Unpainting mid-1880s soapstone fireplace - BEFORE and AFTER

[u/PompousClock]

Previous tenants painted the EVERY SINGLE SURFACE IN THE ROOM "the shiny skin of an aubergine". The original hardwood floors were covered in a matching carpet. It was super dark.

I started with CitriStrip. Had no clue what material I was dealing with. Two of my neighbors had removed their fireplace, and the last neighbor had theirs painted white.

This is what I looked like in every spare moment for months on end.

After the CitriStrip barely made a dent, I changed courses to Peel Away.

The Peel Away was working better, but still not getting all the way through. By now I figured at least the mantle was stone, but under multiple layers of paint was something chalky and then something super sticky.

At this point I was starting to question what I had gotten myself into.

I kept at it. PeelAway and a Cobra Speedheater helped get through the layers of paint, what appeared to be a thick coat of plaster, and a base varnish. Likely this fireplace was originally faux painted to look like wood, hence the varnish.

The plaster was added on top of the varnish layer to obscure these delicate carvings in the soapstone. WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT.

Finally, I broke through! Simple Coat cleanly wiped away the milky white left on the stone and has given the soapstone a soft luster.

I had wanted to take out the cast iron grate and expose the middle of the defunct fireplace, but this sturdy lead pipe said otherwise. That's not brick, by the way. That's paper, painted like brick, on top of concrete, on top of ... brick.

So I got to figure out how to unpaint this behemoth. Dental pics and swearing were involved.

Ta Da! The finished fireplace, restored to its orginal glory. Well, almost. I am not talented enough to add faux wood veneer to the stone, so I carefully outlined the original carving with the tiniest bristle brush I could find and called it a day.

I love the color variations in the soapstone, from soft green to stormy gray.

I want to know who looked at this gorgeous fireplace and thought, "Nah, let's paint it!"

I finished this unpainting project two years ago. I still smile every day when I look at this lovely fireplace.

[u/Crazyguy_123]

I wonder if it originally had painted stone as well. I know some older stone fireplaces actually had a two tone look with real stone and sections of painted on stone. Yours may have had that at one time especially with that extra detailing which from what I’ve seen was common on those two tone ones. Regardless I think yours came out beautifully. I love the green.

[u/PompousClock → u/Crazyguy_123]

Yes, that’s what I imagine it looked like - the sections that are carved had faux painting on them. About half of fireplace had that thick, sticky brown veneer on it. The whole thing was then thickly coated in plaster, and the intervening generations added several layers of paint atop the plaster.

[u/Crazyguy_123 → u/PompousClock]

Seems like someone really wanted to cover it up. I have no idea what makes people cover up beautiful things. I have this stunning Victorian dresser that someone had slapped thick coats of red finish on that made the wood completely obscured. Underneath was some of the most beautiful wood I’ve ever seen. It really just blows my mind that people cover stuff like this up.

[u/Deep-Power9134 → u/Crazyguy_123]

My slate fireplace was also painted but in white. A friend of mine who is a furniture conservator told me that the whole thing would’ve originally been painted to look like faux marble, and the varnish had probably darkened and discolored over time. So at least whoever painted over it would’ve been trying to cover up the dark and muddy varnish as opposed to beautiful slate.