The Marble Finale
I wrote a few days ago how I performed a few more tests on the marble. I wasn’t doing this as scientifically as the first round of tests. It was just sort of, slap on some mustard and if I happen to think about it I’ll rinse it off in an hour or so and see how it looks. I think I mentioned I did this with coffee, cranberry juice, and mustard. Sorry, I didn’t have any Red Zinger Tea and I wasn’t willing to cut myself to test blood.
All in all the results were fairly conclusive that while marble can stain, you really have to brutalize it to stain it. Furthermore, the tests proved that if you use a good sealer it can stand up to just about anything. Tonight I took one last photo of the test subject. I was looking for a small tuxedo for the final shot, but I couldn’t find anything, so here is our hero in the buff.
While I was looking at it I noticed there was a blemish that spanned both sides. That is to say, it showed up on both the treated and untreated side. It wasn’t so much a stain as it was a subtle outline of something….a ghost of an image. You could see it best when you looked at the marble at an angle in the light.
I went back and looked at the pictures of the original battery of tests and the only thing that came close to looking like it may have left this mark was the lime test. It wasn’t even all the lime juice but just the two spots where the two lime wedges sat for 10 minutes. They seem to have left a mark on both sides. I’m not sure if you can see it in the picture, but towards the center of the untreated side is not quite as dark as the rest of the untreated side.
It seems that on the untreated side the lime juice looks like it cleaned the marble a little bit. At the same time, though, it did dull the polished surface just a bit. It is something to think about, though, if you have marble that is badly stained in a small area. The stain may only extend a few microns in to the marble. By applying the lime to the surface you may be able eat away the very top of the surface and maybe remove the stain. I’d rather have a dull surface than a stained surface.
6 comments:
Your post reminded me of an experience I had many years ago with a marble pastry board I had - My then roommate cut a lemon on it and left it overnight - it didn't stain it, but it severely etched the polished surface...
We always used to clean marble stains with a lemon dipped in salt, and then gently (so you don't lose the polished surface) rubbing the stain.
Angus
Just FYI: Strawberries do a number on marble as well. We just left a basket of fresh berries on the counter and in the morning, yikes, huge abrasive/etched spot.
Hi -- we are new to the Marble dining room table world and I am realizing quickly that we need a good sealant (and cleaner). Any recommendations? Pasta sauce apparently stains....
Diana,
I used the Stonetech Professional - Maximum Bullet Proof Sealer and have been very happy with it.
S'mee,
Yes, the etching of the surface can be a problem. This is why you should do honed stone (marble, granite, or whatever) in the working rooms of the house. Polished stone should be used in the formal rooms only.
Unless you're a masochist.
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