Ideas on a Cleaning Limestone slab?
Bought a Soapstone wood stove a while back and finally got around to the hearth project.
I wanted something unique other than a hearth one might buy from the stove store so my wife and I visisted the local stone and nursery yard (called Boring Bark) and picked out a couple of pieces of Tennessee limestone. We could not find a single piece big enough to meet code.
I set up a workstation in the yard, put a diamond blade in my Skilsaw, and with a littlle water cut a straight edge on both pieces. It took about four passes for each cut. Next I laid the pieces on the driveway butted up together and measured out the needed dimensions. Back on the workstation and started cutting. It took a while but a lot of fun doing something I’ve only read about. Finished up in the early evening and figured I would pressure wash the pieces the next day to clean them up before attaching them to the non combustible cement board.
Pressure washed the pieces and can’t get them completely clean. When we picked out the pieces at the stone yard it was mostly based on size and general color. The stone is a darker bluish grey but surface just seem to be coated with a muddy layer of dirt. I figured I could probably just pressure wash it off. The stone is cleaner with pressure washing but there still not as clean as I would like it .
Does anyone have any ideas what I could use to get this stuff off? I have tried some Comet and some bleach with little results. Any ideas?
Replies
flood the stone with a lot of water and use a very stiff scrub brush to get od the comet and bleach residue....
it's in the pores now....
did I mention LOTS of water and a VERY STIFF brush...
use Dawn dish soap to reclean...
add a healthy dose of elbow grease...
rinse well and then do it again...
what is left is the natural patten....
wash this way as many times as you like...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Doesn't look like limestone to me.
That's quartzite. Much, much harder than limestone.
Powerwashing (with a real powerwasher) is about the best you're gonna get. There's a natural difference is color betwixt the pieces as well a a grain variance involved. The grain needs to be matched on your project.
One can get much larger pieces at real stone yards.
They come in three different colors -silver, cream, and gold. The cream type has little fisheyes thruout that give an interesting appearance.
Shiney stuff isn't it? As you found out, hard as heck to cut.
Yeah, doesn't look like limestone, and limestone isn't strong enough to be used in such thin slabs.If it were limestone then mild acid would be an option to etch the surface slightly, likely producing a lighter and more uniform appearance. Don't know if acid would work on this stuff, though.You could try brushing with a wire wheel, if simple scrubbing doesn't work. Would leave some swirl marks, but it might suit the appearance you're after.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
if it is limestone the acid will asorb into the pores and grain... and it will leach out forever...
I can't open the large pics and the smaller ones are too poor quakity yo see anything...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
The acid dissolves some of the limestone, and in the process is neutralized into salt. Simple washing removes the salt. Nothing left to leach out.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
I checked back with the stone yard and I mis-named the stone. They called it Tennessee Blue quartz. I'm going to try a stiff wire brush and some of that elbow grease Imerc was talking about.
Anything I put my mind to, I can do..... given time, money, etc....
HOLD ON THE WIRE BRUSH....
in fact....
SET THE WIRE BRUSH DOWN AND STEP AWAY FROM IT.............
yur gonna leave gray marks and maybe even rust stains from the bristles.. 'specially from the ones that break off and remain behind...
use the stiffest acid brush you can find.. you can even put a handle on it and do this standing up...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!