Restoring tomettes

[joidevie]

I was wondering if anyone had some good tips on restoring original tomettes? We have a mix of wonderful untouched and untreated ones (1 room only unfortunately), some nicely 'worn' and shiny from wear & tear, and far too many which have been treated with a red 'cire' (wax) over the years, leaving patches here and there depending on where the furniture was at the time..

Is there any wonder product or raw chemical (hydrachloric acid?) that may strip or lift this? Sandblasting comes to mind, but a huge hassle and awful job.. 

Or am I resigned to using yet more 'wax' to try to make these rooms look nice again?

Many thanks if you've been down this road & can offer some suggestions..

[misplacedperson]

You can get decapant stuff, don't know how well it works. Might be worth asking a specialist for advice - you don't want to ruin them.

[Gardener]

This is very good

http://www.toutallantvert.com/savon-noir-liquide-lhuile-dolive-1l-multiusages-p-601.html

but pierre d'argile is my favourite tough spots cleaner at the moment, it does need applying and rubbing by hand, but it does the job without having to get tiles etc too wet. I buy mine from carrefour and it's about 6 euros a pot but you can get one (different brand to the one carrefour sells) also from the above website .

[joidevie]

Thanks.. The pierre d'argile sounds great, though I'm interested to see if it will have much impact on an initial 'restore'..

I guess an artillery of options may be the way to go! I found this useful thread (in French)