StoneTechOil Stain Remover, Cleaner for Natural Stone, Grout, & Masonry, 1 Pint/16OZ (473ML) Can

Welcome to the natural stone support group.If you are shopping for this or similar products, you probably need more emotional support than you need a product to remove stains from your natural stones LOL.I've been there, done that. You have a remodel project going or waiting for your new home to be built. Time to make decision about your countertops. You fall in love with the natural stones. You are in a vulnerable state and fall prey to the lies natural stone companies tell.They make you believe thet the stones are indestructible, and that you are good to go once they are sealed.Lies...all lies...100% pure lies. But you don't know that yet because you are infatuated with your stones. They probably wouldn't sell anything either if they told you the truth, right?So you spend the big $$$$ and are happy because when the kitchen remodel is done or your new house is delivered, your countertops look breathtakingly beautiful.The honeymoon period is cut short the moment you see your first stain. It probably came out of nowhere too. What happened with the sealer? Wasn't the sealer good for for a few months at least before you needed to reseal the stones?Denial - Anger - Bargaining - Depression - Acceptance....you go through all of the stages of grief!Best piece of advise to anybody reading this: if you are thinking about natural stones for your countertops...just don't! Seriously, don't do it. It is probably the worst decision you'll ever make in your home...especially if you might think about renting your property in the future. Quartzite is the worst offender from all natural stones by the way. It is crazy beautiful but extremely high maintenance.Exceptions: natural stones "might" be ok if there are no children in the house, you are 100% committed to wiping every drop of water or oil literally right away (yep...even after the stones are sealed) and covering the stone portions next to stove each time you cook (yep...because any splash of hot oil or boiling water will go through even the most expensive sealer). By the way...companies that sell sealers are full of lies too!Having said all of that, Stonetech gave me the best results so far from all the products that I've tried. I have Quartzite, which is really a maintenance nightmare. The "removed" stains look similar to what a tattoo looks like after a tattoo removal: most of it is gone but you can still see the shade of it. This is better than having a full blown stain, but not 100% the way it was before.You may get better results with other natural stones. Again, Quartzite is extremely difficult to maintain even after being sealed properly with the best sealers.And this is the truth that natural stone sellers don't tell you: all natural stones are more fragile than they seem and ALL of them without exception WILL get stains.... even if properly sealed.You've been warned. Good luck with Stonetech. It is really the best product out there to remove oil stains.And yes...it has an incredibly strong citrus odor...though it is not as unpleasant as other reviewers state. Just open the windows for a little bit after applying them and you'll be fine.

I created a horrible mess by using pipe dope putty that contained mineral oil to seal the flanges on my faucets. In less than a week a dark stain was creeping from under the fixtures. When I took them off for a look I could see that under pressure the oil had penetrated about 1/4 inch deep!After reading a lot of d-i-y poultice ideas, I decided to pick up one of the clay powder products. These are made of calcine clay and are pH neutral and are mixed with water. After two applications the stain was substantially lighter, but still deep. That's when I ordered this product.The Stonetech poultice pulled out the entire stain in one try. Amazing! My granite is a light tan, and I have noticed a shadow beyond the original stain zone (others have had such an experience). That stain seems to be the remnants of the solvent. I put a fan on the sink and after 3 days it's faded to the point where only I know where it happened. If I was really concerned at this point, I believe that another clay and water poultice would pull out the last of the shadow.In several places I have heard people remark "know your stone". Wow is that the truth. When you buy a granite top, get some spare pieces of the material that you can use for future experiments before treating a stain on your real countertop. Also, don't assume that the installer did a thorough job of sealing the top because mine did not!I wanted to make a few remarks about poultices. The reason they work is because they create a gradient boundary that attracts the stain from the granite. To do this you need to have the region full of stain in contact with a material that contains no stain, and has the propensity to aggressively absorb the stain and any added fluid. In physics terms this is a combination of osmosis, diffusion and suction. The reason poultices work best when mixed with a liquid is that the liquid helps to bring the absorbing agent (such as talc or clay) into closer contact with the granite, and also the liquid helps to mobilize the stain within the granite. It is very important to have the poultice overlap the stain because otherwise the stain might migrate away from the poultice either by repulsion (oil versus water) or by dilution (i.e. the staining material might join with the liquid and flow somewhere else). I think that stain migration is a bigger risk when the liquid in the poultice is compatible with the stain. So, there is a bigger risk of migration with an oil stain and Stonetech than there is with an oil stain and water-based clay. That's way I strongly recommend you try to remove as much as possible with a water-based clay before using Stonetech. However, I hope this is my first and last stain disaster, so I am only speaking from one experience.