ooh, I would love to paint the brick black, great idea! not sure my landlord would go for that though....

Yep, I am trying to get down to the original stone, which is a combination of marble and soapstone. So I do want to remove the faux finish, which is paint. Sorry for any confusion. To see more pics...

I will definitely try the peel away, sounds very promising. Thanks for all the great suggestions.