Stain on marble top

Bit late now but don't let anything even remotely acidic near marble it will dissolve it. Viakal is an excellent lime scale remover(*), marble is to all intents and purposes lime scale...

Raised seems a bit odd for acid attack,, I'd expect a hollow. Does this marble have any finish/polish on it or is the surface just nicely polished smooth naked marble? Maybe something has got under that finish and caused the marble to expand?

Does this raised section respond to a soft (non-metalic) scraper? (Edge of old credit card cut to suitable width).

(*) I've used it to remove the bloom on tiles after not cleaning waterproof (aka "cement") based grout of them properly.

The original stain was circular and raised (it is only just slightly raised, perhaps 0.2mm). Probably limescale deposit around the bottom of a glass.

The are around the stain is dull and rough, probably as a result of the attempts to clean the original stain with different products, including Viakal.

The raised stain, does not respond to non metallic scraper.

The marble has, I think, a polished finish.

It is likely sort of limescale, but its not the satin that's raised, its the actual marble. Marble is largely calcium carbonate, highly compressed an in your case, polished.

Any acid will turn that into a different calcium salt. So depending on what has been there (acetic acid, vinegar lemon and wine, sulphuric acid in strong bog cleaners, hydrochloric is you threw up on it or used brick acid, formic or or sulphamic if it was a descaler etc) the marble is no longer marble, but a different calcium slat whioch may be more bulky than the marble was.

So its not stain, in the same way that rust on iron is not a stain.

Arggh!

all you can do is polish it back and hope. It will never go. Its ruined basically, but it may look better .

use wet and dry paper wet, followed by car rubbing down compund.

Marble is a crap material for worktops in kitchens or bathrooms. I have no idea why anyone uses it.

'Cause it looks nice, the sales man pushes it and they don't know how vulnerable it is.

I agree with TNP, very fine (800) wet & dry used wet around a firm block and lots of elbow grease with rubbing compound afterwards. I'd be tempted to try the rubbing compound first just in case it improves without using the W&D. Polishing out the W&D marks *will* be hard work.

A polishing machine of some sort will take a lot of the effort away but be gentle marble is soft...

its very beautiful, and it has good properties or e.g. making pastry on, but like wood, its vulnerable.

A point not appreciated by most of those who buy either.

Frankly, in kitchens stainless steel and ceramic tiles or slate or granite...or melamine..

Its OK in bathrooms provided you don't put anything on it you wouldn't put on your face or tongue..

It was an ideal kitchen worktop material when people used to bake. But nobody bakes any more, do they? Except me, perhaps. And I don't have a marble worktop anyway. Perhaps I should get one.

Nick

So do I.

Not many I bet, but wouldn't a lump of granite do just as well as marble? Isn't it just to keep your pastry cool?

Lots of people still bake! (It's DIY, isn't it?) I have a big marble slab which I store with my cutting boards - it's only used for rolling out pastry. I wouldn't want a marble worktop.

What, like vinegar? Or lemon juice?

Vomit is pretty bad news too...

Andy

yep. i don't put those on my tongue much either.