Restoring a marble mantle
I am trying to have a DIY restoration project of this marble mantle. It has a lot of yellow paint and dirt…Any ideas, thoughts or recommendations on the approach, or material to use, etc…I am pretty handy but I am scared i might use the wrong chemicals and be in the dogs house..Please help.
I am trying to have a DIY restoration project of this marble mantle. It has a lot of yellow paint and dirt…Any ideas, thoughts or recommendations on the approach, or material to use, etc…I am pretty handy but I am scared i might use the wrong chemicals and be in the dogs house..Please help.
My brother has a marble mantle that he stripped very easily using peel away. Ive used PA for wood and had luck but it was even more effective on marble based on his description.
Thanks, tinarina, this is the type of postings that I would like to see more often. Many, many, many times I think the Brownstoner is full of contractors, friends of contractors and relatives of contractors trying to get work and very seldom giving real and honest answers to the genuine questions. Thank you!
Whoa, that is one fancy mantle. There is a decorative painter on this forum who has stripped stone mantles before, maybe he will weigh in with some expert opinion. Do a google search on brownstoner and strip mantle to find past posts on this same topic.
I’ve done this lovely project twice. First get off the paint with chemical stripper–I used Rock Miracle. Use plastic and other dull tools when scraping so you don’t scratch the marble, and be sure to protect your floor/hearth.
Once all the paint is off, you can get out the stains with a poultice. I used cheap talcum powder and hydrogen peroxide mixed to a cake batter consistency. Lay it on about 1/4″ thick, cover it with plastic wrap, and seal the edges with blue painter’s tape. You will need to do this in sections. Let it sit for at least 24 hours and remove. If still discolored, you can try repeating. There are special solutions you can try for rust stains but I don’t remember the recipe…
At the end you can wet-sand with very fine sandpaper.
The Old House Journal Compendium says you can make a poultice of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to draw certain kinds of stains out. You may have to cover the area with plastic and tape so that the poultice does not dry out.
For old stains, a poultice of baking soda & peroxide works well.
I’ll let others weigh in on the DIY method of restoring marble– if you decide to go the professional route, I highly recommend the folks at Foro marble. They cleaned and re-sealed our badly stained Carrera marble bathroom tile and did a gorgeous job.
I’ve used chemical stripper and a plastic tape knife. It worked out fine.