A New or Improved Method of and Composition for Working, Clean- ing, Dressing, Polishing, and or Preserving the Surface of Stone and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Feb., 1899-Accepted, 6th May, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Method of and Composition for Working, Clean-
ing, Dressing, Polishing, and or Preserving the Surface of Stone
and the like.
I, CYRUS LORD PRENTICE, of Nelson, in the County of Portage and State of
Ohio, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to a new composition for and method of working, cleaning,
dressing, polishing and preserving the surface of stone, marble, and the like.
The object that I have in view is, without the use of acids to work and dress
the surface of new stone and to cleanse old stone from all accumulations of dirt,
weather stains, and other objectionable disfiguring obstructions on the surface,
and to impart a polished and indurated finish to the surface, filling the interstices
or pores in the stone surface so as to obviate the subsequent lodgment of dirt
and other objectionable disfigurements as well as to prevent the formation of fungus
growths.
I attain the objects of my invention by the employment of a detergent com-
position followed by a finishing dressing which fills the interstices and pores in
the stone, the whole making a clean indurated surface, and a perfect protection
and finish on the stone.
The detergent compound which I use for softening a thin layer or strata of the
stone-surface, as well as accumulations of dirt and other disfiguring matters,
and the removal thereof from the stone, does not contain any acid, and it consists
of the following ingredients, in the proportions which may be reduced in strength
with soft water, to wit:
Ether, six (6) parts; chloroform eight (8) parts; Cologne spirits, two (2) parts,
and aqua ammonia, sixteen (16) parts; or
The detergent compound herein described may be varied somewhat both in the
ingredients, and in the proportions thereof, as for example, it may consists,
first, of ether, 14 parts; and aqua ammonia, 16 parts: or, secondly, chloroform,
14 parts and aqua ammonia, 16 parts. It is not essential that the Cologne spirits
be used, but I prefer to employ as the detergent composition, the ether, chloroform
and ammonia in the proportions specified.
These ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, and they produce a new
composition possessing detergent properties, and which operates very efficiently to
soften the surface of the stone as well as the accumulations of dirt and refuse
thereon. In connection with this detergent and solvent composition, I prefer to
employ a metallic brush which serves to thoroughly remove the accumulations from
the surface of the stone. This brush is particularly serviceable when it is desired
to clean ornamental and lettered surfaces of the stone, because the brush may be
manipulated to reach the angles, corners, curves, and other close or intricate
parts of the ornamented or lettered surface, in order to thoroughly cleanse the same
and effectually remove all the impurities and accumulations. The described com-

page_text: position acts both as a solvent and as a detergent to soften the surface and facilitate
the removal of the impurities, and after the stone surface has been treated by the
application of the composition and by the abrasive or rubbing action of the
metallic brush or other means, I remove the detergent compound, dirt, and other
impurities and thoroughly and cleanly wipe off the surface with a cloth or other
means.
The application of the solvent to the stone and the rubbing thereof by the brush
or in the ordinary manner by a grit or bone as practiced in the art of dressing stone
leaves the surface thereof in a cleaned, glossy and indurated condition. In my
composition the ammonia acts as the detergent in softening the stone surface and
the accumulations thereon, and the ether and chloroform, in addition to their
detergent proportions, also act to impart the glossy or polished surface to the stone.
The function of the Cologne spirits is merely to make the use of the compound more
' agreeable to smell. Subsequent to the treatment of the stone and working off the
material removed therefrom by mechanical abrasion, the stone is finally dressed or
finished by applying thereto another composition which leaves the stone in a
finished condition nearly, if not quite, equal to the original dressing of the stone.
This filling composition fills the interstices and depressions in the surface of the
stone, which composition serves to catch and retain the dirt and refuse that
lodges on the stone, so as to permit the rain to wash off the dirt, and it overcomes
the formation of fungus growths on the polished and indurated surface of the stone
when the latter is treated in accordance with my invention.
I now proceed to impart the finish to the cleaned or worked and dressed
surface of the stone, which finishing step leaves the surface possessing the
advantageous feature of having the interstices or depressions in the stone filled and
the surface hardened, which prevents lodgment and accumulation of dirt, and
overcomes the formation of fungus growths on the polished and indurated surface,
when treated in accordance with my invention.
For the finishing dressing I use a composition of alcohol and precipitated chalk
in the proportions of one pint of alcohol to two ounces of precipitated chalk.
After the detergent composition has been applied, and the stone surface softened
and cleaned as above mentioned, the finishing dressing is applied, and the stone
rubbed, to polish the surface and fill the interstices or cavities therein, said
alcohol and precipitated chalk being allowed to dry out and harden, in order to
produce filled, finished, and indurated surface to the stone, leaving the stone
clean and hard, and perfectly filled and finished.
I have found that my detergent and solvent composition serves to quickly and
thoroughly soften the surfaces and accumulations and refuse on the surface,.
and that it acts to the best advantage when combined in the proportions herein
stated. The best results in the treatment of the stone is attained by the employment
of strong concentrated aqua-ammonia, preferably of the character known to the art
as twenty-six per cent. ammonia. One of the important advantages secured by
this strong ammonia resides in treating marble or granite which has previously
been subjected to the acid process for finishing and dressing the same; and
practical experience has shown that the strong ammonia which I employ destroys
the effects of the acid, or neutralizes the action of the acid, on the stone. The
composition which I employ not only softens the surface of the stone and the
refuse thereon but it neutralizes the action of any acid previously applied to the
stone and it also tends to indurate and preserve the stone from rapid accumulation
of refuse, such as the carbon in smoke.
In my practical experiments with the compositions, using them in the order
herein recited, it has been demonstrated that the surface of granite, as well as other
stones, can be softened, worked, cleaned, polished, and indurated very quickly
and economically.
In my invention the compositions are prepared so as to be wholly free from acids
of any kind. The use of acids is practiced largely in the art of dressing stone, in
order to give to the stone a polished or glossy surface, but the use of acids is highly

page_text: objectionable because they eat into the stone, cause it to disintegrate, and expose
it to the weather. I overcome these objections, and provide a means and method
by which the surface of stones may be worked, cleaned, polished, and indurated
in less time, at less expense, impart a finish which will stand the effects of the.
weather for a long time, and wholly avoid the formation of fungus growths.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A detergent and solvent composition for use in working or cleaning, dressing
and polishing the surface of stones, which consists of ether, six parts; chloroform,
eight parts and spirits of ammonia, sixteen parts, substantially as described.
2. A finishing and hardening composition for imparting a glossy and indurated
surface to stone, which consists of alcohol and precipitated chalk, in the proportions
specified, substantially as described.
3. The method described of cleaning, glossing and indurating the surfaces
of stone which consists, first, in softening the surface of the stone
and accumulations of refuse thereon by applying to the stone a non-
acidulated solvent consisting of ammonia, ether and chloroform: then wiping off
the solvent and refuse due to the rubbing or abrasion of the stone and finally
applying a filler that closes the interstices or depressions in the surface of the stone,
substantially as described.
4. A detergent composition for cleaning the surfaces of stone which consists of
ether, chloroform, ammonia and Cologne spirits, in substantially the proportions
specified.