HANDYMAN\Copper countertop gives its owner a dull headache.

Byline: Peter Hotton

Q: I have a great-looking copper countertop. It's really handsome, but it's the very devil to keep clean and bright. Someone put car wax on it to protect it, but it collected a lot of fingermarks and glass rings. How can I keep it looking nice?

I also have a big table of gray slate that is stained from a lot of stuff spilled on it. How can I keep the slate reasonably good-looking?

A: Copper is great, but is best outdoors, where it turns to that verdigris green as it corrodes. Some people like it, others would like to keep the shiny copper look outdoors, which is virtually impossible.

At any rate, the fingerprints and glass rings on the copper are there because of the car wax. So, strip it (wash it with paint thinner or wax stripper) and polish the copper with Noxon or Brasso with a power buffer. You have to keep it polished, to keep the copper from tarnishing. The polishing will have to be done often. You could coat it with clear lacquer or clear spray plastic to keep it nice and shiny, but this won't last very long with a well-used countertop, and, as it wears off, the top will look worse than ever. So, it is best left alone to turn brown, and live with it.

As for the slate, wash it with a strong solution of detergent and water. Then to keep it clean and fairly decent-looking, do one of two things: Apply a coat of Future (an acrylic finish for linoleum and vinyl floors) or apply a masonry or tile sealer. The Future will darken the color and provide a shine; it usually has to be renewed every six months or so. The sealer will not change the color nor provide a shine, but will make the slate resistant to water and stains. It has to be renewed every 12 months or so.

Q: I'm having a rotten time trying to get the agitator off my washing machine. It won't budge. The soap and all the debris seem to have frozen it in place. Any secrets for pulling it off?

A: To break that soap lock, try spraying the soap with straight liquid chlorine bleach, which is more likely to soften and dissolve the soap than any other solvent. If necessary, pour a quart or more of straight bleach into the washer and let it do its work. Wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach.

I would guess you have tried all the following techniques, but here they are anyway. When lifting the agitator (or trying to), rock it back and forth as you pull up, as you would rock a cork back and forth while removing it from a wine bottle.

Patience is a virtue here. Repeat this process, including the bleach treatment, as often as necessary. If all else fails, try inserting two prying instruments at the bottom of the agitator, on opposite sides, and prying it up. Using the two pryers will prevent binding.

Finally, tapping is a good idea; it's a little like tapping a nut that doesn't come off a bolt immediately. Tap one side, then the other as you go along. I think dissolving, or softening that soap mass is the key to success.

Q: My fiberglass tub surround is getting pretty tired-looking. Can I paint it?

A: Yes, but ... There are paints out there just for fiberglass, but you could do just as well by sanding the finish (you have to sand it no matter what kind of paint you use), painting with an oil-based primer and finishing with an oil-based enamel. It may not stand up very long, and if it peels or scratches it's going to look worse than it does now. However, instead of painting (unless you don't like the color), clean it with Soft Scrub, then use Gel-Gloss to protect it. This latter treatment is, in my opinion, the best you can hope for. You could have the fiberglass refinished by a fiberglass specialist, but it is expensive.