Plastic Surgeon’s Operations Manager for the South East Region, reporting a problem with the surface finish on some high quality ceramic floor tiles.

Rob Townsend attended a meeting at Porcelanosa’s showroom accompanied by one of his team, in order that they could discuss possible interventions before visiting the home of the customer concerned. In fact the Finishers regularly repair ceramic tiles employing the two-pack fillers and System 40 specialist coatings that all of the teams carry in their vans. And because the tiles in question featured an unusual edge detail, Plastic Surgeon’s operatives also demonstrated how these could be smoothed using a special hand tool with very small and precise cutters.

Having satisfied Porcelanosa’s Showroom Manager, as to the company’s capabilities, an initial meeting took place at the client’s property, where the defects in the tiles were examined at close quarters.

It was at this stage that Rob Townsend and the Finisher involved realised that the superficial nature of the scratches – having not penetrated through the glaze – meant it would be possible to employ Plastic Surgeon’s highly specialised glass polishing process. This is so effective that the company has even been able to remove graffiti vandalism and chips from glazing in shop fronts and other situations: employing a graduation of fine abrasives to first reduce the surface and then replicate the original sheen and reflectance.

Despite the client’s initial scepticism, an appointment was made for one of the Finishers equipped with a glass polisher to attend the address at a time acceptable to the occupants.

Rob Townsend takes up the account saying: “The customer felt that we would not be able to remove the scratches and retain the overall appearance of the floor tiles; believing instead that the whole bathroom floor would have to be relaid. Following further discussion with Porcelanosa, though, they agreed to let us attempt a solution using our glass polishing technique and I returned with our team’s main Glass Finisher and addressed one of the worst affected tiles as a trial.

“Using abrasive pads to begin with, the work progressed slowly until the scratch had disappeared. Then we employed the polishing pads with reducing grades of paste, until the original level of shine was restored. We then spent the rest of the day treating the other defective tiles with their various degrees of scratches to give the whole floor the sort of pristine appearance for which Porcelanosa is renowned. As a result we left a satisfied customer and found a new application for our glass machines.”