Limestone stains

[On one]

Can these stains be removed or is buggered!
Looks like it hasn't been sealed after the plumber fitted the vanity unit top and has been stained. Don't know what has stained it,wether it was something the plumber laid on it or something the lady of the house has placed on it?

 

[Concrete guy]

That's crema marfil by the looks of it.

You'll need a poultice on there to draw out whatever has soaked in.

 

[On one]

Any more info ATS?

 

[Rosco100]

Get some "Fullers Earth" sprinkle onto stain and it should pull it out.

 

[Dougs Third Go]

yep, fullers earth would be my first try. 😉

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.ltp-online.co.uk/ltp-fullers-earth_7.html

 

[CJ]

Plumber strikes again. :mad2:

 

[On one]

Not having used Fullers Earth.........Could I end up increasing the size of the stain?

 

[On one]

Plumber strikes again. :mad2:

My money is not on the plumber,because the company that was used are a good bunch of lads.. Saying that,if it wasn't sealed???

 

[Concrete guy]

Any more info ATS?

The fullers Earth product mentioned above is a "poultice". It's a dry compound that naturally draws whatever is in the stone, out of it. Hopefully.

If you do manage to clean it up, use some stain stop or similar impregnating sealer. Leave a bottle with the customer and advise them to treat it annually after a good clean.

 

[IHB]

Cheapest place to buy fullers earth is probably your local pet store - it's used for cat litter. I have a big bag I bought for very little from Pets at home.

 

[On one]

The fullers Earth product mentioned above is a "poultice". It's a dry compound that naturally draws whatever is in the stone, out of it. Hopefully.

If you do manage to clean it up, use some stain stop or similar impregnating sealer. Leave a bottle with the customer and advise them to treat it annually after a good clean.

I would normally use Stainstop anyway....but theres no way I would leave a customer to do it! For by the stink,and the increased risk of a complete cockup,its nice to have a number of retainers I can always fallback on.

 

[GMLpaul]

Even if it had been impregnated, something particularly oily or greasy left on for any amount of time would find it's way in to the stone and cause these marks. Fullers Earth is a good bet or an oil and grease removing paste should do the job too.

Good luck, I'd be interested to hear how you deal with it and a photo of the result...

Cheers
Paul

 

[On one]

Today's update..........Fullers Earth didn't work,so after speaking to LTP we progressed to Grimex. Started at 1:1 with water and then neat Grimex.....still no better.So back on the phone to the very helpful lady at LTP and await a call from the head honcho.
Meanwhile after a bit of digging.....I found out the stone was originally delivered as polished.....the lady of the house didn't like it and was sent back to the suppliers and returned to the job in a honed finish and fitted by the joiner/plumber, and apparently all manner of items were placed on it before I got there.
So could the honing process have removed enough mm to remove the sealer?(assuming it was delivered sealed)

 

[Tony73]

you would have to seal it again, after being honed.

 

[Concrete guy]

You need to find a local stone mason and ask them to mix you up, or provide the recipe for a hydrogen peroxide poultice.

Or do a Google search and see if you can cobble together the ingredients.

It helps if you know what made the stain to start with though.

 

[On one]

you would have to seal it again, after being honed.

It definitely looks like it was delivered unsealed(not sure if it was deliberate or not)because when I sprinkled water on it, there was no beading of the water.

 

[Tony73]

I always check , mate .

 

[On one]

You need to find a local stone mason and ask them to mix you up, or provide the recipe for a hydrogen peroxide poultice.

Or do a Google search and see if you can cobble together the ingredients.

It helps if you know what made the stain to start with though.

I don't think we will ever find out what the stain is,wether it was caused by the plumber/joiner/customer because then the finger pointing will then ensue.
Not really my speciality or responsibility this one, so I will probably bat this one back to the customer.

 

[Tony73]

did you try to polish it down?

 

[On one]

Not sure what you mean exactly Tony

 

[Tony73]

Not sure what you mean exactly Tony[/QUOTE
grab a FLEX and try to polish limestone, if it's not too deep, you will get rid of it. ( sorry my English is not the best :sofahide🙂 I'm a bloody foreigner :lol:

 

[On one]

No, I haven't attempted to polish it out, I have just attempted to clean it so far.

 

[Tony73]

can you guess what is the finish of tiles? say I could tell if it's 220 or 400 (polishing pad grade) . some times you have to start with 60, some times with 120, and then 220... 400 (on one tile). And you should see if it matches the rest of the floor. Hope it helps...

 

[On one]

Your heading off into uncharted waters for me Tony........never done any polishing apart from the exposed edges on some travertine. The stain in question isn't a tile it is a his and hers vanity sink unit top.....sorry for any confusion.

 

[Tony73]

some times , you can get rid of it , by just polishing, and resealing. Depends on stains.... but you could try. Why don't you try at home? say you get few limestone tiles, poor different stuff on each tile (vine, tea, coffe etc.) and have a go with FLEX

 

[On one]

Thanks for the advice Tony, but I'm not wanting to get too involved with this one.....the phrases ''stick to what you know'' and ''a little knowledge can be dangerous'' come to mind!

 

[Tony73]

You can try at home some 15 years ago, I was mixing adhesive for a tiler.... been looking at tillers/stone masons.... now I do a lot of stone work. I love it, and it's good money :hurray:

 

[thompsonbrown]

My brother has a limestone fire surround He's misses uses a steamer on it when it gets stains.

 

[Pebbs]

Can I just post something here, I had a similar problem with a limestone vanity, and it turned out to be the glue the joiners had used, it had a small amount of oil in it and the stone started drawing the oils out. I think this could be the problem.

Pebbs

 

[On one]

Can I just post something here, I had a similar problem with a limestone vanity, and it turned out to be the glue the joiners had used, it had a small amount of oil in it and the stone started drawing the oils out. I think this could be the problem.

Pebbs

Hi Pebbs, I can see where your coming from with this one. The marks are only in these two round areas and not any where else ie not in straight lines similar to the wooden carcase. The stain has penetrated from the top,as there is no staining visible from underneath,but that's not to say the joiner didn't leave his tub of glue on the top though!

 

[On one]

Hi All. Just update this thread. The stains below are nearly all removed,not a 100% but a marked improvement,that the customer is happy with. LTP Grimex failed to do the trick,but 3 treatments of LTP Stain and Spot remover with Fullers Earth sprinkled over the top and covered with plastic gradually improved the vanity top.