Home Improvement → Vinegar and marble

I found out today that these two are bad for each other. The damage is only on the 'protective' coating on the marble, and you have to look almost horizontally to see it, but it can be felt, and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to fix/reseal it? It's a clear coat on a light grey marble vanity top - »www.restorationhardware. ··· vCount=1 (with the light grey marble top). And yes, it wasn't my choice to spend $2000 on a vanity!

Any wonder why I prefer Corian or the like??

I marble polish wont work, you will need professionals. It wont be cheap either

If you're sure that it's just the sealer, then get a bottle of sealer remover to remove the old sealer. Then re-seal.

Otherwise, the marble is permanently damaged and it will need to be re-polished.

When I read the thread Topic my thought was "uh oh". Vinegar can be very distructive, seems odd for something that is non-poisonous.

Yeah $2000 is a bit much for a vanity, and with a marble top ?? ...

I would have been much happier with buying the base there for $800 (because of the needed measurements) and using a fabricated top, but my sister had power of attorney and blew the budget to hell, all the while saying 'you get what you pay for'. Ok, but do you *really* need to pay $250 for a fabric pendant light or $125 each for plain white ceiling fixtures?? Funny how easy it is to spend someone elses money to improve the house you'll be inheriting isn't it??

vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in marble...vinegar is an acid and calcium carbonate is a base...some marble polishing compound is the only DIY thing i can think of to try and fix it.

SInce the vinegar probably etched the surface, if the polishing compound doesn't help, it will need to be re-honed.

Vinegar is funny stuff, its ~5% acetic acid. Pure acetic acid is highly corrosive and will seriously mess you up if ingested.

It'll also cause a pretty nasty chemical burn.

But store bought Vinegar is 100% safe for humans, you can ingest relatively high quantities without harm, it will do unpleasant things to some things though.

To a lesser extent, anything made from tomatos can do the same to marble.
Marble countertop do's & don'ts »www.countertopspecialty. ··· are.html
Cleaning: »www.countertopspecialty. ··· ble.html

I'm wondering if 'glass stove-top' polish might do the trick?

I would be leery . . . .

because?

I think of glass polish as having an intrinsic grit component.

If allowed to sit on the surface long enough, lemon juice and lime juice will have the same chemical interaction with calcium carbonate areas of solid stone counters. The documentation that came with my granite counters said basically anything very acidic, like vinegar, citrus juice or tomatoes. I always make sure I wipe the area off with water after using those items in food prep.

If she will be inheriting it, and it was her choice, sounds like her problem.

Cultured marble is a composite product of actual stone dust mixed with a binding product. The surface is sanded incredibly smooth and coated with a special "gel" finish that is durable and waterproof... but not indestructible. The surface is susceptible to scratching, burns and is affected by some chemicals... most notoriously nail polish remover!

The same folks who do "glazing" on tubs also do vanity tops. They use a special type of paint to give your sink a new surface. You may be able to purchase this paint from a local paint store, but it is quite expensive... perhaps more costly than a new vanity top... and a gallon will be quite a bit more than you need! The only website I have found that sells this product direct to the consumer is:

»www.integritycoatings.com

Other sturdy paints, such as floor paints, will stand up for a while but will not be as durable or long-lasting as the "real thing".

If you want to attempt a spot repair yourself you may be able to mask the spot with a little artistry and a kit from Bath Wizard designed to repair small defects in cultured marble. Their website is »www.bathwizard.com .

HTH!

Looking at the original posted link, its not cultured marble but instead Italian marble (the real thing).

Seems logical to me. I've been very impressed with the shine (think new car freshly waxed) that I get using Weiman Cook Top Glass Cook Top Cleaner. The label says it contains silica (sand?), isopropyl alcohol, and detergents. Says it is "guaranteed not to scratch". It seems to actually fill scratches--cast iron's not too friendly with my stove top...

I would venture to say that the sand is a different color then the counter top.

Oops, my bad!
I was in a big hurry and didn't look at the link.
Sorry about that!

FWIW to the OP, my stovetop is roughly identical in color to the marble shown in the OP.

Calcium carbonate is a salt, not a base. Probably the strongest you can get (easily) is 10% around here, and you'd need to drink quite a bit of that to have a serious problem. Remember, the stomach secretes HCl, which is a lot stronger acid than acetic acid.

So is it just the calcium that reacts with the acid then?

Yes the stomach secretes HCL, but you can't drink concentrated HCL solutions can you? I certainly would't want to drink some glacial acetic acid.

You can think of that way. The acetate ion replaces to CO3 ion. The stomach doesn't produce concentrated aacid. In any case, it's not very healthy, but it is certainly possible to drink it one time... People who do that often don't get a second chance. Even concentrated acetic acid is weaker than the stomach acid; the main issue would be that it's hygroscopic.

So you don't eat sweet and sour dishes, pickles, and green olives - all use vinegar and the main ingredient in pickle/green olive brine is vinegar.

Yes I do eat those foods..well except green olives..YUCK, but I still stand by my position that drinking PURE acetic acid would not be a good thing

D'OH - reread it for about the 5th time (or more) and now saw the pure part... sorry...

Not all acids are created equal -- there are strong acids (normally inorganic) and weak or very weak acids. It's the strong ones that you usually need to worry about.

I can eat a nearly 100% pure ascorbic acid, or drink carbonic acid all day long.