Removing shoe polish from marble

Martha Seelenberger <martha.seelenberger [at] parks__nyc__gov> writes

>I want to know if anyone has had the experience of removing shoe
>polish from marble. ...

I would try to find out what the shoe polish is made of before
trying to remove it.  That said, I would guess it is composed
primarily of wax and carbon black.  You have been using mostly polar
solvents to remove what is probably a non-polar material.  I would
suggest you might have better luck with a solvent that is less polar
and better at dissolving wax, such as toluene or xylenes.  Of course
you need to use personal protective gear when using these solvents.
I hope this helps,

Thomas J. Braun
Daniels Object Conservation Laboratory
Minnesota Historical Society


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:15
               Distributed: Wednesday, September 15, 2004
                       Message Id: cdl-18-15-006
                                  ***