By the way, I'm in now way pitching this product. I bought it online for about $29. There were a few websites with a similar product so I don't think this is the only game in town, just the one I tried out.

Polishing works to remove etch marks by removing a thin layer of stone. Over time, repeatedly polishing the same area (like your prep area) can lead to the area actually having a depression or divot when compared with the rest of your flat countertop. It would take several years to show, but it is one consequence of repeated polishing on a relatively soft surface like a marble. Polishing of the entire countertop would be OK for an "annual cleanup" but shouldn't be done on an everyday basis to spot treat the normal wear and tear.

You make a good point. Although, if the big concern is that 15-20 years from now I might have a slight depression in the more heavily used areas of my counter tops, I think I'm ok with this. I guess it depends upon how much is actually removed, although the amount seems minimal...

Nice to have the product -- haven't seen that before. Thanks. Also, I saw your kitchen pix and it looks great. Very eager to see your backsplash when it goes in. I have AS tile and it's just extra great IMO.

The fabricator sealed my counters and they weren't sealed well at all. I was getting similar etch marks. I went over them myself with a sealer recommended by a stone restorer and most stuff either beads up or wipes off. We follow with a companion product once a week that removes a lot of stuff.

The problem I see with using the polishing product you show is that area is not sealed after it's been scrubbed on.

I'm thinking I'll need to have the counters professionally rehoned once every 5 years or so -- not trying to keep them pristine.

Also, we bought a set of flexi mats at Crate & Barrel and use them on the counters for some protection. Saves me a world of cleaning.

We had tons of etch marks on the travertine floor in our guest bathroom--droplets of bathroom and toilet cleaner, a few large marks where our (former) cleaning lady set a bottle of TB cleaner, and a bucket that had bathroom cleaner on the bottom. Someone here had suggested spraying a little stone cleaner on the etched area, and then lightly scrub with a green scrub sponge. It worked well (I've even just lightly buffed with the dry sponge and that worked, too).

Nice to know we have options to keep our stone floors and counters looking their best!

bump

I M -- thanks for posting those pictures. My marble tops are only a month old and I have lots of etch marks -- an indication of all the wine I pour! Is your marble honed? Mine is honed.

Awesome! Does anyone know how this might work on soapstone? I don't have the heart to take sandpaper to my new counters just yet.

I used MB 12 to get the etches out of the linked top; two hours of sweating on a knuckle dragger:

Here is a link that might be useful: 4th post down

Yes, you can buff out etch marks if they aren't too deep, but sooner or later you are going to have to accept that you if you keep buffing out that one spot, you can drive yourself crazy buffing and wiping and worrying about depressions in the counter. It's hard to have that one spot, but if you keep buffing, every spot will become that one spot that bugs you.

Just to let anyone interested know, I tried this product on some etched marks I stupidly caused (left clementines on the counter for a few days and one somehow oozed citric acid on the counter). My honed white marble counters have a very slight sheen to them. Using this product made things quite a bit worse. I was very gentle and followed the instructs to a "t", but it now looks scratched, there is no sheen, and the etch marks are not improved. So, just wanted to update in case anyone is thinking of using this product. Wish I had the results of the initial poster of this thread.

As with all of MB's products, MB-12 is a good product designed for the professional. It contains a week acid so improper use will do more damage than good to the stone. It takes practice to have consistently good results.

Here is a link that might be useful: MB-12

Hi, I have/had a highly polished white marble surface in our guest bathroom installed a few years ago. As it is very difficult to get any of the highly sophisticated products down here in Africa, I got some tips from the retired old "colonials" in the village: Wet 1200 grid sand paper and the elbow grease of "Patience" - the maid.... Afterwards just use good old wax floor polish to shine the whole thing up to a (less of a factory shine but more durable and easy to maintain) Lustre.

I just ordered mb stone care m-11. has anyone had experience using this product? did it work for you? It won't come in until Wednesday to Saturday

and i just stained my marble vanity top with a face cleanser i left on overnight and left a ring mark.