question on restoring/polishing soapstones?

[mike in ct]

hi,
i have a hearthstone heritage that has black soapstones that have turned white from normal use. looking to restore these as much as possible to get it looking good again. looking for a link to a thread on this or first hand knowledge of doing this. i've read mineral spirits...i've read wetsanding......looking for feedback on this ...thanks in advance! - mike

 

[r_towle]

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.

 

[mike in ct]

yeah, i meant mineral oil..... i was curious as to what the heat does to these stones.......thought some 800 grit wet sandpaper might be in order, but would love to get away with a few liberal doses of mineral oil

 

[r_towle]

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

 

[mike in ct]

ok....well i had one of these stoves back in 2000 for a few years, it was a early 90s era stove, but it did not look anywhere close to discolored as this one does....thus my concern. also, i want to paint the steel on this stove. can anyone recommend a good stove paint?

 

[begreen]

Woodstock uses StoveBrite paint. I would recommend using the same.

 

[mike in ct]

mineral oil did a really good job, considering how bad htey looked... thanks!

 

[toddnic]

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

 

[Nick Mystic]

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.

 

[mike in ct]

uuggghhhhh! thats not what i wanted to hear. i'll never hear the end of it now!

 

[webby3650]

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!