Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:57 pm
I have purchased a quantity of reclaimed granite setts but the faces are soiled. What is the recommended way to clean them. I want to match them with new granite setts.
It depends on what is soiling them: is it concrete/cement? Pitch? Muck? There are different ways to bring them up to their best, depending on just what sort of crap is on them, but they will never, ever look like new, not unless you crop them.
Concrete is best chiselled off and then minor staining can often be cleaned off using an acid bath, depending on the particular type of granite. Pitch is best removed in the cold, using hammer and bolster, and then a blow-torch will burn off any surface staining, but you need to be careful that the heat doesn't blow the surface. Everyday grime can often be cleaned off quite effectively by putting a half-load of setts into a mixer, and then filling it up with grit sand, grit and water. The agitation cleans off most of the muck....eventually.