What finish for a hearthstone?

[JoceAndChris]

I believe the bedrooms have their original Ancaster stone hearths. This morning the one in the main bedroom was black and paint-splattered, now after a great deal of effort with fine wire wool, sugar soap and Ecover linseed oil soap it's soft yellow and paint free. It looks a hundred times better, sorry, if any patina police are reading!

I'm confused as to why some of the flagstones in here are very shiny, almost like a polished stone, with a lovely smooth surface, and others are completely matt, and pitted. The hearthstones are the matt and pitted type. Really, I suppose, I'd like them all to be smooth and shiny, as if they were waxed.

However, as this bedroom fire will be used every day when we move back in the room perhaps I'm being unrealistic to expect it to look like polished marble! Any suggestions? Just forget about it now?

Did anyone try the holystoning that was talked about earlier this year? In a very old thread Nem comments that this used to be done to hearthstones. What does it look like?

 

[JoceAndChris]

Tried applying linseed oil - no appreciable difference. The stone just seems to suck it up. And now I'm worried I've created a flammable surface and the next time a hot coal falls out a fireball will make its way to the rug!

Looking at it this morning, I think I just need to find a small decorative cast iron fender to soften the appearance.

 

[Moo]

Oh, come on, Joce. We need pictures.

xx M

 

[JoceAndChris]

Well, it's really nothing amazing, and you've seen it all before, but for your curiosity:

Before:

After: (though wallpaper is still to go up and that should make the surround stand out a little more)

Oh, and the floor still needs doing. You see that little dark section just beneath the hearthstone? That's just the effect of a bit of linseed oil. Still wavering between doing the floor myself (my shoulder's bad though) and paying someone to do it. I think linseed oil, followed by shellac, followed by wax, would look amazing!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Beautiful job! I tried to clean a hearthstone like this in one of my rooms but it was such hard work I have simply used Zebrite on the others.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks! What's Zebrite - what kind of finish does it give? Do you mean you used it on stone or metal?

 

[Nigel Watts]

Zebrite is a graphite based black grate polish more ususally applied to the cast iron parts of the hearth. I am not sure if this brand is made anymore but there are other makes. There were some threads on a year or two ago I think.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks Nigel, read the old Zebrite threads now. It doesn't sound to be much different to Hotspot, which is what I used in the above pictures. Sure it would look even better if I stripped the fireplace and started again with the finish, but I can't face any more stripping just now!