Repairing Marble Burn

QUESTION:

I left my straightener on the marble counter & it left a light orange'ish-yellow'ish burn. How on EARTH can I get it off??

ANSWER:

Thanks for the picture. I can see the burn marks clearly, but not the countertop surface, so I have a question.

Are you certain the countertop is marble and not "cultured" marble? It's much more common to burn cultured marble in this way than marble.

Cultured marble is a man-made product that looks a bit like marble, but the composition, care and maintenance are completely different.

Cultured marble has a coating. You can see the edge of the coating usually under the countertop edge where it meets the cabinets or look inside your cabinets at the underside of the countertop... it will be a dull gray. Also, it is very common for cultured marble to have an integrated sink.

So, if you have cultured marble, then I don't have a good answer for you. Most likely the burn is permanent. Once you damage the cultured marble surface coating, there's no good repair. You may find someone who can sand it down and re-apply a protective coating, but it almost certainly won't match the rest.

If you do have real marble... Then you'll need to hire a marble restoration professional to sand/grind away the damaged stone, re-hone and re-polish the area to match the rest of your countertop.

Small blemishes, etch marks and stains can often be easily handled by a reasonably competent do-it-yourselfer, but repairing damage this extensive will require the skill and experience of a pro.

Call some local stone supply warehouses and/or fabricators for recommendations.

Good Luck,
Ryan