Hi there, I have a slate dining room fire place which needs some filling for a few scratches near the base and then a good black french polish or similar to bring it all back to life. Does any one have any suggestions, experiences or refrence links to enable me to complete this job? Just for good measure there are a couple of chips on the underside edge of the mantel piece. Any help will definitely be appreciated.
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plasticpigeon
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Hello there
I am pretty sure Victorian slate fireplaces were mainly painted in faux marble finish. This is often stripped off to leave just the grey slate. I rather like the faux marble so would have a go at recreating it. I have directions for recreating the finish in an old construction book. However a lot of people prefer the plain grey slate look as it is less ostentatious. All personal taste. Perhaps it can be oiled. Hopefully someone else can offer advice.
I am pretty sure Victorian slate fireplaces were mainly painted in faux marble finish. This is often stripped off to leave just the grey slate. I rather like the faux marble so would have a go at recreating it. I have directions for recreating the finish in an old construction book. However a lot of people prefer the plain grey slate look as it is less ostentatious. All personal taste. Perhaps it can be oiled. Hopefully someone else can offer advice.
Lime
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Some slate fireplaces were painted/marbled but not all.
The old paint process was applied prior to the slate being installed and it is not possible to repeat the process in situ.
It may be possible to use another method to mimic the old look but it will be very difficult to make it look anything else other than painted slate.
The old process produced a look that fooled most people into believing the slate was another stone.
The fireplace if left as bare slate can be polished using a liquid metal polish or T-cut as used on cars.
This will polish the surface of the slate which can be given a mirror-like finish.
Do a small area at a time.
The polishing will take some effort but will be worth it.
Don't be tempted to use anything else other than elbow grease to do the polishing otherwise it will show.
After polishing, the slate will look good and have a finish that is almost everlasting.
The shine will be far more effective than any superficial polish or varnish.
I wouldn't worry about the damage and scatches. (some of the scratches can be polished or smoothed out)
Once the fireplace has been polished they will give character and age in keeping for what it is.
The old paint process was applied prior to the slate being installed and it is not possible to repeat the process in situ.
It may be possible to use another method to mimic the old look but it will be very difficult to make it look anything else other than painted slate.
The old process produced a look that fooled most people into believing the slate was another stone.
The fireplace if left as bare slate can be polished using a liquid metal polish or T-cut as used on cars.
This will polish the surface of the slate which can be given a mirror-like finish.
Do a small area at a time.
The polishing will take some effort but will be worth it.
Don't be tempted to use anything else other than elbow grease to do the polishing otherwise it will show.
After polishing, the slate will look good and have a finish that is almost everlasting.
The shine will be far more effective than any superficial polish or varnish.
I wouldn't worry about the damage and scatches. (some of the scratches can be polished or smoothed out)
Once the fireplace has been polished they will give character and age in keeping for what it is.
RhianPhillips
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Hi, I have a slate fire place that was faux marble, please see attached. It's since been stripped but I can still see the shapes of the old marble design. Can anyone advise how to get rid of this please? I just want it black and I will paint the
engraved bits gold
engraved bits gold
Toby Newell
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1. I have done marbling, you can do this in situ no problem.
2. Slate is a soft stone, you can sand and polish it like wood or burnish it like two pack car paint as suggested. This will remove any remaining artefacts.
3. You can use a coloured two part polyester wood filler to fill scratches but the correct method is to use an epoxy stone repair filler. Top tip is to mask up well as removing cured filler is difficult. You will need to sand and burnish afterwards. You can make your own using araldite epoxy glue and some slate dust created by sanding the back. You can use black wax beaumontage (wax filler sticks) but scraping this off with a blade will create scratches and buffing it will leave a shiny spot. You might get away with it if you have already polished it. You would need to buy a grey set and intermix them, you can melt them or simply knead little pieces together.
4. It's going to be difficult for an untrained person to get a smooth shellac finish, if you want to try you need a no 10, 12 or 14 best zorino mixed hair polishing mop. They sell black coloured shellac already made.
5. As suggested you really want to burnish the stone itself then you can coat in a wax, car polish or pledge like silicone. Do this after applying any gilt paint.
2. Slate is a soft stone, you can sand and polish it like wood or burnish it like two pack car paint as suggested. This will remove any remaining artefacts.
3. You can use a coloured two part polyester wood filler to fill scratches but the correct method is to use an epoxy stone repair filler. Top tip is to mask up well as removing cured filler is difficult. You will need to sand and burnish afterwards. You can make your own using araldite epoxy glue and some slate dust created by sanding the back. You can use black wax beaumontage (wax filler sticks) but scraping this off with a blade will create scratches and buffing it will leave a shiny spot. You might get away with it if you have already polished it. You would need to buy a grey set and intermix them, you can melt them or simply knead little pieces together.
4. It's going to be difficult for an untrained person to get a smooth shellac finish, if you want to try you need a no 10, 12 or 14 best zorino mixed hair polishing mop. They sell black coloured shellac already made.
5. As suggested you really want to burnish the stone itself then you can coat in a wax, car polish or pledge like silicone. Do this after applying any gilt paint.
RhianPhillips
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Brilliant, thanks for all the info. Wish me luck! 
Toby Newell
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No luck required.Brilliant, thanks for all the info. Wish me luck!
The harder you work the luckier you get...
I s a very pretty thing, will be lovely when you are done.
CliffordPope
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Same here. Marbling is a knack, but lovely if you can do it.
A dissenting voice - I prefered the original faded and worn marbling. Too late now though!
Toby Newell
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mmm, not dissenting, the OP asked for help on how to restored stripped surface, not what would of looked best. I would probably of been in the keep original existing marbling and try to polish around that.
Westholme
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I'm lucky to have this enamelled slate fireplace in my house:
On the left corbel inside the golden circle you can see a shiny black hemispherical "button" that is about an inch in diameter. I don't what it's made of or how it's attached but it's not fixed rigidly and can be rotated a little both ways. Sadly the one on the right corbel is missing. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement?
Similar "buttons" can be seen on the stripped fireplace above.
On the left corbel inside the golden circle you can see a shiny black hemispherical "button" that is about an inch in diameter. I don't what it's made of or how it's attached but it's not fixed rigidly and can be rotated a little both ways. Sadly the one on the right corbel is missing. Does anyone know where I could get a replacement?
Similar "buttons" can be seen on the stripped fireplace above.
When made of semi-precious stone they're called cabochons. Not sure if a different term applies in this context. You could google to see if a gem place has one the right size. Or, failing that you could fake it by taking a silicone mould of the existing one (it's as easy as plasticine that you push on) then casting from epoxy resin. With a paint finish to match, you won't tell the difference.
Westholme
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Many thanks for this info. I think the original cabochon might be glass because it doesn't feel stone cold, unlike the slate. I've found sources for glass, agate and onyx cabochons. I just need to ensure diameter and height match the original. Black paint has been applied where the missing one was (see pic). Is it worthwhile trying to remove it?
That paint would be visible if you fitted a new cabochon, so yes, if I were you I'd gently try to remove it (assuming the rest of the black in the photo is unpainted slate). Test with a cotton bud and paint stripper on the central rough area which will be covered by the cabochon and you've nothing to lose.
Depending what stone options you find, if you're struggling to match it you might consider removing the existing one (sacrilege!) and adding a new pair. Amber-coloured agate could look even better.
Depending what stone options you find, if you're struggling to match it you might consider removing the existing one (sacrilege!) and adding a new pair. Amber-coloured agate could look even better.
Hello, what did you use to remove the faux marbling. I have a slate surround with bits of faux marbling left on it and I want it plain slate so would love to know what you used to remove the faux marbling.