Sealing Stone

Quoted text begins.Linda, Interesting question. Traditionally, I have used
End of quote.

a sealer on my limestone pieces both indoors and out. The
reason for this is that the stone I most often use (Texas
Creme) is very porous and absorbent. Harder pieces such as
Indiana limestone and marble I do not seal as the polished
finish closes the surface and the stone will not let a
sealer penetrate. This is the thing about sealers: they are
only effective when they can enter the stone (penetrate),
and the sealer itself can have negative effect on the
finished surface if it dries on the surface and does not
penetrate. (cloud, show fingerprints, look streaky etc.) I
do not work in alabaster, so I am not sure if it will accept
a sealer or not.

I also have not used any wax or polish on a stone surface,
all of my polished pieces are the result of wet sanding to a
3500 grit final finish. If I were to use a wax, I'd be
looking for one that was for stone and not a wood wax, but
that's just my opinion. Also if you do decide to use a
sealer, again get one made for stone and not watco wood
stuff. Home depot carries a house brand called tile lab,
and I can't really tell the difference between it and some
of the more pricey products such as stone glamour or sealers
choice. Also, if you decide to try this, test an
inconspicuous place on the sculpture, or a scrap of the same
stone to see what the result is going to be, as different
sealers do different things to different stones.

What works well on our crème stone will sit on the surface
of Lueders or Indiana for instance, and does not look good
at all. There are also penetrating sealers that are k nown
as color enhancers. These will darken a stone and give it a
"wet" look. Liebson's methods are very popular, and if you
have been using them with satisfying results, why change.
All I can say about your fellow sculptor is that he is the
one showing ignorance about sealers and sealing stone, as
there are a lot of stones out there that a sealer will not
do squat for. I suspect that since alabaster is a dense,
low absorption stone, it will probably fall into this
category. My motto has always been if it isn't broke, why
fix it.

Good luck with your show,
John VanCamp