I consider this one of the mistakes of my kitchen. Any aluminum or other soft metal (e.g. gold from a ring) will leave a mark that you for-all-intents-and-purposes can't get out. Any drop of water leaves a ring if it dries, so you have to constantly wipe with a microfiber cloth.

Very high maintenance.

Sorry, no help on your sealer.

Evergreendan - Are you talking about honed marble or honed black granite or both? Did you seal your marble or granite at all? I appreciate hearing people's experiences. Thanks.

P
Drytreat has been on the market for around 3 years. and is arguably the best product going.

At least it markets itself that way, and from what I have seen, it is IMPRESSIVE.

BUT, they charge for it. YOU cannot buy it. It must be applied by a "certified" technician. We have one working for us, he does it on the side. It cost him $1500 to become certified. The product sells to the technicians for $250 a quart. Our guy charges $350. to $500 to seal a kitchen. For this money you get a 15 year warranty that I have been told is impressive.

The Stonemark granite uses a similar product for their 15 year guarantee.

Here is the downside...... not all stones need to be sealed. Your average , off the shelf sealer does a pretty good job on most other stones.

Marble in the kitchen, I would say go for it. Black honed granite, I would not spend the money.

Blessings

I just came back from the fabricator's shop. I asked them what they use and the receptionist there said that they would be using their usual one (no name was given) since I am going with darker granites. But she did say that they have a new one that they are using and showwed me the bottle - it was Drytreat. She said that it is expensive and really stinks so they recommend leaving the room for a day while it airs out. It has 15 yr warranty too, but she also said that they use it on white or very light granites only.

That's all I know. She kept stressing that it is very good for lighter granites.

Vrjames and Anna - Thanks for the info. That really helps a lot. I can't tell you how much I've been digging online to find out about it to see if it was worth the cost for my kitchen or just for my marble on the island. If I end up using it, I'll be sure to post the results.

Actually, anyone can purchase and apply Stain Proof (the name for Dry Treat's 15-year sealer.) I work at a granite shop and we sell it to the public all the time. A quart costs about $75 and goes a long way. If you apply it yourself, however, you are not covered by the 15 year warranty. You only get that when you have the application done by a certified technician. The company I work for charge $3.95/sf to stain proof stone and this includes the warranty on polished granite only. We do not warrant honed granite, or any type of marble or limestone.

It is great stuff and I would definitely recommend it for light stone. I honestly don't know how effective it is on honed black absolute, but it will help keep the carrara from staining.

Here is a link that might be useful: stain proof

1000.00 a GALLON???? Man, that stuff better cook and serve dinner, too!!

Pompeii - Thank you. I was wondering if I could just buy the Drytreat myself. So would you recommend a quart of Stain Proof for my honed carrara island (it's only 30 x 69)? Do I still need to seal it after applying the stain proof? I see that you can buy a combo deal - a quart of stain proof and a quart of the porcelain sealer which still would be a lot less than if I had someone come in and apply it, and I would have some left over if I ever did have to reseal before 15 years (which I would suspect would be likely). Also, in all honesty, is this easy to apply and do? It doesn't seem that hard.

Thanks

pdxgal,
You don't need to seal with anything else after using Stain Proof - the Stain Proof is the sealer. I work in the office, so I have never applied the sealer myself. From what I've overheard, though, it is applied just like any other sealer; but they say it any excess is more difficult to get off. You really have to rub and rub to remove it. I'm going in to work today; I'll see if there are any installers around I can ask, specifically on its effectiveness on black absolute honed.

I know when we started using it a couple of years ago, we applied both stain proof and the porcelain sealer. I think now though we just use the stain proof.

Pompeii - Thanks so much. I appreciate it. But also ask about honed carrara marble since that's what I'm most concerned about and am thinking about doing myself. This is good info!

Bill V, Pdugal, and Pompeii
I must bow out as I exhausted my knowledge inmy original post and my info is two years old.

I have had a few conversations with several fabricators over the last few years, so all of my information is out of date.

When one of our salespeople took the certification I remeber him saying the cost of the stuff was that high. Maybe it has come down. I know a few shops that have had to pay for their people to be certified.

I was under the impression selling it to the public was against their selling plan. Maybe they have changed?

Blessings

Pompeii, did you find out for sure if your installers only used the Stain Proof? I looked at the web site you provided and they have kits that sell both the Stain Proof and the Porcelain Sealer. But if I only need the Stain Proof it would fit into my budget much better. My fabricator doesn't seal the granite, but sells me a kit for $65 for me to DIY. If I can spend a few $ more for Stain Proof and only do it once, it sounds like a better deal. Does Stain Proof change the color of the granite at all? I'm probably going for a medium color of granite like Lapidus Gold. Thanks for the great information!

I've been away and just saw this. PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE -- get any fabricator who is giving you a bid on Drytreat Sealer prepare a sealed sample for you before you decide on your countertops!

I have White Venetino --n similar to what you are considering, and I got a tile sealed with the Drytreat. I probably still have it somewhere, but I would never put that in my kitchen. It totally changes the feel of the stone. I'm fine with the honed marble sealed with a regular sealer you can do yourself. It doesn't stain and etching is not that big a deal. I would rather save a lot of money and put in laminate than pay that much for a beautiful stone and put an expensive layer of plastic-film-like sealer on top of it.

You may love it, but there is no way I would want it. If you love marble, accept it for what it is. If not, get something else. JMHO

So sorry, but since we generally don't do installs on Saturday, no installers were there yesterday to ask. We've been using Stain Proof for a couple of years and as far as I know, we haven't had any complaints about it changing the look of the stone. I agree, though, that it is probably a good idea to see a sample just to be sure. It hasn't been a problem for us, though.

I'll try my best to remember to ask tomorrow.

Ok, the installer I asked said we use stain proof and not procelain sealer. Also, we have not had any complaints with the sealer changing the look of the stone. However, I would definitely try a sample on honed stone just to be sure. A quart of stain proof isn't that expensive; try it on a leftover piece and if you don't like it, try something else. It's the only way to make sure you'll like the final result.

lascatx - Thanks for the advice. I would definitely put in on a sample before putting it all over my counter. Very good to know.

Pompeii - Thanks for checking and asking about that. I might go ahead and get a quart and try it on a sample. I would rather be out $70 bucks than to ruin the slab of marble. If it works great, but if not I won't be that upset over trying it. Thanks for asking.

pdxgal, any updates? i was about to ask this very same question regarding stain-proof on honed carrera throughout my kitchen and bathrooms. I'd love to know if you ended up using it and what the results were! thanks!!

Yes I have used it on all my really expensive marble statues in my garden and it is an excellent product.

Can anyone who has used it comment on if it changes the feel of the marble? Seems like that was an unresolved question with conflicting answers.

Rob Arrington, I used it yesterday on my new, very light colored, leathered finish Perla Venata Quartzite countertops. I did exactly what the instructions said to do, and I can’t tell any difference in the way it looks or feels before and after. I did notice, however, that water beads up now and it didnt before. If you blow up my photo and look under the last dark fracture line, you can see 4 little drops of water beads that are sitting on top of the surface, which proves the sealer worked!