Well, I have granite in my kids' bath and I threaten the girls not to do nail polish on it. I will be eagerly watching responses!

I think they use acetone to clean up the glue at the seams. I know this because they spilled acetone on my cabinets and it took off the finish. Fortunately it was a quick fix by the cabinet guy.

Thanks for this. I've got a piece of potential granite that I'm testing for stain resistance - so far it's an A+ for mustard, turmeric, hot sauce, & sesame oil.

I never thought to try acetone, but I will tonight. It's a fairly light colored granite, and I'm worried about staining since I tend to be messy while I'm cooking, and not one of those people who clean & wipe as they go along. How I envy them. The meal is cooking and the kitchen is clean at the same time. Sigh.

BTW, for others who are "trying out" a sample of countertop material, my KD suggests putting some water on the counter, and then leave a glass of water resting on top of that water overnight to see if it leaves a ring.

Teched,

How can you tell the difference between quartz crystals & feldspar crystals?

I hope one of the pros weighs in here. I thought acetone could affect the sealer but not most stones. Anyone ?

When they installed our granite the installer said to give it a good cleaning use either denatured alcohol or acetone. He prefered the alcohol as it is not as tough on the hands.

He came today and fixed most of the problems.

The acetone did make the long sink counter more like the ones on the other side. All I can say is that on one side, a microfiber towel smoothly moved on the granite, on the other it stuck and would hardly move. They are now both smooth.

He filled in a chip and a gouge, tried to make the front seam at the sink better (that one still bugs me), took our the shim and caulked there, caulked to sink wall, and polished some rough edges.

The one thing that concerns me is that where the soap dispenser hole showed part of a sink clamp and the sink flange, he cut them both out. He said that the other clamps and the silicone should be fine to hold the sink up. There are four others, but none in that corner. Do you think it's OK?

Thanks again, guys, for helping. Sometimes these guys talk to me and tell me things that are basically BS, and I start to wonder, "Is it me?" You help set me straight.

Tonight, when I showe the guy the edge next to the stove that was rough, he said it was food. I had only had one meal in the kitchen. I told him, "Give me time, it'll be there, but that's not the case now." Yikes. He fixed it and told me later that I was right. I have to give him credit for that. That was a first.

Kristen--just wanted to say that I'm sorry you are having these problems! I've been there, and it feels really terrible!

Can you post a photo of the seam at the sink that is bothering you?

Francy

Francy,

I'll try to get them on the computer and post them tomorrow. Frandly, I have been so heartsick that I don't simply love my choice. I wasn't thrilled to show it.

I'm going to need all of you to help me make it into something that I'm happy with. I have to find a backsplash and maybe new doors or a cabinet reface. We'll see. I want to live with it for awhile, and try not to just stare at the tops!

Kristen-

I always advise my customers to NOT clean their tops
with Acetone OR Alchohol - the reason for this
(as I have been told - I'm NOT a Chemist - JUST a Fabrimicator...)
is that many of the sealers that are used today can be broken down and
rendered useless (Especially by Acetone if they are silicone
based products). The BEST thing to clean stone IMHO
is hot water with one or two drops of Joy liquid soap,
then rinse with clear hot water. Works for me every time.

It sounds to me like there was a small amount of seaming
glue residue left on the stone
and that your installer came back to clean it off - this is
a very common thing, and happens all the time.

As far as the drilled hole cutting into one of the supprt clips,
it would help if you could post some pics that shows what
happend

kevin

Kevin M. Padden MIA SFA
Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry
ww.azschoolofrock.com

Well I am a chemist, and even I can't tell you an ultimatum on what sealers the acetone will take off. However, I can tell you without a doubt that rubbing alcohol did not remove Miracle 511 Impregnator, but the acetone did in a flash! How do I know this? Our tile guy spilled some of the 511 sealer on our SS rangetop bullnose and them left it for us to find 8 hours later. A little handy experimentation with the household solvents revealed that the acetone wisked it away effortlessly.

So no, I wouldn't use acetone on my sealed granite.

Hi everyone.

Sorry to hijack here, but Kevin, I've seen you mention here before about the water and dishwashing liquid. My fabricator cleaned up everything with the denatured alcohol but told me to use the dishwasing liquid too. He also told me to use a granite cleaner too, once a month, or so, which I've done. It looks so much better with the granite cleaner than with soap and water. However, aside from the crack (you responded to my thread tonight), since the alcohol cleaning, I'm seeing more and more blotchy areas. Would the alcohol have done this.

I'll bow out of this thread, but some of the discussion is what is on my mind too.

Thanks!

helou,

Sorry to be late on the response. I have an MS in geology. The piece I tested is gold and white with large crystals. In this piece, the clear is the quartz and the white and gold are feldspar. Feldspar often have striations or what looks like the slices of bread. That's what makes them luminese in stones like blue eyes. Quartz is silica oxide (silicon and oxygen). Feldspar is a silicate also, bit it has other junk in it, which makes it not as strong as pure quartz. I think that's why the acetone broke it down.

I guess if the fabricator is just quickly wiping off the counter it's not a big deal. I wanted to test whether if my kids spilled a bottle of nail polish remover and left it, what would happen. Kind of an interesting test!

Not to dredge up an old topic, but I would discourage anything Acetone based. I recently had a Franke Black Granite (drop-in) sink installed. The plumber used a Ketone/Acetone based solvent (even though the instructions say strippers and varnish will discolor!) to clean away the silicone sealant and it left a noticeable white haze all around the edge where he ran his finger/rag. On top of that, he dripped some of the solution into both basins and left white drip marks. I was able to get most of the drippings cleaned with a lot of elbow grease, but the haze on the edge/top lip is still there. I think my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser was the most effective on the drip marks. Per the user guide, and phone support, I also tried Soft Scrub and AJAX and "granite cleaner" but they were not very effective. Some vinegar may have worked also on the drips, but I have noticed in the places I used the chemicals, that the water "beads" differently there now. I have not tried ammonia yet as that seems to have mixed reviews as to whether it is destructive. That is the only chemical left I can think to use. The manuf says it is a solid surface material so it can be wet sanded. That may be next, otherwise the plumbing company is going to owe me a new sink...

The installer for the beautiful granite at our last home used acetone to clean the granite after first installation. Then they sealed. He didn't say not to use it after that, but we never did. BUT, I used acetone to help clean the grease off the inside glass door on our oven. First I used a razor tool often used by window washers and scrapped the big stuff off. Then used acetone. Wonderful two step miracle cleaning process!!!

Acetone worked like a miracle! I created a video on the effects of acetone on granite and quartz. https://youtu.be/K_dg2j_YQ7w

I am a fabricator. Acetone WiLL strip sealer; it's what we use when asked to reseal an existing countertop when the sealer used is unknown. In my experience acetone has never damaged a stone or quartz countertop and it will remove almost anything on the surface. Re: cutting the sink flange; happens all the time and is not a problem. (4) sink retainers is plenty.

oldryder: Your reply is timely (for me) as I plan on resealing a heavily used prep area of my quartzite. I'll be resealing with the same product (Tenax Proseal) and will be sure it's thoroughly cleaned, rinsed and dry beforehand. However, would I need to strip with acetone before reapplying the same sealer? Thanks as always for your solid advice.

Javiwa; if you are reapplying the same product normally there is no need to strip the existing. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you, too, oldryder -- thanks!