Lifting an Oil Stain Out of Granite With a Poultice

Cooking oil beside the range is the stain that turns up most often, and the method written down at granite countertops asheville nc firethegrid works on a granite countertop that has already absorbed it rather than on a fresh spill. It is slow, it costs almost nothing, and Asheville households with an unsealed light coloured slab tend to need it once.

How a Poultice Works

An absorbent powder is mixed with a solvent into a paste, spread over the mark, and covered so it dries slowly. As the solvent evaporates it migrates back out of the stone, carrying the oil with it into the powder. The stone is not being cleaned from the surface; the stain is being drawn upward through the pore structure the way it went in.

The Mix

Powdered whiting, diatomaceous earth or plain unbleached flour for the absorbent. Acetone or mineral spirits for an oil stain, hydrogen peroxide for an organic mark like coffee or tea. Mix to the consistency of peanut butter, apply a quarter inch thick on the granite, extend an inch beyond the mark, and cover with plastic taped only at the edges so it dries over twenty four to forty eight hours.

Lifting It Off

Let the paste dry completely, then scrape it away with a plastic edge rather than metal so the polishing on the slab is not scratched, and rinse with clean water. Expect the stain to be lighter rather than gone. Two or three cycles on a deep old mark is normal, and each one takes less than ten minutes of actual work.

Afterwards

The area has been stripped of anything that was in it, sealer included, so it must be resealed once the stone is thoroughly dry. Test with water first. If a stain resists three attempts it may sit under a surface that needs repolishing, and at that point it is a job for a fabricator with the pads rather than more paste. Old marks take longer than fresh ones, and a stain that has been sealed over is the hardest case of all, because the sealer stands between the paste and the oil. Where that has happened, strip the area first, let it dry completely, and only then begin the cycles.