How to clean methylated spirits from slate?

[Samantha00]

I had some old white paint splatters on outside slate porch. Poured some metho on to loosen paint but has unfortunately left large white patches, have tried to wash off to no avail. Has left noticeable white patches.

Any advice on cleaning up/restoring would be appreciated! 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Samantha00. It's splendid to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about slate tiles.

Just to clarify, do you think the white marks you’re seeing are leftover paint on the surface, or could it be that the metho has actually stripped the sealer off the slate in those areas?

If you’ve removed the paint and the white patches are now bare slate, one way to check is to wet the area with water — if the colour darkens and blends back in with the surrounding sealed slate while it's wet, that’s a good sign the sealer has been removed. In that case, you should be able to re-seal the area with a slate sealer to restore the original look.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell