Here’s my first posting after reading the mag for years now. I always enjoy the breaktime discussions I read and so here goes with the question.
One of my customers has restored a mid 1800’s mansion that got converted to 7 apartments after the family moved on. Greek key inlaid wood floors, 28 rooms on 3 levels and so on. The house is a showplace now and we are doing projects, as budget allows, to finish small things. The front porch has 5 marble columns with a considerable buildup of paint. You can see highs and lows where layers have peeled over the years and there are places where the marble is exposed. When you peel paint from these it seems the marble is coming off also, in thin layers, like masking tape takes a layer off paper when you peel it back. Should and can these be stripped and not affect the basic column or should the layers of paint be feather sanded to smooth(as possible) and recoated.
Any suggestions????? Thanks
Replies
I'm not sure how I'd go about cleaning the paint off the columns, would hate to ruin them further.
This will add as a bump and get you back to the top so others can take a read.
Pictures of this place seams only appropriate after having read your description of the place, sounds pretty cool! Try getting your first attachment under your belt in the same week!
Doug
Thanks Doug for the reply. We have some pix and i will get closeups of the columns today. Its been a busy week and today is just Wednesday!!
Jim
Are you sure that they are marble.
Even in the 1880 there where lots of "fake" materials used. And it might have just been a faux marble finish.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
We believe these are natural marble because the original owner was a Stone, marble, and granite dealer in town at the time and his business continued into the 1990's. The keystones, windowsills, and other items around the house are marble.
If there is a method to determine imitation from the real thing please share that with me. I am attempting to send pictures along with this message, the peeling spots may not come out great, let me know if they dont and I take more if it will help.
Thanks for any input any of you have.
Being the Techno-dinosaur I am I cannot for the life of me attach Pictures.
HELP
Edited 5/10/2008 8:11 am ET by Jim74
Edited 5/10/2008 8:13 am ET by Jim74
I really don't know how to tell. I think marble will react with acids and fizz. But so will limestone. And I think that there where some composites that used limestone dust..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
If you are interested in posting pics on the site here is a link to a previous thread which details the how-to involved. 24441.75
It might sound a bit complex but it just amounts to a series of clicks with the mouse and once you are set up and know the sequence it all proceeds rather fast and troublefree.
Cheers
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As posted earlier, take a little household vinegar and put a few drops on the marble. If it's true marble, it should fizz and drive off CO2. On this old marble, expose a small area and scratch it with knife blade to expose fresh marble surface prior to giving it the vinegar test above.
In the south it was quite common during at least the mid 1800's for people to faux-finish interior woodwork and furnishings to look like more expensive materials like mahogany or burl veneer. I'd expect the technique was used in other areas of the country, too.
I'm not familiar with any of these techniques on the exterior. I'd check with your local Historical Society; they can help you with determining the material and how to strip it or give you resources you can use for help. If you don't have one, the National Trust for Historical Preservation is a resource I've used in the past.