Stone Fireplace cleaning????

[Aggieb]

Hey guys!! Hope everyone is doing well!!

I am in the process of a remod and its about time to start in the living room. I have a large stone fireplace that is the focal point of the room, but the couple we bought the house from were HEAVY smokers...and I mean heavy!! Anyhoooo......the fireplace needs to be cleaned to get rid of the stains..and also it appears that the stone had possibly been varnished, sealed, or lacquered...or all of the above??? Hence, one of my reasons for being here..other than the fact that this is the best forum on the planet!!.....what can I use to strip the stone and mortar to its natural look??? I know I'm asking for a miracle, but need something fairly fast acting and something that won't make toooooo much of a mess since we are living in the house while the remod is going on! Any and all help would be appreciated :tup1:

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[Davestone]

What kind of stone?Is it polished, if not i doubt there is lacquer on it.I would see if a stone cleaner cleans the stone at all,or a commercial degrease for soot and smoke,be sure to rinse well as it will be high alkaline if not i would try a little finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball, if it turns dark the shellac, or lacguer can be removed, and i would get a lacquer remover and follow instructions, then use a fine 000# steel wool and lacquer thinner to remove the residue.If the cleaning is brutal you may need to rehone or repolish.

[Aggieb]

Thanks Dave! I'm not sure what kind of stone it is....some of it resembles granite..most of it you can see some quartz sparkles from time to time. I'll see if I can get a pic on here before long. I've tried a couple of different things to clean it....some probably not too cool to use..but phosphoric acid didn't touch it...typical household cleaners, and some mineral spirits...no luck.
Now...I DID shoot a little bit of carburetor cleaner on it..and that worked..but HOLY cow...plus..not too sure its good for the stone or mortar. I haven't tried anything on the mortar other than the phosphoric acid..and it didn't phase it. I'll try the nail polish trick and see what that does..who knows??

[Davestone]

If the carbeurator cleaner worked then it's a solvent based,lacquer thinner should remove it.Hopefully it's not a resined stone.

[Aggieb]

Don't think its a resin stone. LOL...the more I clean it...the uglier it gets!!! I am using acetone on it and its taking it right off and cleaning the stones well. Its not doing a lot for the grout though. I might just stop with the cleaning and pull it down and put a drystack up. Like I say, these stones are
just getting uglier by each one I get clean. Remember those white decorative rocks people put in there flower beds?? Thats what a good part of these stones look like...YUUUUUUUUUCK hehe :sick:

[Aggieb]

Hey Dave,

Just wanted to say thanks for the advise on my fireplace surround. I HAVE decided to tear the surround down and put up a new one. It just doesn't make any sense to do a remodel on the entire home and try to save a surround that will date the home back to the 60's when it was built.

Thanks a TON. This is the best forum I've found and really enjoy all the moderators. I have in the past spoke with John and quite a few other guys for tile/stone advise and couldn't be more pleased!!! :tup2:

Now I guess I'll go find a stone setting thread!! LOL