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GSR’S
COUNTER-TOP REPAIR
INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE
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WHAT YOU WILL NEED &


WHERE IT CAN BE PURCHASE
ORBITAL SANDER

Used for sanding out scratches on your


repairs.

Vacuum Cleaner
Attaches to sander for dust collection.

Sand Paper
150 & 60 Grit Hook & loop Sandpaper
Used for orbital sanding and scratch
removal.

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE


DUST MASK

Used to prevent breathing in dust


particles.

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE


TOWELS

Used for wiping dust


and cleaning work area

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE


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WET/DRY SANDPAPER

Wet/Dry Sandpaper

320 & 600 Grit

Used for wet sanding scratch removal.

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE


HEAVY DUTY VARIABLE SPEED BUFFER/POLISHER

Your Heavy Duty Variable Speed


Buffer/Polisher is used for buffing out
scratches and polishing to a high gloss
shine.

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE


BUFFING & POLISHING ROUGE

Buffing & Polishing Rouge

Used for buffing out scratches and pol-


ishing to a high gloss shine.

AUTOMOTIVE PAINT SUPPLY STORES


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BUFFING & POLISHING PADS

Buffing & Polishing Pads

Used for buffing out scratches and pol-


ishing to a high gloss shine.

AUTOMOTIVE PAINT SUPPLY STORES


BUFFING PAD CLEANING TOOL

Buffing Pad Cleaning Tool

Fluffs and cleans wool buffing pads and


polishing bonnets

AUTOMOTIVE PAINT SUPPLY STORES


TRASH BAG

Trash Bag

Used for trash and carrying supplies.

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE


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DROP CLOTH

Drop Cloth

Used for protecting floors and work


area.

AVAILABLE AT ANY HARDWARE STORE

COUNTER-TOP POLISHING

This training course will guide you through a step-by-step presentation de-
signed to provide detailed instruction on how to buff out burns, stains and
scratches that may appear on Corian and Onyx counter-tops. We demonstrate
various sanding and polishing techniques that if followed, GSR will guarantee
you ultimate results.

STEP 1 PREP YOUR AREA (CLICK FOR TO SEE WEB VIDEO)

Click To See Entire


Global Surface Repairs
Counter-top
Training Video

A) Always start by laying down a drop


cloth on the floor of your work area.

B) Remove any items on and near your


counter-top, Make sure that all loose
cords are out of the way and secured.
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STEP 2 RECOGNIZING DAMAGE (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)

A) To Begin your repair start by re-


cognizing the heavier damaged
areas your going to be working
on these areas first,The deeper
scratches or larger stains.
B) Next place your vacuum and or-
bital sander on top of the
counter and again make sure all
loose cords are securely out of
the way.
C) Always wear a dust mask before
sanding, there are several vari-
eties of dust masks available

STEP 3 ORBITAL SANDING (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)

A) To remove deep scratches,


burns or stains begin by using
an orbital sander with either a
size 5 or 8 hole and use 150 grit
sandpaper placed evenly with
holes.
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B) When buffing Corian tops – as


opposed to Onyx, it is all about
the sanding. The better you
sand the less you have to pol-
ish. Buffing and polishing
counter tops can be time con-
suming; the more counter tops
you repair you will see how the
sanding becomes methodical
and somewhat repetitious.
C) When sanding Corian, to cor-
rectly remove the scratches, as
mentioned before, you will want
to start by sanding the worst of
the damaged area first. Once
you have those scratches down
to the level of the rest of the
damaged area you can start
your methodical sanding. Take
your time and continue sanding
through the haze that hides the
scratches. This will take ex-
treme patience and is why we
begin with the areas that require
the most attention
D) Have a cloth in your hand at all
times, using it to periodically
wipe the area you are sanding
as well as the sandpaper. Dust
can build up on the sand paper
quickly especially when pres-
sure is being applied in one
place for any length of time; the
sanding then becomes useless.
Wipe off the dust periodically
every 10 or 15 seconds
E) When you are finished sanding,
wipe down the entire counter top
with a clean cloth.
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STEP 4 SANDING TECHNIQUES HAND SANDING (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)


WET SANDING
A) Hand sanding – Take out your
foam sanding pad, 320 and 600
wet/dry sand paper and a cup of
water.

B) Tear off perfect 4 square pieces


to fit your sanding pad, have
your cup of water ready, then
place your 320 sandpaper over
your foam pad. It is necessary
to use a foam pad rather than a
hard sanding pad because you
need to have it compress in your
hand allowing water to be
squeezed out during the sand-
ing process,Use a fair amount of
pressure with one or two hands
in a forward with circular
motion,With your 320 grit sand
paper you are removing the 150
grit scratches and the 600 grit
sand paper you are removing
the 320 grit scratches.

C) Spread the water slowly over


your work area, if too much
white foam builds up while sand-
ing, continue to repeat the pro-
cess of pouring more water on
the area and smoothing it
around. Always sand with fairly
fresh water on your counter top.
To complete the wet sanding
process use a cloth to dry the
counter top completely. You are
now prepared to polish.
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STEP 5 ADDING COMPOUND (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)


A) Once again the very first thing
you need to think about is secur-
ing loose cords getting your cord
stuck in your buffer is not a
pretty site.
B) Adding compound to your buff-
ing pad - If right handed, posi-
tion your right leg over the chord
place the buffer down between
your legs, (note: on the side of
the buffer is a lock button) it
works by holding down the but-
ton and pressing the lock switch
at the same time, so the pad ca
spin freely. Holding your com-
pound stick firmly in your hand
facing downward, add com-
pound to your pad,Make sure
compound is covered all over
your pad
STEP 6 BUFFING & POLISHING (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)
A) Get a feel of the buffer for speed
control. The buffer can be a
tricky machine and takes some
practice getting used to. It is
very powerful at high speeds
and at first may feel like it could
fly right out of your hands. Mak-
ing sure your cord is out of the
way, the initial setting should be
on low speed; gradually getting
accustom to its force allowing
you the confidence to slowly
turn up the speed. Placing the
buffer on the counter top you will
notice it pulling towards the left
– hold it tightly! Control it by
pressing down and pushing to
the right. Practice this; eventu-
ally it will become much simpler.
B) After your counter top has been
perfectly sanded leaving no
scratches behind, polishing your
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Corian top will be a breeze.


Each time you add compound
spread it around on about a two
foot by two foot radius pressing
down firmly. Press and move
spreading compound deep into
pores. If by chance any small
scratches remain, they can be
worked out with the buffer.
Within several seconds you will
start to see a shine. Keep
spreading compound over the
counter top. When you have fin-
ished your deep spreading and
buffing you will notice there are
light swirls left on the top. You
have now come to your final fin-
ish.
STEP 7 CHANGING BUFFING PAD (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)
A) After using your buffing pad
cleaning tool several times re-
moving the dry matted down oil
from your pad, it's time for a
new pad. In order to remove the
pad. There is a button on the
top back of your buffer, press
with one hand and remove your
pad by turning with the other.
Remove the rubber pad and
medal piece from your buffing
pad. Stick the metal piece into
the hole of your new pad, con-
nect the rubber pad to the metal
piece and once again to tighten
use the button on the top back
and press down. At the same
time tighten your buffing pad.
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STEP 8 DETAILED POLISHING (CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)


A) Your final polish is all about removing the excess oil off of the counter-
top. Removing all swirl oil marks and polishing to it highest shine.

B) Fine Polishing – This is where


you either change your buffing
pad to a new or very clean one.
Ideally if you are able to have
another buffer available to use
there won’t be the need to
change the pad back and forth.
With your clean pad, remove the
oily residue and polish to a nice
high sheen.

STEP 9 DETAILED CLEAN UP

A) Cleaning your work area –


There will be dust everywhere.
First knock down all dust from
walls then wipe the dust of of
the counter-top. Clean counter
top with small amount of water
and wipe entire area down. Roll
up your drop cloth and pack up
your things to move on to your
next job.

BUFFING POLISHING ONYX( CLICK FOR WEB VIDEO)

A) Polishing onyx can be a bit touchy as it has a very thin surface that you
can break or burn through if you are not extra careful. It is buffed and
polished the same way as Corian – although Corian is a lot more forgiv-
ing. Before sanding your onyx, start by using your buffing machine, 80 –
90 percent of the time scratches can be removed by using this method
alone.
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B) With scratches that are deeper it is


safe to hand sand lightly, also sav-
ing you time and materials. If
sanding is necessary use your wet
sandpaper (320 and 600 girt) hold-
ing it on the sanding block while
applying gentle, even pressure for
just a few seconds. Sanding too
much or too hard will result in burn-
ing through the top. Not Good!
During this sanding process the
surface remains hazy. Where
when buffing you can clearly identi-
fy any imperfections as well as de-
termine that the job is flawless
(scratch free) and ready to be pol-
ished. Any yellowish tint or little
bubbles is what you don’t want.
C) If the scratches can be felt with
your finger nail it is deep and the
possibility of breaking through the
top while sanding or buffing is
probable. It may be safe not to risk
it. Take your time, starting with a
small area using the “glare” of the
light to assist you in following your
damage. Viewing the surface from
different angles can cast light that
allows you different perspectives
that are needed to make sure that
no scratches are missed.
D) In this lesson I have demonstrated
on counters with major damage.
With a higher degree of damage
there is a 5-10% chance of slight
imperfections remaining because
taken any farther it would result in
breaking through the top. Of
course less damage will require
fewer steps. Whether it be a minor
repair or a worst case scenario,
your onyx will shine up like glass!
Good luck.

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