Stone step polish - donkey stone or similar?

debtdesperado

Hello all

I have an internal stone step in my kitchen. I don't want to paint it, but at the moment it looks really scruffy. The stone is dark grey.

Soap and water has got rid of some of the dirt, and it also has paint splatters on it. I heard that housewives used to use a donkey stone, which sounds like an abrasive mixture, sometimes with a colour, to 'polish' the step...however, I can't find them anywhere on the internet.

Does anyone have a recipe or product they would recommend to 'clean' it? I think it would need to be quite abrasive (bicarb etc I don't think would cut it!).

Thanks for your help!

lostinrates

I wonder if sugar soap would do it?

we've got some manky old slabs in what is going to be our kitchen and I think the architect mentions steam cleaning too.

SilverBird_2

Try Baileys Hardware, Stalls 54 & 55, Market Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6BZ. 0161 330 7857.

Callie22

I always thought a donkey stone was like a pumice stone? Could you maybe use something like that? Reading the wikipedia page for them it does make them sound a bit nasty - cement and bleach amongst other things, but maybe you could use a pumice stone with a bit of vim (or Barkeeper's Friend if you don't want to use bleach). I'm not sure how you could get the colour ...

rachbc

what about a stone floor cleaner designed for stone tiles - then seal it to stop more dirt penetrating and make maintenance easier

queen_vi

a donkey stone my nan use to get them from the rag and bone man it puts like a chalk finish on the step she put it round the edges

Barneysmom

I just found this, hope you enjoy reading it


http://washday.ukhomefront.co.uk/3.html

zippychick

as this has dropped down the OS board ive moved it to in my home to see if you can get some other input over here

Zip

debtdesperado

Thank you all for your suggestions - am going to try them all!

Very helpful, thank you!:j