Please tell me how to clean this ugly Limestone!

[smiley]

I know I shouldn't have gone with the Nova Limestone in my shower, but I just couldn't resist its beauty... Until now!!!

It makes me so sad to see what was once a beautiful shower to this :(
I don't even feel like soaking in my tub!

Anyway, anyone please tell me what cleaners to buy to take all the skum off my Limestone. I know I am only to use a certain cleaner, so I wanted to ask you all first, before using anything.

FYI: It has been sealed only once, and that was about 1 1/2 yrs. ago. I know it is long overdue for a sealing, but I am thinking I need to clean the skum first before sealing? Is this correct?

Thank you much everyone!

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[Tool Guy - Kg]

Hi Smiley,
Yep, it's gotta be cleaned before you seal. I'll move this over to the "Cleaning, Restoration, & Sealing Forum" for you to get some top-notch advice. :)

[Davestone]

I think a little klenzall, and a soft brush might fix you up,doesn't look too bad to me.Wait till t dries to make sure nothing shows back up,then use a good impregnating sealer.If something does show up, try cleaning again.

[B. Yager]

I did a shower that had the same limestone and looked like your lower right picture. I had to take it down to 50 grit up to 800. Had to let it dry out forever, water was getting behind the wall and just soaking the stone. Check all the grout joints to make sure they are all intact and not letting water behind the stone which is what caused the problem in the shower I did.

[smiley]

thank you everyone!

Ok, Please tell me where to find that Klenzall? I will try that first, and see what happens.

Brian, when you say down to 50 grit up to 800 -- are you referring to sandpaper? And you sand directly onto the Limestone? Will that leave scratch marks? Do I wet the stone first? If I do see cracks in the grout, shall I add grout to that? Or how should I go about fixing the cracks?

I will use the 511 sealer -- is this a good choice?

Thank you again,
Becky Ann

[davem]

Hi Smiley, you can find Klenzall in the

cleaner section of the TYW store. (http://www.tileyourworld.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=26) :)

[B. Yager]

Diamond pads, I had to grind the whole floor and lower part of the walls it looked like your lower right picture. If the grout is loose you will have to replace it and if it does need grinding it won't be a DIY job. I had to use a color enhancer to finally get the stone to blend in, it kept turning lighter along the edges for 3 weeks.

[doitright]

Hi Becky :)

As Brian noted this is definitely not a DIY project. You can try to clean with KlenzAll, but that won't effectively remove any hard water deposits, or stone discoloration. Mechanical abrasion and stone enhancers is probably what is needed to bring it back to life.

It is strongly recommended to get a Pro for this job.

[smiley]

Hi all!

I did try the klenzall super strength, but it did absolutely nothing!
I even tried to use a razor blade, but nothing!

I guess my only option is to call a pro?
Would this be a tile guy? Or they have another guy who mainly
does this sort of cleaning?

Thank you
Becky Ann

[doitright]

Hi Becky :)

I think Brian hit the nail on the head, and your discoloration on the heavily lightened areas is coming from behind. The very first step would be to let this shower thoroughly dry out.

There aren't any tile guys I know that could handle this job. You need a natural stone restoration contractor.

Here are some resources. Look for the letter R for Restoration following their name. Contractor List (http://www.ntc-stone.com/cont.htm)

[smiley]

Okay, I will look up someone from that list. Thank you so much everyone!
I really appreciate it :)