question on restoring/polishing soapstones?

Regular application of mineral oil....not mineral spirits.

Wife does the soapstone counter at Lear once a month...keeps it black and smooth.

If she does not do it, it turns gray.

Heat dries out the oil.
Just do it as often as you need, it will dry out, it will evaporate.....nature of the beast

Woodstock recommends using 0000 steel wool and buffing it out. I tried that and it definitely works well.

If you plan on actually burning this stove you made a mistake using mineral oil on the soapstone. I ran across a thread awhile back where someone mentioned treating their soapstone with mineral oil to rejuvenate it and since it sounded like a good idea I treated my Woodstock Classic with mineral oil. It basically turned my grey stone black, which wasn't necessarily a problem since the stove is in the corner of the den downstairs and not a focal point in the room. The problem arose the first time I fired up the stove. Get ready to endure some terrible odors for several burns. After the first fire caused the entire house to smell I used some #0000 steel wool to remove the remaining oil and bring the stove back to its original gray color. However, it took several more fires before I got rid of the off gassing of the oil. After this experience I did further research and discovered I had gotten bad information and that mineral oil is only recommended on soapstone counter tops, not wood stoves.

Most manufacturers use Stove Bright paint, definitely use that. As for the Mineral oil, I don't know? As was mentioned, I would think it would stink like crazy! I use it in my fireplace and never notice any smell, but I'm not sure I would anyway.
It does turn it a nice black color!