Our tips are written for natural stone.
For operations such as sanding and honed manually or mechanically, you can try this yourself or bring your natural stone to us. In our workshop we can clean up and often repair your old natural stone.
We recommend professional cleaning products such as Lithofin and Muylle-Facon. There are also other maintenance and cleaning products on the market, which sometimes do not differentiate between the different types of natural stone. Never use cleaning products with excessive acidity on marble, schist and limestone, including bluestone and white stone.
Please read the detailed instruction manual on the packaging of the products themselves. If in doubt, try out in an inconspicuous place first.
User guides
Frequently asked questions
Cleaning of dirty blue stone sills can be done with a hard sanding brush and ‘Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser’. Always use an acid-free cleaning product.
If the contamination is too severe or the surface too large, you can also sandblast or sand. Sanding on processed stones, such as fitted or chiselled pieces, will damage/fade the process.
The materials can also be cleaned up in our workshop, resulting in a virtually new end product. Belgian Blue Stone proves once again its durability.
Tips for sanding:
For smaller surfaces you can sand manually.
For larger surfaces, you can use a right-angled grinding machine that fits a plateau diameter of 125mm with a screw. On this plateau - provided with velcro - the round sanding sheets for natural stone stick.
In case of heavy soiling, dry pre-sand with sandpaper K36. Then evenly sand dry with sandpaper K60. The end result is grey with visible fine sanding stripes.
Note: our tips only apply to Belgian Blue Stone.
Order:
Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser
Schuurpakket grijs geschuurd
If the scratches are superficial, they will disappear by themselves over time. New scratches are pale, but darken by maintaining them with a nourishing product and become less visible.
Deeper scratches can only be removed by re-sanding and/or honing. Please note that sanding removes a part of the stone surface; to remove a deep scratch, you sometimes have to treat a larger surface.
Sanded bluestone grey can be sanded dry with sandpaper for natural stone K60. If necessary, use sandpaper K120 if the stone already had a patina.
For bluestone, light blue honed (e.g. window sills inside, kitchen tops):
If you want to treat a larger surface, you have to hone everything, this is done with water sandpaper and continuously add plenty of water. Start with the water sandpaper with the smallest number K220 and honed until an even colour is obtained. Then continue with water sandpaper with a higher number = make darker. For the darkest finish you have to go through all the numbers.
For blue stone light blue honed; K 220
For blue stone blue honed; K 220 - 320 - 400
For blue stone dark blue honed; K 220 - 320 - 400 - 600 - 800
For marble; K 220 - 320 - 400 - 600 - 800
The end result will differ from the original color, but this difference fades over time. It is important to keep your natural stone fed; for worktops with ‘Lithofin MN Easy Clean’, for floors with ‘Lithofin MN Glans & Schoon’ or ‘Lithofin MN Onderhoudsproduct voor Blauwe Steen’ and to give a stain stop treatment. Consult our user data sheets for each type of natural stone.
A camouflage tip for black stones: use a black alcohol pen to colour the scratch, rub away immediately the excess on the smooth surface with a clean cloth.
Stains often occur because the stone is not sufficiently protected. A porous stone will also absorb water and this can cause dark markings. Rinse thoroughly with clean water and allow to dry completely. It can take several days for limestone to dry out completely. Then use a stain stop product to protect the stone and repeat in time.
Dark stains can also be grease or oil, see How do I remove an oil or grease stain, silicone residue?
Rust stains caused by metal grinding, rusty water, ferrous fertilizers, etc. can be removed with ‘Lithofin Rost-EX’.
‘Lithofin Rost-EX’ is acid-free and can therefore be used for marble and limestone.
Rust discoloration of ferrous marble such as Carrara cannot always be removed.
You can do a test, but if the discoloration comes from the stone itself, it does not always succeed with ‘Lithofin Rost-EX’.
With ‘Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser’ you can remove general dirt on all stone types.
‘Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser’ is an acid-free, mildly alkaline cleaning product that removes stubborn general dirt from all stone surfaces; can be used on any type of natural stone.
‘Lithofin MN Buitenhuisreiniger’ can be used outdoors to remove general contaminants, mould stains, discoloration by plants and dark green deposits.
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Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser
Lithofin MN Buitenhuisreiniger
Natural stone in humid conditions and with insufficient sunlight or light can get green deposits. In the case of porous stones or surfaces such as white stone, the green deposit will penetrate deeper into the stone.
‘Lithofin MN Buitenhuisreiniger’ and ‘Lithofin Actiefreiniger’ can be used for the removal of general dirt, fungal stains, discoloration by plants and dark green deposits. ‘Lithofin MN Buitenhuisreiniger’ may only be used outdoors and may not be mixed with other products, due to the possible creation of chlorinated vapors.
‘Lithofin MN Buitenhuisreiniger’ is only suitable for natural stone. ‘Lithofin Actiefreiniger’ can be used on natural stone, ceramics and concrete stone. Avoid plants, animals and surface waters with these products.
‘Lithofin MN Buitenhuisreiniger’ is applied diluted and ‘Lithofin Actiefreiniger’ undiluted. Both products require a certain application time.
If you want to enjoy the product for a long time without green deposit or remove the dirt more easily, use a suitable stain stop. This will reduce the porosity of the natural stone, so that the stone dries faster, becomes dirty less quickly and any pollution does not penetrate the stone and is therefore easier to remove.
‘Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser’ is an acid-free, mildly alkaline cleaning product that removes stubborn general dirt from all stone surfaces; can be used on any type of natural stone. Do not allow to dry and rinse with plenty of water.
‘Lithofin MN Cementsluierverwijderaar’ should only be used on acid-resistant natural stone such as granite, but never on limestone, marble, slate or blue stone; ‘Lithofin MN Cementsluierverwijderaar’ will damage the surface of these types of stone.
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Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser
Lithofin MN Cementsluierverwijderaar
Bluestone can be darkened with a mixture of 1/3 turpentine and 2/3 linseed oil. Rub the stone with this mixture and let it work in for 24 hours, wash it off with soft soapy water and repeat if necessary. This application also camouflages pale stains and scratches. Please note that the dark colour is not always retained and that larger surfaces can be treated several times.
Bluestone exposed to the sun and rain becomes gray, with the exception of rough finishes such as cleaved stone.
Turpentine and linseed oil can be found in the better stores. Use the pure products, not mixtures to which linseed oil has been added.
There are colour enhancers that illuminate the colour of your natural stone: ‘Lithofin Vlekstop PLUS’, ‘Lithofin MN Kleurverdieper’ and new ‘Lithofin MN Kleurverdieper W’.
‘Lithofin Vlekstop PLUS’ is also an excellent protection against water and oil stains.
‘Lithofin MN Kleurverdieper’ and ‘Lithofin MN Kleurverdieper W’ are suitable for rough, absorbent surfaces and also make the natural stone water-resistant.
‘Lithofin MN Kleurverdieper W’ is a water-based impregnation and contains no solvents; no vapours are released when using this product.
These dull, often paler stains can come from food or drinks such as lemon, vinegar, fruit juice, champagne, cola, ... but also cleaning products with a high acidity (low pH) can create dull stains.
If the application time was short, it is sufficient to continue maintenance with ‘Lithofin MN Easy Clean’, ‘Lithofin MN Glans & Schoon’ or ‘Lithofin MN Onderhoudsproduct voor Blauwe Hardsteen’, the patina will re-form after several cleaning sessions.
If the acid solution has worked longer on the natural stone, a paler matte stain will appear. In that case, the stone surface must be sanded and/or honed again.
For smaller stains, sanding or sweetening can be done manually.
For sanding larger surfaces, you can use an a right-angled grinding machine on which a plateau diameter of 125mm with a screw fits. On this plateau - provided with velcro - the round sanding sheets for natural stone stick.
For sweeting we use in our workshop hydraulically driven machines, which continuously add water. We have water sandpaper that allows you to treat smaller surfaces.
Sanded bluestone grey (e.g. outside sills, capstones, terrace tiles):
Dry sanding with sandpaper for natural stone K60. Optionally after K60 also use sandpaper K120 if the stone is slightly bluer in colour, for example if there was an already present patina.
Note: This does not apply to bluestone that is not of Belgian origin.
For blue limestone light blue honed (e.g. window sills inside, kitchen tops):
If the natural stone has become very roughly uneven, start with pre-sanding K60 until the stone feels smooth. After that, the stone needs to be honed again.
If the stain is pale but still smooth, all you need to do is hone it.
Honing is done with water sandpaper for natural stone and continuously add plenty of water. Start with the water sandpaper with the smallest number K220 and hone until an even colour is obtained. Then continue with water sandpaper with a higher number = make darker. For the darkest finish you have to go through all the numbers.
For blue stone light blue honed; K 220
For blue stone blue honed; K 220 - 320 - 400
For blue stone dark blue honed; K 220 - 320 - 400 - 600 - 800
For marble; K 220 - 320 - 400 - 600 - 800
The end result will differ from the original color, but this difference fades over time. It is important to keep your natural stone fed; for worktops with ‘Lithofin MN Easy Clean’, for floors with ‘Lithofin MN Glans & Schoon’ or ‘Lithofin MN Onderhoudsproduct voor Blauwe Steen’ and to give a stain stop treatment. See our user data sheets, arranged per type of natural stone.
‘Lithofin Lösefix’ makes grease stains soluble and removable with water. This will remove the most stubborn grease stains. Apply ‘Lithofin Lösefix’ pure and scrub for example with a damp stainless steel sponge or scrubbing brush, let it work in, but do not dry up and scrub again. Rinse with plenty of water and if possible an alkaline detergent such as ‘Lithofin Vuiloplosser’ and repeat the entire application if necessary.
Deep seated grease stains can be removed with ‘Lithofin Oil-EX’. This paste can only be used in dry conditions and at a certain minimum temperature for the necessary drying process.
Order:
Lithofin Lösefix
Lithofin MN Vuiloplosser
Lithofin Oil-EX