What drink has done this to my fireplace?

[TreesWelliesKnees]

Adult DS had a small gathering of his usually thoughtful, lovely friends last night. This morning I have discovered this on my dark marble mantelpiece. It looks bleached! Any ideas on what might have caused it? As far as I can tell from the recycling bin they were drinking Pepsi, vodka, wine...

What are my options for dealing with it? I'm frankly not attached to the dark marble so if I find out what it is I'm tempted to do it all over!

Yes that looks like slate which has been painted to look like marble. Probably about 150 years old, most likely imported from Italy. At this point I’d probably strip it all back to the plain black slate.

If it makes you feel better, I have some lovely dark wood furniture in our house (I'm a massive fan of dark wood). Ages ago dc1 was in her high chair and she was scratching at our (gorgeous) dining table with a fork, before I could stop her, leaving a scar. Mil was there and she said "homes are for living in" and it was like a weight lifted, and now I feel kind of affectionate about every scratch on the dining table. Wise MIL.

So whatever you do, don't sweat it, even if you leave it at that black patch in the last pic. Pop a vase on it as you say. On the rare moments you notice it, it'll just remind you of the nice time your ds had with his lovely friends

@TreesWelliesKnees I grew up in a big old Edwardian house. There was a plain but very large fireplace. My Mum used to restore antiques as a hobby and decided to do that with the fireplace because it was neglected and grubby. It ended up being an exacavation project because the "Edwardian" fireplace was actually some sort of plaster that was encasing a very beautiful and ornate Jacobean fireplace. Clearly that wasn't original to the house and would have been installed at some point. However, we always wondered what made somebody effectively plaster over it. So the Jacobean one was restored and left in place and was such a lovely feature.

I think if I were you I'd strip it all back and then choose a lovely colour to paint it with. Take advice on that though because it may need some specialist products to achieve this. It may turn out to be a fantastic accident!

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It's unravelling into a lovely little domestic adventure. I have coated the whole thing in bicarb paste and cling film, to be unveiled tomorrow. DS is laughing at me fondly though is feeling mildly guilty. If I'm feeling brave I'll post more pictures as it unfolds!

I'm hesitant to give any more thoughts, but there are some great products on the market to make a marble effect, so you could make it look light light marble.

I agre with the above though, I'd probably take it back to the slate.

Thank you! I'm happy to take more advice. I really wasn't fond of the brownish marble (effect, as it has transpired) so as someone said upthread, I have a feeling this may turn out to be a happy accident.

No advice but just to say I'm very invested in this adventure, please post updates 😁

What a great thread!
I might have to post pictures of my fireplace and get some tips on how to repaint that too.

It was really popular in the 80's to do a marbling effect on anything! Maybe it's left over from that era? Here's hoping it's a lovely black slate fireplace

It's really nice to see that you aren't mad about it OP. Some people are really precious about things and would go mad at DC, your attitude is really refreshing!

Am also very invested in the future update 😁

@TreesWelliesKnees could this be the saviour? 😀Suitable for marble too!

www.stripperspaintremovers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Kling-Strip-Usage-Data.pdf

www.stripperspaintremovers.com/product/kling-strip/

Ah, that makes sense, it explains the black "beaded" edge in the first photo which led me to suspect it was not marble

I absolutely would have been one of those people who got mad at my dc for damaging furniture! I used to be so precious about my gorgeous repro-antique cherry wood and walnut stuff. Lucky for me my MIL was there the first time it happened lol. Totally changed my mindset.

I like to think that thousands of years from now, archaeologists will see the rings on my table and be like, ahh this is the mark of a Smaller Mug so this homestead had Offspring who sat here.

Ooh, dying to see how this turns out!

Nooooo. Baking soda can ruin the surface of natural stone

I'm using phone and I dint know how to link old threads but see if you can find this one

Awaiting the end result 🤣. This is exactly the sort of thing I do and then end up covering it with candles and vases for a few years.

certifiedstoneprofessionals.com/tips-and-articles/how-to-remove-ring-shaped-marks-on-marble/

Does those help?

Is that baking powder or bicarbonate of soda???

I had a beautiful marble fireplace fitted in the late 90s.. Still have it

Some person fitting carpet chipped it with his boot, I tried to claim on insurance but it never got resolved

Baking soda is bicarbonate of soda.

Baking powder isn't the same thing.

Posting for photos of the grand reveal!

If the bicarb has dulled the surface but you like the colour, a stone restorer will be able to polish it back for you. (May be possible yourself but tricky without the right kit).

I think a honed black slate fireplace could look fab. Austere but elegant. Wouldn’t bother with any paint effects personally.

Update: I have pulled off the cling film and given it a good wipe. Here's what we have so far. The black is emerging - I have Amy Winehouse playing in my head!

Ooooh!