Restoring Stone

 

RITA: Hi. I have a farmhouse. It’s about 100 years old and in the living room we have a fireplace that’s surrounded by it looks like – it’s been painted. It looks like it was stone but it’s all painted white now and I want to try to take the paint off. But my question is I don’t know if – what if it is not real stone? What if it’s just a façade? Is that going to – will I ruin what’s underneath it by trying to take the paint off with a paint remover?

 

TOM: Probably not. I would try to see how a paint remover works for you. If it’s not going well, remember, you can …

 

LESLIE: In the smallest, least obvious area.

 

TOM: Yeah, if it doesn’t go well you can always repaint.

 

RITA: Alright, so any kind of paint remover I can use and just see how it works.

 

TOM: Yeah, see if it comes off. You know, it’s probably a veneer; so it’s probably a thin stone. But you know, the paint remover should work fine with that and it shouldn’t have any effect on it.

 

RITA: Oh, OK, OK. Good.

 

LESLIE: And you want to look at a paint remover that sort of allows you to see the process. There’s one that I’ve worked with called Rock Miracle – R-o-c-k Miracle – and it goes on sort of like a paste and you can see that it’s working and see as it removes the paint. And it’s fairly easy to follow and I’ve had great success with that. But there are so many on the market, so it’s just up to you and what you can find in your area.

 

RITA: Very good. Rock Miracle, I’ll look for that; otherwise, I’ll take my chances on a regular. (Leslie chuckles) Alrighty.

 

TOM: OK, Rita.

 

RITA: Thank you, guys.

 

TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.