Source
r/HomeImprovement•
coldplayer

Removing varnish stains from porous stone tiles.

So I and a few other friends screwed up. We live in the Netherlands and were doing some DIY work to create furniture using Europallets. We were working in the patio which has some kind of porous stone (sandstone?).

Eventually the protective plastic covering we were working on wore out and exposed the stone surface, we kept working without giving any thought to it. After we finished we noticed that the floor had a considerable amount of wood varnish stains which we tried to remove with acetone since the varnish was oil based. It worked to some degree, we managed to remove the surface stains but the stone still has some dark stains which won't go away. I tried a 3% peroxide solution mixed with flour and brushed it on but it didn't see to work.

This seems like the best place to seek help, with a nice community. Any suggestions?

Pictures: 1, 2

Posted Aug 19, 2016, 9:42 AM UTC

273
bandalooper•

Try kitty litter or an industrial absorbent material to draw the varnish out. I've had good luck before with Dawn blue dish soap on a puddle of thread-cutting oil.

2
Scizz•

Marble Institute has suggestions based on what stained it. Usually creating a form of poultice and repeat attempts will be all that you can really try. http://www.marble-institute.com/consumers/stains/

2
BearyPotter•

Any "grease cutting" dish soap may help. Scrub it in with a softer-bristled brush and rinse thoroughly. First you should try putting down an absorbent material as suggested to pull as much out as possible. Kitty litter works well and is readily available. Sand works in a pinch but won't be as effective.

1