How did you not kill him?

If it's polished or honed, it should come off with elbow grease or a widget and water and one of those blue scrubby pads (make sure it's either the blue variety or the white (eco friendly) variety, not green). Oil-based...tough luck. I could kill the moron who got oil based paint on my front marble steps.

GRRR that is horrible! I do not know the answer (sorry) but think I would try a heat gun before any chemical? In the meantime if it were me IâÂÂd feel like crying. I know itâÂÂs just a âÂÂthingâ but stillâ¦sounds like a beautiful thing. What did the goof have to say for himself?

Bee,
I am just waiting until it appears random, and totally unrelated to his %$%^&$'ing us over. I am sure he has ^&&*((# so many people that there will be a lot of suspects. I just need to make it look like we are a cold lead, KWIM?

I am thinking the frozen lamb leg bludgeoning scheme, where you then cook and serve the weapon. Any ideas? Maybe we need a Forum for venting and plotting against bad GC's. At the very least I need to exorcise their devious, ignorant, base souls from my home. But I'm not bitter.

Kevin,
Pretty sure it isn't oil, though goodness knows what the brits at FnB mean by their "estate emulsion" gobbledygook. As far as the BM Aura, which is no VOC or somesuch, and we really did like from an off-gasing reduction perspective, that comes off when you look at it hard. If you don't believe me I can show you my newel posts. It's good for the environment if you don't count the pollution from the painter's trucks when they have to come back and paint every two weeks.

So sorry to hear "elbow grease", my least favorite cleaning product. : )

Is it drips or is it sort of a washed on stain that looks like it's seeped into the stone? (That's a terrible description, but you get the idea.)

I screamed at my contractor when he painted the ceiling without taping off the marble around the shower and there was about 1/4" of white paint all over the calacatta. He said, "Don't worry, it'll come off. I always paint like that." I don't know how he ordinarily paints, or why, but it did come off, and there's no sign of it now.

If it's not polished, I'd try a magic eraser-type thing. Or even move on to (gasp) sandpaper.

Fine grit sandpaper is really a last resort. That's what I had to use on my front steps and brick. But after starting I threw the sandpaper block across the street in anger realizing that I was just ruining nearly 200-year-old brick (irreplaceable because of the color and texture) and marble that was fine with a few spots of paint.

Make the bastards come back and deal with it. I've never used Farrow and Ball, so I don't know what it's really composed of. I have friends that were told it's okay to use magic erasers on marble, but I wouldn't risk that.

Here's the GSA method for removing latex or acrylic paint from marble, but it may be only for use outdoors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Removing latex and acrylic paints from marble

Let me know where you find that "thixotropic paste of methylene chloride paint stripper"!

It is hard to show with photos but this may give you some idea:

This shot of the sink shows the shadow created on the floor of the sink by the paint crew using this a slop sink (the sink is clean)

And, although it is hard in the dark with a flash and shadows, this might show some of the drips

Now that I have shown you my yucky photos, I have to show you the reason I didn't gut this powder room in the first place. I like this cool sort of Cotswoldy window design. (and also a reason why I can't mess up this marble because the marble is all over).

PS I know some of you are wondering. "Hey lady, I see the paint problem, but what the heck is that on your sink?"

::: sigh :::

The original sink had a very funky very modern faucet. I wanted to change it out. My crack GS/ID said no problem. Is problem. Fast forward the two years between the time I select all of my plumbing fixtures, and the day they put it in. Hmm. The height is wrong.

Hmm. I came up with the solution, such as it is, to put that bizarre little wood platform there.

Fast forward about two weeks after install. Guys, I have cherry wood counters all over my kitchen, with runnels for goodness sakes. They get wet all the time. This sink is the least used in the house (of 7 BA) by far ... they must not have used marine varnish. Or any darn thing.

Since you are now along for the ride on this question too, WWYD? Replace with a properly varnished piece of wood? Or get a piece of crema marfil? Or bulldoze the PR?

Thanks, Suero, I saw that too.

But then I took the jaunty phrase "thixotropic paste of methylene chloride paint stripper" and plugged it into my browser. The product that came up did not say it was for marble ...

So I wanted to ask the REAL experts here!

If you read the GSA document carefully, you'll see a reference to prosoco.com. You can call them to find out what cleaner to use.

Prosoco
3741 Greenway Circle ⢠Lawrence, KS 66046 ⢠800-255-4255 â¢

For the base of the faucets.......I'd vote for a piece of matching marble.
For the paint problem, I'd start by talking to marble suppliers and fabricators to see what they recommend.
Since your stone isn't sealed or polished I'd worry that most cleaners are going to soak into the marble and make it look even worse.
A fabricator may be able to 'buff' out the stains, yet not create a polished look.

1. Review the Hannibal Lecter series.

2. Call a stone restorer.

Before you pull out the abrasives, do you have access to a steam machine-the kind you use to sanitize things around the house? It might soften the paint.

You might want to try clear rubbing alcohol. Pool a little on the paint and let it soak a bit. If the paint is splattered, use the alcohol and a razor blade. This works like a charm on hardwood floors that have been splattered with paint. You might also try Goo Gone.

Have him remove his mess??

I doubt it would be oil based, because even a stupid, messy painter wouldn't be cleaning those brushes with water.

if you are lucky, it might scrape up with a sharp putty knife, then scrub with the Magic Eraser.

ML

I'm passing on the paint issue since you already have any suggestion I would make.

But for the faucet riser, I think you have to go with another piece of wood - there's enough stone already and you work that ying/yang thing into other areas of your home. What I DON'T think it should be is a very smooth, ogee edged piece of wood - make it rustic but soak the heck out of it with marine varnish or whatever you use - hopefully it's a matte finish and not gloss.

For the faucet, I would get a good plumber in and replace it with one that fits without the extra piece. The sink is quite wonderful, but I think that extra piece detracts from it. Of course, that will work only if that added piece can be removed without causing another issue.

Love the window, too.

Cyn,

Thanks. The faucet is a Perrin & Rowe. I think it was over $1200, and I like it, and it has barely been used. Plus I don't think any normal faucet would work. A look at the old faucet, in a shot from when the PO was here, will give you some idea why (no I have no idea why the PO, an septegenarian living alone with just a live-in housekeeper, seemed to use this for personal hygeine. It is pretty remote from the rest of the house, and his own ground floor bedroom was flanked by his and her full baths, among others).

But anyway:

{{!gwi}}

(Oh and now this raises another q. I replaced the cabinet h/w but never the doors; was never sure what I wanted to do. Would you just paint them? They don't match anything anywhere else now; they used to be echoed in a built-in desk an cabinets in his adjoining library)

DLM, Thanks, i was going to give up and get a piece of marble, but I actually like the wood too.

Maddielee, We have asked him to do so for over 2 years.

Suero, Anz, Kitchen, Rather, Cam,
Thanks so much for your input. I will be away for the weekend but I think I will call the co. Sue found.

For the faucet, can you put the piece of wood under the counter instead of on top?

I never thought of cooking and eating the weapon.

Need to put that away for future reference...

I think that was an old Hitchcock bit?

I don't know how to help, but am so sorry you've had to deal with this. :(

I use baking soda for so many things - not sure if it would harm marble. I once cleaned spray paint off a car and for me and that experience it did not ruin the finish.

Check out a product called Krud Kutter. You can find it in the paint section of your local home improvement big box store. Google and you will find their website. They also have an 800 number so you could call them about using it on marble.

Like the kill and eat method--- the weapon, not the victim :-)

I WOULD NOT try Goo Gone or Goof Off. I ruined a perfectly good, new stainless sink in my laundry room trying to get paint off it with that stuff. And it left greasy stains on a limestone floor when I tried to get PO's former dining room paint blobs up. An unpolished marble will practically drink that stuff up. LOVE the sink, and would replace that wood riser with a new piece of wood nicely edged and very sealed. I would have the doors re-stained to a dark stain like the wood piece, varnish them and call it a day.

Drips will come off with your fingernail or elbow grease and some barkeeper friend.
It's used throughout the capitol, the Supreme Court, the monuments in Washington where politicians have filled these buildings with so much BS, they probably have to steam clean it, and remember birds deposit their droppings on the statues.
A little latex paint is nothing.
I lived in a house with a large marble entryway. It had plenty of traffic with friends and 3 boys who, incidentally, parked their motorcycles there at night to prevent theft. Never had a problem cleaning it of paint, grease, Georgia clay.

I have to repeat the DO NOT USE GOO GONE or GOOF OFF. They are very oily and will only create a new problem.

You could test baking soda, but I have used Bar Keeper's Friend on marble and not had any damage. Bon Ami would probably be good too, but I have not tried it. I would not use Comet or any other abrasive cleanser. Polish wet and lightly. A nylon scrubbie or a soft brush may help you get into the tiny pockets that are probably the reason the stone is holding onto the paint. If you are dealing with honed marble that wasn't sealed, there is probably a degree of etching there that may have the surface a bit less smooth than it would otherwise be. If you use a fine sand paper, you will buff that rougher surface back down (you might want to let it dry well and then seal it at that point). As pointed out above, marble has been left to the elements over the centuries, walked on for centuries and probably seen every abuse between use on counters, floors and exteriors. It is reactive, but not entirely delicate.

This post was edited by lascatx on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 13:46

Try Oxi-clean, it's ph neutral so won't damage the stone. We have horrible water and it stains the grout. I use Oxi-clean on the shower floor that has honed crema marfil (as well as on polished marble shower floor). I make a paste and then cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. After it sits a few hours, scrub with a soft toothbrush and then rinse.