Pennsylvania Blue Stone Hearth & Mantle

[DianeB]

We decided on blue stone for the front of our hearth - the firelpace of course is fire brick. We had to rebuild chimney after storm and because of water damage - decided to redo the fireplace too.

Mason recommends we seal the blue stone The mantle is bluestone as well. I like how it looks now and know sealing will darken it so not to keen on changing the color

Does anyone have suggestion on a good sealer? I thought I read tung oil could be used too.

Also, has anyone have experience keeping the stone natural and if they do, how do you clean it. Woud TSP (which is usually good for soot and smudge on our painted walls) work as a cleaner on the blue stone or hurt the blue stone? People always so helpful here - thanks in advance

 

[firefighterjake]

I routinely seal up my natural slate . . . I haven't really noticed it darken up much . . . but I did notice a difference in the shine depending on if you go with the matte or gloss sealant. I just bought the stuff at Lowes . . . or maybe it was Home Depot.

Cleaning and maintaining the stone has been easy . . . just sweep and/or vacuum . . . once a year I seal it up.

 

[KaptJaq]

I have natural slate tile around my hearth. They are not sealed. During the season I vacuum them about once a week. At the end of the season I use a stiff scrub brush and some plain water to get any ground in ash and freshen them up. After the seasonal cleaning they look like new.

That said, I have not spilled anything oily or greasy on them yet. I'm sure something oily will stain soft/porous material like unsealed slate and blue stone. With the variation in color on my tiles I could probably hide a small stain by doing that whole tile. With a solid piece of unsealed blue-stone with little color variation it might be hard to either clean or disguise an oily stain.

A picture of my stove is here:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-your-hearth-thread.48395/page-7#post-1075278

KaptJaq

 

[DianeB]

Finished sealing the Blue Stone Hearth and Mantle with a product called "Aqua Mix Sealers Choice Gold - rapid cure formula" It is a matte finish and did not darken the stone or make it shiny - two things we wanted to avoid. I used 3 coats and they could be applied 1 hour apart. Water just beads and I am hoping that this will protect discoloration from soot etc. I also used this product to seal grout on new tile bathroom floor - works great there as well.Thought I would pass this product along to everyone who may have slate or blue stone hearth who does not like the shiny look. The product labels says it protects for 15 years. I purchased one quart and use barely 1/4 of the product for both of my projects. Had I to do again, would buy only one pint. Used a foam applicator - simple.

 

[begreen]

That came out beautifully Diane. It's going to look great with the Castine sitting in there.

 

[Ashful]

The stone on my fireplaces was sitting outside for a million years before it was placed in my fireplace, and for 240 years since. Doesn't seem to be having any problem, despite never having been sealed. What's the purpose of sealing it?

 

[DianeB]

The stone on my fireplaces was sitting outside for a million years before it was placed in my fireplace, and for 240 years since. Doesn't seem to be having any problem, despite never having been sealed. What's the purpose of sealing it?

If you spill wine on it, surely will stain...oops! ps, just came in from outdoor fire. chill in the air, the Berkshire Hills to explode in color

 

[begreen]

the Berkshire Hills to explode in color

Hopefully not until mid-October!

 

[DianeB]

Hopefully not until mid-October!

Our early summer drought will bring some early color. some trees yellowing now because of the stress

 

[Ashful]

If you spill wine on it, surely will stain...oops! ps, just came in from outdoor fire. chill in the air, the Berkshire Hills to explode in color

In that case, Siloxane! We ended up using that on the NE exterior wall of our house, since moisture penetration was causing problems with the interior plaster work. Seems to be working well, so far. Did not change the color of our stone at all, but I haven't tried it on something as pretty and clean as your mantel.