Honed granite countertop
I decided on a honed granite countertop – absolute black. It is a nice look, but I am annoyed to find that it is pretty high maintenance. It was sealed once by the installers but I noticed that it has some stains on it already – maybe coffee did it. It isn’t fatal, but I…
I decided on a honed granite countertop – absolute black. It is a nice look, but I am annoyed to find that it is pretty high maintenance. It was sealed once by the installers but I noticed that it has some
stains on it already – maybe coffee did it. It isn’t fatal, but I have a couple of questions for any brownstoners who have this type of granite:
— Can stains be removed?
–If so, with what?
–What do you all recommend to seal it?
It seems pretty absurd that I am spending so much time on this thing since it is black stone, for God’s sake, but I would appreciate any info, maintenance tips, etc.
Thanks.
I realize this is an ancient post, but I’m passionate about stone, and I just can’t let this go by.
1) Honed stones are harder to live with than any other types of countertops (polished granite, formica, corian, whatever).
2) The honing process increases the surface areas dramatically. The way you were “taught” to clean a countertop won’t work.
3) Factory honing of most slabs imported to the States is pretty weak. Only a few stone artisans have the patience, tooling, and knowledge to re-hone and create a look that will make you say “OOHHHHH !!!”
Sealer is good to keep the stone from staining. A stain is when something that shouldn’t be in the stone get’s in there. The good thing about stains, is that they can be removed.
First bit of research to do is find out if things get into the stone easily or not. Place some water on the honed granite for an long time (half hour or longer). Blot it dry with paper towels. If the stone is absorbent, the water will soak in, and leave a dark spot for several hours as the water that is in the stone evaporates. If the “wet spot” disappears by itself in 10 minutes, than the water was only on the greatly increased surface area creating by the honing.
Most black granites are pretty dense, and are unlikely to stain in their natural state. Sealing a stone that won’t accept it may cause more problems than it solves.
So far every honed granite “stain” that I’ve inspected was removed by vigorous surface washing with granite cleaner and a white mildly abrasive scrub pad.
After a stone has been thoroughly cleaned, and any soaked in stains removed, I suggest using the best sealer available like Surface Treatments Technology STT, or several coats of a more conventional granite sealer.
granite sealer
I really LOVE the HONED GRANITE in black and even the white honed granite. I appreciate that some renovators used this top line material rather than that cheap-looking HomeDepot Granite that everyone has with their Brown Wooden Cabinets. Yuck. I can’t believe people will buy a Historic Home for over half a million dollars, and then they renovate it like its a Cheap HomeDepot Project. Yuck. I’m looking at Historic Homes, and I can’t stand the ones with these generic renovations. So thanks for renovating the historic home correctly.
Anyway, my friend has the Black Honed Granite Countertops and they came SEALED. However, she is a fanatic when anything oily like pizza comes into contact. She is forever cranking out the Windex. She was told ONLY to use Windex, but I am allergic to Windex. So when she’s not looking I use a damp cloth with warm diluted-soapy water.
Her countertops are fine. I think the key is not to let certain liquids stand on it for a while. Wipe up immediately.
Although its high maintainance, but I will get the Honed Granite for my home. I always wipe up spills/messes immediately anyway, so it won’t be a problem for me. It has such a pristine and solid look to it.
Stonetech makes an Oil Stain remover, whch is a poultice you apply, let dry and remove (along with the stain). http://www.stonetechpro.com. I used it on inca gray countertops and it removed the oil stains, but left whte reside in the pres of the stone that I haven’t been able to fully remove. So do as the package tells you and test it first!
I have seen slabs of “brushed” black absolute, it is gray. What is the process that makes it dark/black.
There is one mark which I think is coffee but it is not very noticeable. But I think that this is an extremely high maintenance material and if you don’t wipe up a water spill you get a mark. The mark will disappear if you wet it and rub it but it inhibits me from spreading things out on the counter to cook. I have to use a chopping block for everything. I wouldn’t do this again, but in the meantime I would like to know if there is a product which will take out stains.
“In answer to the first poster’s question, I have had it for one month and it has three coats of sealer on it. I wonder if I can do something to it, treat it with something, or take the stains out. Tks.”
huh. after 1 month you shouldn’t have to reseal. i asked that question b/c i have read people on other forums complaining about the stains on their counters they have had for 2 years and never resealed.
i don’t know if you can remove the stains. i have heard that over time, the stains will “sink” into the stone and be absorbed.
Wow, I was going to get honed Absolute Black granite 6 years ago for my new kitchen, went with non-honed Verde Uba Tuba. From the posts, I’m glad I did. I have been lazy and have never re-sealed the counters after the initial install(I cook every day) and the uba tuba still looks brand new–no stains or irregularities. I guess I should re-seal it soon though, sounds like its living on borrowed time.
The critical issue with stone counters is getting a good sealer($) and accepting that you always, no matter what the stone, have to remove spills as shortly after they happen or the stone (a naturally porous material) will absorb it. An excellent sealer with a not so excellent price is Porous Plus 511 by Miracle sealants (http://www.miraclesealants.com/s_porous_plus.html). It’s a pentrating sealer which means the stone will still maintain a natural sheen (rather than make it look like you have applied a shellac)
Flamed is different than brushed. Brushed produces a softer and somewhat shiny finish with the same depth variation as the flamed. I would not recommend flamed for a counter because the “grain” of the stone is more open which means it will trap dirt/oil much more easily. It’s also not so nice to touch and work on top of because of the irregular surface.
Sorry – I did not realize that you had already purchaed and installed. I did not read you post closely enough!
Perhaps you can find help on GardenWeb. There is a lot of info there as well as here.
Good luck!