I think your worry about soapstone maintenance may be misplaced. It is a piece of cake. I have one of the more "needy" varieties (Black Venata) in that it needs more frequent oiling than many to stay dark, and I still find it easy to manage. I've had my counters for a year now. At first, I was oiling weekly, but soon it became monthly, and I just went almost four months between my last two oilings. I predict it will be at least six months before I oil again, and the oiling process itself is quick and effortless. Other than oiling, which is actually completely optional (some people prefer the natural, unoiled, lighter grey look), there are no other maintenance needs. If you ding or scratch it, you can just sand out the damage. If you love soapstone, don't let the maintenance scare you away.

I have a sample here-- one thing we like about soapstone is that it is really low maintenance.. plus, you do not have to put toxic sealants on it to make it impervious to staining. So far, nothing has come close to staining our soapstone sample. Most little scratches disappear when we oil it (which is very easy).

The only thing that bothers me, which I mentioned in a post from yesterday), is that our particular sample is very, very soft. If you do not plan to drop things on your counter, you are probably OK. I think, though, that there are some varieties of true soapstone (not granite masquerading as soapstone) that are a bit harder than the sample we have (Black Venata).

We have Beleza soapstone and I find the mainteneace to be very easy. It is a naturally darker soapstone, so if you don't want to oil it, it's not an issue. I oiled it when it first went in and it turns a deep black and now the oil has disapated and it is a deep gray with beautiful waves in it. I wipe it down with a damp cloth when it is dirty and I am done. No fingerprints as I have heard are very noticable with honed black granite. Absolutely no staining issues as it is non porous and hot pans right out of the oven go right on it.

I have Green Mountain Original P.A. soapstone. I love it. It's a harder variety of soapstone. My two teenage sons have yet to ding it. It's been in about 8 months now. I can't remember the last time I oiled it. It stays a nice matte black. Around the faucets where I wipe away water it is a little faded and could use a touch up of oiling. Other than that it is beautiful. By the way, I use a combination mineral oil/beeswax paste on it. Seems to work better than mineral oil alone. I get it off EBAY.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mineral oil/beeswax paste on EBAY

I love my soapstone that I have. I had granite before and I will say the dark granite was easier to care for. No sealing, no nothing, wash and dry with micro cloth. This was not a honed granite. I do not oil my soapstone for every scratch (there are a lot of them) that would bother some people.

I just wanted to chime in with the rest, soapstone is really maintenance free. The oiling, which is optional, is not any big deal: just think wiping a counter down but you have a little mineral oil instead of water. Also, as has been stated so well, there are no toxic sealers to worry about and you can put a red hot pan or pot directly on the soapstone counters without worry. We have had ours going on three years, no problems and it is stunning. We must have one of the hard varieties, Ice Flower I believe, as I cannot imagine it being able to be scratched.. I also love the look of honed granite (only matte surfaces please!) but I understand it is very susceptible to staining and marking. Best of luck.

I've had my Green Mountain Original for about 3 weeks, and I have used mineral oil and oil/beeswax combo on it obsessively -- but I tend to be obsessive anyway. I waited 10 years for these countertops, so I have trouble keeping my hands off them! I have noticed that the oil/beeswax mix lasts longer, and that each time I wax, the color takes longer to fade. I figure by the time I get over my obsession, the counters will no longer require frequent waxing!

I think the amount of time you put into maintenance depends on your personality and what you like. Are you a "patina" person or a "perfection" person.

As Donna214 mentioned, fingerprints are much more noticeable on honed granite, so if perfection is your thing, you might be putting as much effort into keeping the granite looking good as you would the soapstone.

Good luck with your decision.

missopinion47: We must have one of the hard varieties, Ice Flower I believe, as I cannot imagine it being able to be scratched

We have Ice Flower (a varied charcoal gray with sparkles and carmel colored veining) ..and although we love it and would do it again ours is farily easy to ding and scratch. We have dings around the sink...and above the diswasher...with only two careful adults in the house.

It seems harder to ding now 3 years later that it was during year one when most of our dings ocurred....IMO...it may get harder as the stone oxidizes...can't explain it otherwise.

I oil it now very infrequently...usually only when guests are coming, as the oil imparts a nice glow...nothing can stain or scorch it..no sealers..beautiful look...we still feel it was a great decision.

IMO..not all stone slabs are exactly the same as they are natural and therefore subject to the inherent variences of nature.

I have "Black Z" - it's very black - honed granite around one of my sinks and we have not had a problem with staining. I do not know if they put a sealer on it. We chose it because it does resemble, if only mildly, soapstone, which we could not afford after the giant slab of marble that I had to have for our island! Soapstone does not seem like a lot of maintenance, but it is softer than granite and will scratch, etc, if that bothers you immensely you might be happier with granite...good luck!

I first fell in love with honed Absolute Black for its lovely soft matte appearance until I did tests on it and got this result after leaving lemon juice on my sample for 15 minutes:

{{!gwi}}

Then I learned about soapstone and switched to it. I would say the maintenance is exactly equal to my previous granite - wipe up messes and crumbs frequently. I don't oil anymore, but the few times I did it was not a big deal at all.

Anita

logic: interesting. I think your last statement about natural materials being subject to differences is correct. Maybe the hardness of our soapstone has little to do with the type (Ice flower) and more to do with the specific piece we got. Maybe the kitchen muses were smiling down upon us with these slabs as we went through a very rough patch with the company we contracted with to do the remodel. I'd love to see pictures of your ice flower as I don't often see that type on this forum. For all I know I don't even have ice flower! I can't recall where I picked up that bit of information on our stone but it does not scratch.

Thank you all for the helpful information! It's great to see how many people are enjoying their soapstone counter tops. I can't wait to see our final product.

I'm finishing my kitchen remodel with just the floor to go (and some cabinet trim, backsplash..). I have GM original soapstone (I think..) and have oiled it 5-6 times in the 10 days. It starts out with a luster from the wet oil. I follow each oiling with a hard hand-buffing with a dry towel to take off any excess oil. Then over a day or two it dulls out. It's drop-dead gorgeous (I'll post a pic later tonight), but one reason I've oiled so much since I got it is that each time I wipe water or food spills off, the appearance changes where I wipe(removing remaining surface oil??)....and I end up oil it all again to get it even looking. It stays plenty dark after I wipe it with a wet dish rag/towel, it's just a bit lighter than surrounding areas. Should I wipe the entire coutertop with a dishrag(clear water or using soapy water?) to get it all the surface 'de-oiled' or is there breakin time where I should oil it alot initially??? Should I flood the surface with oil & let it sit for a day(dry in, not buff excess off?) & then wipe it with a wet dishrag? What am I missing? So far the countertop is high maintenance. I'm coming up with creative ways to use the top, but not set anything on it I'll have to wet-wipe off..sort of an odd approach to a counter top. I assume it'll get better once I figure out how to (not) manage it. (??)

Any thoughts?

I have Santa Rita Venata - I chose it because I needed an over size piece and it was so beautiful. I got it from M. Tex in NJ. I found a 150" slab and was able to do my huge center island in one piece with no seaming. It is stunning and I love it. Everyone who sees it touches it and comments on the gorgeous green/white veining.

But a word of caution: mine dings and scratches very easily. The dings make an indent which turns white. Either sand the dings out (easy) but they make an very thin impression in the stone. Or just dot the dings with a black sharpie and they are not noticeable. I do wish now I had picked a harder variety, so do some ding tests on your sample to be sure.

Regarding maintenance, at the beginning I was obsessive and oiled every day. The oil would lift quickly and there would be gray patches- I was getting stressed out about it. But, my experience and the wise words of Joshua from FL, were to give it time and the soapstone would "season/Patina". Sure enough, six months later I only oil monthly and I notice I am needed ot do less and less. I use grape seed oil from Trader Joes. No graying or lifting like earlier in the process. I think different parts of the stone take longer to patina to the oil but eventually it all evens out. Have patience it will work itself out.

The oiling is a snap - wipe on wipe off. I keep my oil rag in a ziploc bag and now I hardly even add any oil to it - just swipe and go!

Great stone! I would chose my slabs again because I wanted no seaming, but in another kitchen I would just try to find a harder variety.

Pics as promised. I think my problem is a combo of impatience and not understanding what to do when. I think I'm going to wipe the entire countertop down with a mild soapy dishwater and see what happens. This is about the only thing I haven't tried yet.

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First thanks to Mary and the others who use the beeswax/mineral oil combo for sharing the suggestion. I have been using it and like the result.

Next, to Guy in Newhouse--and any other Soapstone Newbies:

I too was going a little crazy at first. I've only had my soapstone for a couple of months, and at first, I thought perhaps I had made a mistake in choosing it. There is a period of break-in that made me crazy. For one thing, until the soapstone gets a good build-up of oil, it seems to hold everything that gets spilled on it and dries out very quickly. I experimented with leaving the oil on, but it still seemed to be an ongoing battle. Finally, my Green Mtn. soapstone is starting to become dark and smooth. Around the sink, it still requires wax about every three or four days, but the main work surface is starting to stay oiled and is becoming easier to clean.

Well...I wiped down the entire countertop with Ivory-dishwater and the top now looks splotchy...darker in some areas & lighter in others. I'm sure things will settle down eventually, but I guess I'm in the 'breakin' period.

After seeing 'nomorebluekitchens' post on another thread it seems I have "minas" soapstone...the degree of veining in her island & mine looks very much the same.

I think I'll give the beeswax-oil paste a spin & see how it does.

Soapstone vs. honed granite:
I had honed granite 10 years ago before the matte black look was in. It was a pain I had to keep chemically sealing it. I'm not thrilled about having chemicals on my food prep surface. When I found Soapstone and put it in I found it had more beauty and is more practical. It only took me a month to build up the dark color with oiling twice a week. Now I oil it maybe once every 5 months. I clean it with whatever I want and its fine. We got ours from Soapstone Werks and were very happy with the price and quality.

Here's their link, check them out!
www.soapstonewerks.com

guy in newhouse, your soapstone is drop dead gorgeous! Love the sink too.
Would you mind sharing the manufacturer of your faucet? It's exactly the style I'm searching for--single lever, pull down spray with traditional look.
Thanks.

The faucet is a Moen Annabelle. Lowes has them for about $225. Other web sites had is over $300...no clue why. It's a nice faucet so far.

Thanks on the soapstone. When I saw the two slabs (this stone) I knew my search was over. I like everything about it so far except the uncertainty in the breakin period...no doubt this too will pass.

I ordered a carnuba/beeswax/mineral oil paste last night from chefscatalog (via Amazon). Carnuba is a hard non-tacky wax. I'm hoping it'll be what I'm looking for.

I've had Green Mountain Original for about a year and a half and love reading the progression that other soapstoners have on the oiling! My experience is so similar -- obsessive at first and finally calming down to let the patina develop. I haven't oiled for months and the counters are developing a lovely dark patina. I have gotten a couple of small dings and the advice above to use a black sharpie for small dings is a great solution. When you sand a little spot it can make a bigger repair area than the spot warrants. A little dot of black sharpie and it is invisible. I've tried the beeswax/mineral oil combo and it is more work to apply but does seem to last a little longer. The biggest learning for me is that the oxidation does develop and my early worries over a little spotting when liquids sat for a while was unwarranted. Now I just wipe with the dishrag and it is perfect! I love being able to take a hot pizza stone from the oven and put it right on the counter! Granite counter-owning friends cringe!

Thanks so much for the info, guy in new house!
Your kitchen is wonderful!