Shannon Lush.
1. Shannon starts by cleaning the surface dirt using PH-neutral soap, which she wets in water and rubs on pantyhose before scouring the table in a circular motion. The pantyhose are slightly abrasive but not enough to scratch the hard surface. The deeper stains have penetrated the surface and need a further treatment to draw the mark out.
2. Plaster of Paris helps with this (available from art stores). Shannon uses a couple of tablespoons of P of P with enough water to make a stiff paste and adds 1 teaspoon of detergent (which gets to work on oil based stains).
3. She then puts a blob of this paste on each deep stain, completely covering the whole thing. The Plaster of Paris sucks out the mark as it sets, so it gets left on overnight and then removed the following day with a wooden spoon (just remember, it has to be totally dry and hard before you take it off).
4. Shannon also fills the chips with a little of this paste, as they tend to resist cleaning the standard way. Once the P of P has been removed the table is polished with Cera liquid marble wax available from CDK Stone - and a final optional polish with a soft cloth, although the marble wax ensure it will dry fairly shiny. Chips/gouges are filled with hot candle wax (try to use a candle with matching colour tones) then when it hardens cut away the excess with a knife and give it a polish with pantyhose, followed by a silk cloth.
Note: Don’t forget to clean the mixing bowl before the P of P sets but don’t put it down the sink or it’ll block the drain – it is best to scrape it clean with a paper towel and place it in the garbage bin.
For more information and tips from Shannon, visit the Lush House show page here
Can this solution be applied to Granite to get an oil stain out?