I want to change the color of our marble surround on the fireplace...can I stain /paint it?

Nope, it is what it is. If you have a polished marble it's too smooth to hold paint. In addition, the marble that is up against the fireplace or used as a hearth is there as a fireproof surface. Any paint you apply will wither burn off, get burned in spots from any flying embers or will wear off at any impact areas.

If you really want to change the marble than it will need to be removed and replaced with another.

you might try etching it with diluted muriatic acid and painting it with heat resistant paint, you might also be able to find a stain that will work. Bear in mind, if you try anything and aren't satisfied, your next step is replacement

There are primers and paints for nearly every surface and situation. Check with a pro paint store like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore.

I'm 100% with Jaybee on this one.
You can waste time and money, or do it right and pop it off and apply new tile and have it last another 100 years.

Really, the bottom line is: "How often do you use your fireplace?"

If you use it often and regularily, I can't see paints offering any kind of solution to your problem.

There are specialty paints made for bar-b-ques and automotive headers that will stand up to high temperatures, but they tend to come in a very limited colour selection.

If you never use the fireplace, then I don't see any reason why an ordinary house paint won't work. Zinsser's boasts that their Bullseye 123 latex primer will stick well to smooth surfaces like glazed ceramic wall tiles, galvanized metal and high gloss polyurethane. I see no reason why it wouldn't stick to smooth limestone as well.

Then you can top coat with any paint you want.

However, expect that your paint may discolour from the heat if and when you do use your fireplace.

Thanks for the info everyone...I have a few options to look into further

Jaybee nailed it the first time

You CAN change the look of your marble with paint, will you like the change? It will continue to change over time as you use the fireplace.

Marble is awesome stuff, hard to find good marble, how old is your house, you may have a wonderful aged fireplace that really needs little more than a good cleaning.

I recommend ordinary dish soap with water, don't mess with de marble.

Good luck, wave

No you can't go through to paint marble. I think that re-polishing will be a helpful way for new marble. However, I have also used these strategy to changing the look my room and also added the beauty with chandelier installation.

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Ya just gotta love our spammers - I'm waiting for somebody to write in to the bath section about a clogged up toilet just to read NJ's wise words to install a chandelier to solve this problem.

I know whenever I have used a toilet plunger, the classic, romantic lighting of a chandelier certainly could have created a better atmosphere to accomplish that task. Maybe a glass of wine on the side?

I blame women.

For the way I turned out, I mean.

I've never been able to get along with any of them for more than a year or two. Then they start getting all over me about the way I'm living and that I need to find a job and on and on and on. Makes me wanna puke.

The pig I'm with now is OK though. She's got me enrolled in the Beat the Streets Literacy Progarm down at the Harbour Light. That's the old bank on Main Street that's a soup kitchen and flop house now. And, she's talking to the priest that runs the place to get his OK. That way I can go back there without breaking my parole.

I caught a case last time I was there cuz some monkey with a PhD in psychology was talking about "anger management issues", and that chimp kept following me around wanting to talk to me a whole lot more than I wanted to talk to him. I finally decided he had to be a fake cuz if he knew so much about managing anger, how come he couldn't control my anger? The world is full of people like that.

That's why I blame women.

For the way I turned out, I mean.

It's your own fault, you probably tend to give your lady friends gifts of things like flowers or candy or dinner out.

Now, if only you had been wise enough to give them a chandelier....ah, your life would be so much different.

LOL!
Ya, she would have then had something to hang the noose from.

As you are talking about painting fireplace the u must and can only re-polish it instead of using paint/stain.