| Poultices
A
poultice is meant to reabsorb the stain from
inside the stone out, into something more
absorbent than the stone itself. It is
composed by two components:
- A
chemical that will interact with the
type of stain at hand
- An
absorbing medium to reabsorb the stain
out of the stone.
Absorbers
There are lots of absorbing media
available, from cotton balls, to paper-towels,
talc (such as baby powder), to diatomaceous
earth (the white stuff used in pools'
filters), floor, baking powder, powdered
sugar, molding
plaster. If you choose paper-towels, make
like a "pillow" (7 or 8 fold) a
little wider than the stain,
Reactants
Acetone available at any hardware store,
paint department) (not nail polish remover)
is the most effective, however, there is
also water, high-potency Hydrogen Peroxide
(30 - 40 volume. The one available at your
pharmacy won't do it, at only 3.5 volume. Go
to your beauty salon and ask for the clear
type.), ammonia, and dishwashing liquid,
bleach.
Poultice
Mix your absorber and reactant to form a
paste about the consistency of peanut
butter.
Application
Apply the paste over the stain (approx.
1/2" wider that the stain itself)
leaving it a good 1/4" thick or better.
In the case of the paper-towel, just put the
soaked "pillow" over the stain.
Here is a
stain being removed using a poultice made
from Acetone and powdered sugar, you can see
the plastic wrap sealed over the poultice
with blue tape.
Plastic
Wrap Sealer
In either case, cover the poultice with
plastic wrap and tape it down (at this stage
you don't want the acetone or other reactant
to evaporate. You want it to go down inside
the stone to meet with staining agent and
attack it). Leave it there for 24-48 hours
then remove the plastic wrap.
Dry out
Next, let your poultice of choice dry
out completely by removing the plastic
wrap. This is a delicate stage of the
process, you want the reactant to be reabsorbed
into your absorbent.
Removal
When completely dry, remove the poultice,
rinse the area and let it dry, in most
cases, you will see that the stain is
gone.
Repeat
If not, repeat the procedure step by
step again. With some stubborn and old
grease stains you may have to do it a few
times.
Reseal
Once the stains are removed you should have
a good-quality sealer for stone
(Impregnator) applied to your
countertop.
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