How to polish granite tile edges

Everyday I get the question - How do I bullnose the edge of granite tile?  Because of our awesome selection of granite tiles and the popularity granite has for countertop applications we have taught hundreds of you how to do this over the years.  Not everyone can afford solid slabs of granite, so granite tiles are the next best thing if you want great color variation, durability and style in your kitchen or bathroom countertop.  I figured it was time to go ahead and publish a helpful how-to guide that I've repeated hundreds of times over the years...

Please note that this also can be accomplished if you purchase a stone polisher and a number of pads - from coarse (50 to 3000+) to fine as detailed below with the sandpaper.  I chose to write about the sandpaper method as a cheaper option for most home owners and more readily available materials in your area.

The process:
1. Use a handheld belt sander with a coarse sand paper (40 grit or so) and wet the sandpaper to grind down the tile edge to a bull nose contour.  This will take a good number of passes, so be patient.  Some of you might prefer to grind the tile before you install them on the counter to prevent accidental damage to the thinset through excessive vibration.  The rest of you will install the tile and then bull nose it to ensure that each adjacent tile has a flush bull nose with the other and looks uniform.  Belt sanders can be rented for $18-$25 per day in most metropolitan areas.  Just click here to view a Google search for "belt sander rentals".

2.  Progressively move up to finer grit sandpaper - always keeping it wet - until you reach a 400-600 grit level and are happy with the smoothness of each bull nosed edge.  I would suggest that you go from 40 to 80 to 150 to 240 to 400 and if necessary finish up with the 600 grit sandpaper.  This step can also be done with a disc grinder, bu the it is even more time consuming that with the recommended belt sander.

3.  Use a coarse cotton buffer and Tripoli compound readily available at most hardware stores. The cotton buffer can be attached to most common drills for easy use.  Work from coarse to fine compounds such as brown to white to red as with the sanding portion previously mentioned.  Jewelers may be a good source for the white and red compounds if you're having a tough time finding them elsewhere.  Again patience is the virtue, but this step is very rewarding as you'll begin to see a finished product that looks amazing when compared to what it was before you started the project.

4.  Finally you're able to seal the granite with a natural stone sealant.  After you have double checked your polished edges for rough spots or other imperfections use the sealer according to the manufacturer's instructions and enjoy your new countertops.

While this is a "difficult" DIY project the difficulty really lies in the tedious process and repetition required to get a good end result.  Take your time and follow the steps above and you'll get the look you want and enjoy the satisfaction of the sweat equity you'll get from all of your hard work.  Go for it!

Please note: this process can also be applied to other natural stones such as marble limestone and onyx, but may not require as coarse of sandpaper due to less dense material composition.