holystone

Dingy decks were holystoned white, and the rigging was taut, tarred, and dressed in its chafing gear.

So I went inside to where he was holystoning the taproom table.

The holystone is a large piece of porous stone,40 which is dragged in alternate ways by two sailors over the deck, sand being used to increase its effect.

A small flint or stone having a natural hole in it, and worn as a charm, is also called a holystone.

He was so clean he looked as if he had been scrubbed with soap and then rubbed with holystone.