
	Marble - Limestone - Onyx - Travertine - Sandstone MARBLES - Among the various natural stone types, which are used at DRAENERT, marbles take a special status. According to their genesis, they belong to the group of younger kind of rocks. Solute lime or the chalky shells of dead organisms have created over millions of years enormous stratums of sediments in the primordial oceans. Where these stratums sank down into the depth of the Earth’s crust, they were subjected to increasing heat and pressure. This process caused various mineral structures with special characteristics and visual appearances. Marbles are metabolized lime stones. The pressure and the high temperature have caused a complete recrystallization of the lime rock. Their significant character is the brilliant crystal sparkle in the sunshine. The coarse-grained variances offer a glamorous visual illusion of depth. This type of rock, is due to its mysterious translucency a classical extensive used stone for sculpturing and as building material. The shades of the marble types range from pure white to delicate pastel colours, but in few types also black mineral impurities are found. LIMESTONES - also belong to the sedimentary rocks and in a certain extend they are the precursor material for marble. On this kind of rock the recrystallization has not occurred. This group shows a fascinating variety of colours and expressive banded and veined graining. On the one hand they can be easily polished; on the other hand these rocks show numerous fine hairline cracks and fine crater sand are very vulnerable to acids as all lime stones. For this reason very few of these stones will be treated with a special lacquer impregnation on the surface. They gain a fine silky mat finish. A special variation of cryptocrystalline lime stone are those rocks, which are known as ONYX (calc-sinter). When on hot sources spontaneously chalky solutions are cooling off, the mineral Aragonite will arise, which is related to chalk. This mineral develops rocks of a very transparent and translucent structure. The floral ornamentation, connected with a variety of yellow, red, blue as well as different green pigments, has a unique magic appearance. There are worldwide only very rare and recoverable quarries, which only offer a low exploitable volume. Slabs of this material can really be called as unique solitaires. Also the TRAVERTINE belongs to the group of limestones. Due to its own genesis, often in connection with volcanism, this kind of sedimentary rocks is structured like a sponge. It is traversed by a mesh of fine channels and it would be possible to look through the stone slabs, but they are unilaterally filled out. For this filling the stone industry uses the abrasive dust. Only this treatment makes the distinctive beige or brick-red structured slabs (e.g. Roman or Persian travertine) applicable as table tops. In order to protect this unique open-porous stone surface appropriately, this kind of stone, different from all other stones, will be impregnated in our workshops with a special lacquer. SANDSTONES also belong to the sedimentary rocks, but are mainly composed contrary to the limestones, of sand-size quartz-mineral or rock-grains. This kind of stone can be found everywhere around the earth, in different grain sizes and completely different colour compositions. Similar to the limestones, they have not passed a metamorphosis, means to be metabolized by high pressure and temperature to a new kind of rock, but highly compact and with cement binding. They show usually an open-porous, sandy touch surface. Such stones can not be polished. They will be protected in our workshops as all other stones with a special oil-wax emulsion (Stone Protection SS1), and may therefore not be polished with the usual stone care SP1. GENERAL CARE INSTRUCTIONS All above mentioned kind of stones belong to the SOFT STONES. They can easier be scratched as e.g. granite. Pay particular caution in regard to the hard edges of ceramic crockery. Please use imperatively table mats. Be particularly careful with all kinds of acids (juices, wine, carbonic acid!!). They will attack the surface; the acids will dissolve the lime and damage the polish. Professional polishing will be required to repair the surface. Make sure that spilled liquids are wiped up immediately. Due to their crystalline structure, all natural stones take up liquids and return them to the air through evaporation. This means that water will temporarily leave a dark stain. Our tabletops are consequently pre-treated with special waxes which slow this process down and allow easier care. Depending on use and cleaning habits, this preventive treatment should be regularly repeated on polished surfaces with polishing wax, every three months at the latest. You will find appropriate stone care agents (Draenert Stone Care SP1) among our range of products which are available from your furniture store. Should a persistent stain appear after all, e.g. through coloured liquids, generous soaking using a wet sponge overnight will help. This will rinse the particles of colour into the lower layers of stone and the tabletop will regain its former appearance. We then recommend to fresh-up the surface with Draenert Stone Care. Be careful, however, with grease stains or stains caused by synthetic substances (ink, felt pens, etc.). In such an event, please contact your furniture store or our company directly. For this purpose, we offer the stone cleaning agents Draenert Basic Cleaner, and Draenert Stain Stopper. Draenert Grease Cleaner should not be used on all calcareous stones!! For all Sandstones, Marbels and Limestones with mat/raw and leathered surfaces only the stein stop agent (Draenert SS!) should be used, the regular stone care (Draenert SP1) as it is a hard wax would cause on this surface visible streaks! For a few lacquered travertine and limestone surfaces they can be cleaned by only using a wet cloth. Do not use the usual stone care products!!! When moving a stone table within your home, do not carry the full weight on the projecting edges of the tabletop as you could conceivably damage the plate. Use wooden supports which reach under the sub-construction. top		Natural stone catalog Product information about natural stones Product information about soft stones Product information about oil slate Product information about Caesarstone Product information about the slab pattern