I've heard that you should NOT oil them or it will seal the ring into the counter. Try rubbing it with something mild like dish soap. I believe if worse comes to worse, you can actually have them refinished, though I'm not sure what that entails - anyone else know?

Soapstone should be oiled periodically so that it's resistant to water stains.

yes bepsf, I meant not to oil over an existing water stain.

Thanks ... altho I started asking for help, I'll mention I've heard acetone works to pull stain up out. I too use mineral oil periodically

I had soap stone for the 5 years I lived in my last home. I loved it very much except the type I had had to be oiled every month if I wanted a sheener look. Very time consuming. It scratched very easily. Opened a bottle of wine on it once and the imprint of the bottle remained. It never stained though and that's most likely because I kept it oiled. I was once told there are two different kinds of soap stone. One has a slight green coloring to it with viens (this is the one I owned) it is a lot softer stone and from the description I wrote above proved to be true. I believe it mined in Brazil. There is a deeper darker one that holds up much better and I believe it is mined in Vermont. I know someone who has this type and from the looks of it it is a superior product.

They also use this type of SS in schools for their lab tables so that has to say something if it can hold up to students no?

Lab counters are probably NOT soapstone. Much more likely to be bakelite.

You can use fine grit sandpaper on soapstone. Sand by hand and wipe clean, then just use either mineral oil or beeswax. Beeswax lasts longer.

Yes, soapstone is used for school science labs. Has been for decades. Google it.