Color and polishing

["George Graham" <georgergraham@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jeri,

I have just been working on Virginia Black Soapstone, which does not turn
black until it has been waxed . Even after sanding to 600 grit sandpaper, I
couldn't get it to go jet black. The fact that this particular stone is
extremely resistant to acid keeps it from going to a high polish in the way
marble and limestone will when polished with tinoxide or oxolic acid
compounds. When all else failed I went back and followed the suppliers
suggestions. Heating the stone was the only way to get the carnuba wax to
soak into the stone. A small piece can be warmed up in the oven , but my
project was 3 feet tall and  weighed 400 lbs. I ended up using a propane
torch to warm up a small area, then rubbing in the wax. If the stone was hot
enough it would darken up instantly, if its not hot enough, the was just
lays on the surface, if the stone gets too hot, the wax evaporats off!!

Getting a uniform dark finish turned into  a lot of playing around with the
torch. It was a major pain in the ass!!!  I got it done, but I'm not
satisfied with the process. No matter what you apply to soapstone, you have
to start with a well sanded surface. Using wax on an indoor piece seemes to
be ok, but I wouldn't use wax for outdoor work, the sun would evaporate the
oils out of stone eventually. As tough and weather resistant as this
particular stone is, maby there is no reason to apply anything to it.
I have read that putting poppyseed oil on alabaster and then wax and buff
will produce a deep clear polish.

There is a lot of stone polishing compounds and liquids on the market so

I'll be experimenting along with you.
Good luck, George Graham