Spots and rings on limestone countertops

I have Jerusalem grey/gold limestone (honed) countertops; I keep them well sealed and don't have any color stains. In most light, they look beautiful, but when the light catches them at a certain angle, there are numbers of water rings and acid spots which I would like to remove. Can they be lifted or rubbed out? I've perused your site and think that the answer is "no", but could you confirm, please? Thank you very much.

Dear Liz:

Well, being that what you have are surface damages, you can't certainly "lift" them, but you can indeed rub them out. Well, not really rubbing, but... sanding is sort of rubbing, isn't it?... :-)

Use good ol' metal-grade sandpaper starting with a 240 grit and then go up on the grits to (almost) match the original finish. 400 grit should finish it. If you want a perfectly uniform finish, then you will have to do the whole countertop. Use a little orbital sander and work every grit thoroughly.

Easy enough for you?... :-)

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm? :-)

Ciao and good luck,

Maurizio Bertoli

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

Article ID: 324
Created On: Tue, Aug 14, 2007 at 3:24 PM
Last Updated On: Tue, Aug 14, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Authored by: Maurizio Bertoli [mail@mbstone.com]