Soapstone sealer removal

last year

Hi! Our kitchen counters are soapstone and when the fabricators installed them, they sealed them against our requests. this was about 8 years ago. Has anyone had luck removing sealer? I’ve read about acetone or hydrogen peroxide, but would like advice! we plan to use a beeswax once the seal has been removed. Thanks!

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Comments (5)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
Abrade the tops with a random orbital sander please.
PRO
Minardi
last year
8 years should have peeled off by now as it won't absorb it. You may be down to the naturally dark oxidized soapstone already.
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s m
last year
last modified: last year
I have sanded off sealant before but do not think that it is the easiest approach, it takes more work than using a solvent but I have not tried solvents personally.

Why do you want to remove the sealant? Do you know what type was used, was it an enhancing sealant that darkened the stone?

Minardi- sealant does not peel off of soapstone. Sealant does not absorb into the stone but it does bond with the top layer and, if you use enhancing sealant, it will darken the stone and keep it dark without needing to oil it. Also, not all soapstone oxidizes to being much darker, it depends on the type.
Anna
Original Author
last year
We unfortunately don't know the type of sealant and the fabricators have since closed.

Thank you!!

If anyone has tried acetone, please let me know of your experience! I am nervous to sand.
s m
last year
last modified: last year
Still curious why you want to remove the sealant. Are your counters shiny or is there an issue? The only reason that I have used enhancing sealant on my soapstone is to keep them dark without needing to oil/wax. Taking it off just to darken them again would not make sense. But, if you think that the sealant has impacted the stone in some other way, it may not actually be the sealant. For instance, some people think that enhancing sealants make soapstone shiny but they do not, it is the finishing grit that was used to sand the stone that can make soapstone too shiny. If that is the case then you would need to sand the counters to get the matte finish.

Also, I just tried hydrogen peroxide on my counters and it had no impact. I do not have any acetone on hand or I would try it. If you do use acetone, be sure to use it when you can ventilate the space and be careful as it is flammable.