Looking for 2 product recs: Marble & Wood

[BlakeHillHouse]

I'm am looking for two product recommendations.

The first is for marble. I am restoring a marble sink top, and there are significant rust spots in one section. I can buy commercial poultice powders for this purpose (alliteration, anyone? ), but I am wondering if there is a DIY version. Would a baking soda paste work? I'm not too concerned about etching because I will be working on that next and buffing and sealing the whole thing.

Next, I am wondering what you all use to clean the wood on original windows. The window is in excellent condition, and there is enough finish on it that it does not need to be restored. However, it looks a little dry. I would like to use something to clean it that also puts a little moisture back into the wood.

[Manalto]

The solution for dry wood, "blopentine" (a word coined by our own Jade Mortimer - BLO - boiled linseed oil + turpentine, in 50/50 proportions) does a great job. I would dip 0000 steel wool into the mixture and gently buff it into the wood. Let it sit overnight and wipe down with a cloth. The real window experts can confirm, refute, modify or add to this advice.

I'll be interested to hear about treatment for the marble, too.

[Casey]

Use oxalic acid solution (mixed by dissolving the crystals in boiling hot water) to take out iron stains from marble.

[BlakeHillHouse]

The solution for dry wood, "blopentine" (a word coined by our own Jade Mortimer - BLO - boiled linseed oil + turpentine, in 50/50 proportions) does a great job. I would dip 0000 steel wool into the mixture and gently buff it into the wood. Let it sit overnight and wipe down with a cloth. The real window experts can confirm, refute, modify or add to this advice.

I'll be interested to hear about treatment for the marble, too.

I've used blopentine before. I wondered if it was the right product for this.

[BlakeHillHouse]

Use oxalic acid solution (mixed by dissolving the crystals in boiling hot water) to take out iron stains from marble.

Thank you!

[Manalto]

I've used blopentine before. I wondered if it was the right product for this.

Great! What is your doubt? Maybe it's not the right product; no one has agreed with me - then again, no one has disagreed either. It's what I would use for the situation you describe. It will, of course, smell like blopentine for a while.

[Gothichome]

Blot, I don’t think is the way to go on painted surfaces all that would happen is the turps would evaporate leaving a sticky linseed oil film. To work it needs to soak in, so bare wood is needed. We clean our painted woodwork with TSP or spray 9. Works great,at least on interior paint.

[Manalto]

Oh. BlakeHillHouse asked about cleaning the wood (not the paint) and that it seemed dry, so I assumed, perhaps mistakenly, it was shellacked, with an imperfect, yet acceptable, finish. (This is from "reading between the lines" - always a risky thing to do. BHH never tells the finish on the windows. That would be a good question, wouldn't it? Along with a photo. If the surfaces are painted, then of course blop would be inappropriate.

[BlakeHillHouse]

The wood on the window is unpainted with enough shellac left on it that it does not need to be refinished. I used the word original to denote unpainted. It was clear to me. If you all could be mind readers from now on that would be awesome. Here is a pic.

[Manalto]

In that case, I stand by my recommendation.

"Original" means many things to many people and is a risky word choice - without further explanation - for those who don't possess my finely-honed mind-reading skills.

Nice window lock. It looks like you have a great house. Feel free to inundate us with photos. We'll tell you when to stop! (No, we won't.)