Accidentally Sealed Tumbled Travertine, but wanted to enhance first

Hi, I accidentally used a sealer & semi gloss on 35 sq ft. of tumbled travertine (4X4's), but wanted to enhance the stones first, is there anyway to remove sealer, then enhance & seal again? Thanks a bunch!!!

 

Dear Ann:

First off, no stone should ever be sealed with a hard-shell topical like you reportedly did. (Semi-gloss? It sounds to me like you used a urethane coating… Bad move! What on earth did that poor stone do to you to deserve to be treated like that?... L J ).

That said, the only way that I know of to remove that coating, is to use a potent paint stripper based on Methylene Chloride that's available at any paint store. Follow thoroughly all precautionary directions printed on the can and let me know when you do the job, so that I can move out of the country for a few days!

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm .  

And remember, every single penny of the cost of the literature will be used to support this site and its cause: your cause.

While you are in the “Helpful Hints” section, do spend some time reading all of the interesting FREE articles you'll find in there!

Finally, keep in mind that we need your support to help us helping you!

Will you please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?    

By spreading the word about this valuable site among your friend & family and the stone trades' people you've been dealing with, you will be rendering everybody a valuable service!

Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

www.marblecleaning.org – The only Consumers' Portal to the Stone Industry Establishment!