Slate fireplace - worth trying to restore?

[elizabethw]

Hello there

I have started stripping the fireplace in our living room. The style is Victorian Corbel and it seems to be made of slate. The very last layer of black paint is proving very tricky to remove. I am tempted to get fierce with a fine wire wool but concerned about scratching it. Any tips?

In the places where we have successfully removed the paint, the slate is very matt and lacklustre. Are there any good oils/polishes that will bring up the finish or is it better just to repaint? I've looked online for examples of slate fireplaces to see what we should be aspiring to but haven't had much luck!

any thoughts appreciated

Elizabeth

 

[Gervase]

Quite often the slate was painted from new - particularly with fireplaces that have a marble-effect finish - and it may be that the underlying slate is a bit rough and ready anyway. Try Nitromors stripper on the paint, and to perk up the slate you could try using a fine wet-and-dry paper wet (it's messy, though), and then sparingly rubbing in some linseed or ordinary vegetable oil when it's dry.

 

[Nemesis]

Blimey - I was mid reply when we were struck by lightning and the electricity went off!

Computer seems Ok...

Try the Victorian Society , which has a little booklet of fireplaces and restoration - yes it would have been painted, possibly to look like marble or simply black with small inserts which looked like marble.

 

[elizabethw]

Thanks for that. In the depths, there is a marble effect on it but it has been ruined over the years. I'll give it a go with the cleaning and oil but if it looks like a non-starter then a fresh lick of paint may have to suffice.

Cheers

Elizabeth

 

[Nemesis]

Once oiled, it may be hard to paint over.

 

[elizabethw]

good point!!!

 

[Nigel]

There is a company called Strippers who have very good products. We used a poultice style product of theirs to remove paint from an alabaster fireplace and it it worked a treat, with no staining or damage at all.

Cheers


Nigel

 

[Nimster]

We had a slate fireplace in our last house that I stripped back. A friend of ours said it was probably marbled under the black paint, so I tried to keep the marbling, but it was just impossible. I ended up taking it back to the bare slate, realising it looked rubbish, then re-painting it black and picking out the engraved panel-edge grooves with gold paint. Lots of work for little reward :roll: