Marble Vanity Curling Iron Burn
by Mechelle Wangerin
QUESTION:We have a cream colored marble vanity with swirls in it. When my mom was here visiting, she used my curling iron/flat iron hair styling tool. Because she didn't use anything protective, it left a surface burn on my counter. The marble is not melted through or an indentation or anything, but I really need to remove the stain. I've tried pouring bleach onto a rag to clean it off, but that didn't work. Do you have any ideas to remove the burn stain?ANSWER:Most often curling iron burns occur on "cultured" marble vs. real marble.Cultured marble vanities are made to look like marble, will often have a built-in sink. If you look in the cabinets at the underside it will simply be gray in color. Once cultured marble is burned it really can't be repaired. It's basically a plastic mold with a colored pattern and protective gel coat applied. Burns ruin the gel coat. It may be possible to sand the area down and re-apply the gel coat, but you'd most likely still have a blemish. I couldn't tell you how to do this properly (we don't deal with cultured marble), but to have any chance at a satisfactory repair you'll need a pro experienced in cultured marble. If you do have real marble, then removing burn marks is really a job for a professional to restore it to previous condition. You said you tried bleach with no luck. The only other DIY option is much more aggressive.... You can try sanding the burn with 400 grit or 240 grit paper. This may remove all the burn, but it will leave an obvious mark or depression. So, if all you just want to remove the burn color, but don't care if the marble looks dull and/or scratched after, then sanding will do it. I don't recommend this. It's not proper marble maintenance and not likely to achieve very good results. You should call a marble restoration professional. Good Luck, Ryan P.S. Get all the facts, answers, explanations and simple solutions with step-by-step instructions for any issue, problem or question with our Granite & Marble Maintenance Manuals.  I highly recommend Stone Care Pro Products to maintain all your marble, stone and granite countertops and floors in optimal condition. I've used other good products (Stone Tech, Miracle, MB) but found Stone Care Pro is the most reliable and effective and cheaper too!
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