"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 16:50:14 +0100, "Jim Reaper"
wrote:

The surface now looks dusty and very dull.

If it's slate, then a coat of wax polish is the best. You should get a
lovely result for just a little effort.

You need the right polish - ideally a stone polish rather than a wood
polish. This is a hard but not too shiny wax polish, with maybe 15%
carnauba wax in it. Mary can tell you the rest, or I've got a few
recipes he
http://codesmiths.com/shed/workshop/.../waxpolish.htm
If you want it in a can, Liberon's Black Bison in neutral will work. You
might find Goddard's stone polish somewhere too.

Don't use a "liquid wax" They tend to give dark splotches on even
slightly porous stone. Mr Sheen is definitely the wrong thing.

Apply it with a nylon bristled "wire" brush. Work hard, along the grain
of the stone. A plastic wire brush in an electric drill can save a lot
of effort.

You might want to work it with a soft (stainless steel) wire brush dry
first, in case there's any Vim dust left behind. Some people use a
bronze brush, but these can sometimes cause "bronzing" on darker slates.

If you've had problems with soot stains from an open fireplace, then you
might want to apply a sealer before the wax. Those sold for sealing
stone floors are good. However these don't leave such a natural stone
look as wax alone.

--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.

Many thanks to both of you for your help on the stonework and the netiquette
of news groups.
I'll be hard at work this weekend trying to restore the stonework.
As I'm an ex beekeeper and seller of candles I have some of the polish
ingredients at hand. Great.

Cheers :-)