Marble stain removal

[Rich P]

Years ago I (unfortunately) used plumbers putty to caulk some deck mounted bathroom fixtures and found out the hard way that the oil in the putty is absorbed by marble. I've got everything torn apart now for a renovation and tried the store bought poultice with no results. Further research has suggested adding Methylene Chloride to the mixture for really heavy stains. Has anyone tried this and does anyone have any idea where I would go about finding it?

[cabinetman]

Methylene chloride is a solvent (glue) for acrylic sheet (Plexiglas). It's also called dichloromethane. It should be sold wherever you can find a distributor. Have you tried acetone yet? You could also try TSP (tri-sodium phosphate)(a cleaner), or oxalic acid (a type of bleach).
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[Tom Slick]

Methylene chloride is the main ingredient in paint stripper (about 80%) The rest is mostly methanol (methyl alcohol), you could try it in an inconspicuous spot. Have you tried ammonia or hydrogen peroxide in the poultice?

[Rich P]

As I read the internet material, the Methylene Chloride disolves the oil which allows the other ingredients in the poulstice to leach it out of the marble. I will try small bits of the suggestions on a test spot and report back on the outcome.

[Rich P]

No luck finding methylene chloride on it's own, so I'm trying mixing a stripper with a regular dry poultice powder. The stripper has the methylene chloride and a bunch of other solvents too. Fortunately, I have a scrap piece of marble to test with. I'll post the results in this thread in a few days.