In the video below you can see Ben Button sanding a limestone fireplace mantel, one of the many steps in creating the perfect cast limestone fireplace surround.  This is one of the last steps before installation is sanding the stone piece.  The strength and durability of this material allow us to sand as little or as much for the look and feel the customer chooses. What does sanding do to the fireplace surround?

The fireplace before sanding is rough and gritty to the touch.  We can use different grades of sandpaper to create a rough, dull look to a smooth and shiny look.  The more you sand with a fine grade of sandpaper the shinier and smoother the fireplace surround becomes.

For heavy sanding and stripping, you need coarse sandpaper measuring 40- to 60-grit; for smoothing surfaces and removing small imperfections and to create a shinier look, choose 80- to 120-grit sandpaper. For finishing surfaces smoothly, use a super fine sandpaper with 360- to 600-grit  https://home.howstuffworks.com/difference-between-grits-sandpaper.htm

Ben Button the owner of Cast LImestone Creations is sanding an Inverno mantel in the video below.  He is using 120- grit sandpaper.  The fireplace surround being sanded in this video was chosen not to be too shiny, but smooth to the touch.

Also, notice the styrofoam core.  The styrofoam core makes our product considerably lighter in weight than the full stone pieces.  Our pieces are still just as strong, but lighter in weight because the core is styrofoam!!