Natural stone lovers get natural stones that are quarried from the earth and processed at stone processing factories. As end-users, natural stone (marble, granite, limestone, quartzite, and sandstone) enthusiasts are not supposed to have finished and processed stone directly from the quarries. Stone engineers get solid blocks from quarries to cut them into slabs at stone processing factories. Then, the process of stone finishing starts. This process is done to make all stone types quite suitable for various construction applications. End users buy a variety of stones available in many finishes. All stone lovers are not the same, so are their needs. That is why natural stone finishes vary from customers to customers on the basis of their needs.

Why surface finish matters?

Primarily, there are grinding, hand stoning, and diamond polishing as basic techniques to give the stone surface a different finish. Using various mechanical processes and techniques, stone engineers render utmost finishes to all surfaces for interior and exterior applications. Surface finishing is essential as it helps you see all functional characteristics of the material clearly. There are lots of reasons why surface finishing matters the most. These include:

⦁   It makes the stone slip-resistance.
⦁   It offers the stone a high reflection.
⦁   It affects the color of natural stone.
⦁   It also softens and intensifies the white color.

Natural stone finish is essential for end-users to pick the best natural stones that are quite suitable for an intended interior and exterior decoration use.

Different finish types for natural stones

In recent years, natural stones have made their way to your homes and offices for the kitchen, bathroom, and cabin flooring and wall decoration purposes. Different stone finishing textures and patterns enhance the durability and aesthetic appearance of your space. As far as natural stone finish is concerned, there are four common types of stone finishes with their relevant sub-categories. These include:

Natural Finishing :

When you have a natural stone slab or tile ready for installation without any finish or treatment, you can call it a rough stone finish. After extracting from the quarry, the big block is cut into the desired format with no finish on the top. Such stones are suitable for cladding and cobblestones. Natural stone finish experts suggest that natural finishing has two categories:

• Riven finishing: This textured finish is useful for shining slate and quartzite tiles. This finish comes when natural blocks are separated along their cleavage line. This finish is also famous by other names, such as river cleft, natural cleft, or split face.
• Swan finishing: It is concerned with the cutting of the stone into tiles with a gang saw or block cutter. Granite, slate, and sandstone come in this finish for decorating walls, pavements, patios, garden landscaping, and gate entries.

Mechanical finishing :

This sort of finishing comprises of various processes in order to render a glossy, smooth, and matte surface with varied textures. This type is good for enhancing the qualities of the stone. Consequently, customers prefer it. In the mechanical finishing section, you will find the natural stone finish in three common types:

• Honed finishing: It is good for having a matted and smooth surface with lighter shades. It is good for granite, marble, limestone, slate, and travertine used for heavy traffic floors, stairs, and thresholds.
• Polished finishing: It is concerned with a glossy surface that comes from the use of abrasive materials. It is good for polished marble, travertine, granite, and limestone to emphasize natural colors and grains.
• Satin finishing: This finish falls between polished and honed finishes that is not matte and reflective. This finish is not very common.

Impact Finishing :

For having maximum texture varieties, this finish type offers an uneven and rough texture for having a non-slippery floor. Stones processed with this finish need more care and attention from end-users. Natural stone finish in impact option comes with the following types:

• Brushed finishing for a rough appearance.
• Bush-hammered finishing for a non-slip textured look
• Flamed finishing for a rough-textured surface
• Leather finishing for a countertop that looks less silky
• Letano finishing to expose natural colors
• Rigato finishing to render the surface a linear pattern
• River wash finishing to make tiles non-slippery
• Sandblasted finishing for a textured surface with a matte gloss
• Shotblasted finishing for surfaces having some aging properties
• Tooled finishing as an option to the bush-hammered finish
• Tumbled finishing for a stone with an aged appearance
• Water finishing to wash softer particles

Chemical finishing :

With the application of chemicals, this natural stone finish type has a great potential to change the appearance and texture of the natural stone. This finish can also be used on already installed tiles. There are four big categories of this finish type:

• Acid wash finishing for an antiqued look
• Epoxy treated finishing to enhances stone resistance
• Meshed finishing to make defective slabs stronger
• Protective treatment finishing with anti-graffiti or oil-repellent treating substances

In all corners of the world, you can expect a wide and exhaustive variety of stone products processed with a natural stone finish for multiple purposes.

Popular finishes with stone suppliers and manufactures in India

India is a hub of natural stones where all national and international buyers can expect high-quality stones direct from stone suppliers and manufacturers with a unique, natural stone finish of their choice and preferences. Expect the following options:

• Polished, honed, and sandblasted
• Antique (sandblasted + brushed)
• Bush hammered, leather finish, and tumbled
• Bush hammered + brushed and lepatora

You can also expect a natural stone finish of your preference on any stone type with Indian stone suppliers and producers.
There are lots of natural stone suppliers and exporters in India rendering you the right guidance for determining the best finish for your upcoming project. Regatta Universal Exports is one of them. This Indian stone expert answers all queries on different natural stone finish types, their uses, and optional applications.