Resident Richlite raver here.

stains - What's that? I have Chocolate Glacier, so I doubt anything would show if there was a stain.

standing water - Your experience will vary depending on how recently you oiled it. Recently oiled: standing water more likely to turn into a spot, especially if you have hard water like I do. The spot wipes away with water (obviously).

various spills - I haven't tried beet juice on it :) but any messes have wiped off just fine. If you were to have a problem, just get out the recommended scotch brite pad and scuff it out. No big deal. If you had a major problem, might need to bring in the big guns.... sandpaper.

It does scratch easily; it is a living finish. You have to be able to deal with that or plan on oiling it down weekly. During the oiling process, everyday scratches disappear. And let me be totally clear - it scratches EASILY. I mean dragging-things-across-the-counter easily. In an area where I had been hand mixing some batter, there were surface scuffs where the bowl had moved around. They were gone after the next oiling.

All that said - I still love it. I like the patina and still love the way it feels. I've only had mine for a few months. When I posted about my install, Richlite veterans chimed in that over time the finish will deepen and darken. Can't wait! :)

Smilingjudy,

Thank you so much for your helpful information. I do have the epicurean cutting boards which are made out of richlite and they do not stain very easily but of course I am nervous about such a big investment as kitchen counters. I did not know that richlite should/could be oiled. Is that what the manufacturer says to do? I guess it is like the upkeep of soapstone then.
BTW, I LOVE your kitchen. I found your thread with pictures of it and I have saved them for inspiration.

Thank you again,

Tina

My fabricator summed it up well when he said it's a bit of a cross between soapstone and butcherblock. I believe oiling is more like an optional thing (same as with soapstone). It cleans up the scratches, gives it an overall "buffed" appearance, and returns it to that buttery-soft feeling of new richlite. My guy basically said oil whenever you feel like it, but twice a year is probably a good frequency to expect.

I just realized that the area where my teapot rests in the morning probably has had gallons of tea spilled on it. I don't see anything stained on there, but again....the brown counter kinda matches. Guess I made the right color choice.

Glad the pics could help. I may have a scrap of it around here somewhere if you want me to soak it in red wine and see what happens. :)

Thank you - that is a good idea - I will subject my cutting boards to some stain tests and see how those do. I am nervous about the scratching business but somehow I am leaning towards this product more than soapstone. I would actually get the black so no worries about the color not hiding things! Your brown looks fabulous with your white cabinets - an inspired choice.

Luckily there is a certified fabricator in my area and so I will see what he quotes for it. If I don't get that it will probably be quartz which is of course quite a different look and I would much prefer the richlite look.

Question about oiling: Since the richlite is nonporous (or so they say) does the oil end up feeling like a greasy film or does it just enhance the appearance?

Thank you!

this is some good discussion! we are the Central States Distributor for Richlite. www.richliteproducts.com

I have been working with Richlite for about 6 years know and LOVE it. but you need to understand what it is or else it can be very frustraing. on the lighter colors, Richlte does darken similar to natural wood. Richlite does scratch but not as deep or show as much as Corian or wood. you are on the right track that sealing the top will hide these scratches. because the surface is non pourous the sealer will sit on the surface. we have been using a product called Bio-Schield Herbal Oil #2, this is a natural Linseed oil product with some lead free dryers. resently we have started to use Bio-Scheild Hard Oil #9 which has more of a build and holds up longer. you put some oil on a papertowel and rub into to, like putting on pledge. I have never found anyhting that a Mister Clean Majic Ereasor would not take off my top. last Christmas I had a bunch of people over and had a 5 gallon water jug on counter. I moved it (slid it) a couple times accross my Richlite counter. after everybody left and we were cleaning up we saw the scratches in the top and realized there was sand under the container! we got a little excited and my wife tryed a couple things. she took a scotch brite pad (a worn green one) and rubbed out the worse areas. then she rubbed sealer into those areas, let dry then resealed the whole top. it looked like brand new and we were astonished. if you knew where the worse spots were and got up close you could see something, but it was difficult. if this would have been Stone, Corian or Lamiante it would not have been an easy fix. she spent about 20 minutes! I compare Richlite alot to Leather. you know that when you get something new, it looks great, then there is that time that it starts to show things and you get frustrated with it. then after a while it gets a patina and warm beauty. that is exactly how Richlite is. honestly the older the piece is the better it looks. I have a Piece of Black in my office that is 5+ years old. it loks like a sheet of glass, but when you get up real close to it you can see the whole surface is covered in little scratches. I dont think it has ever been sealed, it just gets used! but remember that if you want a shinny surface that wont show anything, you might not be happy with Richlite. Richlite will show that it gets used.

Richlite is also very Dourable. if you decide to use a 16# sledge hammer in your kitchen to tenderize meat, the worse thing that might happen is that if you miss the meat you migh put a small dent in the top!

not sure if you know that Richlite has been made since 1958! you see Richlite in Pizza Hut as the serving tray they use, also if you watch the X-Games and see them skate boarding on a brown surface, that is Skatelite, which is also made by Richlite, same material, just sold under a differnt name. you will find Richlite in at least 1/2 of every commercial kitchen out there for over 40 years as a cutting board surface!

please visit our website and let me know if you have any other questions

eric

Here is a link that might be useful: Richlite website

smilingjudy,

Thank you so much for your helpful post and pictures. I went out today and bought a BLACK richlite cutting board so I can experiment... I like your oiling idea, I already found that oil will buff out scuff marks from my fingernails.

kubeltd... thanks for your info too. However, I have to say one of the appealing factors I am looking for is NOT to use a sealer... don't want to seal with any chemicals etc. I looked at your bioshield info...not convinced I want those drying agents it contains on my counters...that is one reason (of many) that I don't want granite - don't want a sealer. I am a chemist so it's not that I am scared of chemicals or anything...but I thought one of the selling points of Richlite is that it doesn't need to be sealed....

Why do you not recommend just using the mineral oil? Also I would have thought that to buff out scratches you should use something finer than a scotch green pad - maybe emory paper or steel wool or something?

Thank you for any information you have.

Tina

Tina-

Richlite does NOT need to be sealed. what the "sealer" does is enhance or bring back the finish. it does also help with cleanabilty. Richlite used to reccomend Mineral Oil. the problem people had with it, was because Richlite is non pourous the oil would sit on the surface. the surface stayed "wet" with the oil and then when you wash with soap and water you will wash away the oil. then you need to re-apply. people just got frustrated with the constant work to this sealer. if you do nothing the black will show some wear and grey in the areas you work alot. but over time the constant use will add a patina and it will shine up similar to how Leather does.

I have heard some people use Howards feed and wax and they like it but I do not have any personal knowledge.

yes, Green Scotch brite is more aggressive than you want to use normally. ours was pretty worn when we used it. I would reccomend a maroon or white pad. the other thing that works great is Mister Clean Magic Ereasor.

Here is a link that might be useful: richlte website

Does anybody know Richlite distributor in Wisconsin?

This is an old thread, very old thread. But, I recently moved into a 7 year old house with Richlite counters. I can’t wait to replace them. This house is only 7 years old and built entirely of sustainable materials, so i understand why the counters are in here. However, the previous owner must not have been very careful. There are cut marks in it. I spilled some olive oil on it and it took a good 2 weeks for it to disappear. A friend recommended using mineral oil on them regularly. I just have other things i like to do with my time. In my previous home, I used quartz. I don’t know where quartz is on the green scale, which is very important to me, but I do know that they were low maintenance, easy to clean and didn’t scratch.

Peter:

I highly recommend you have your Richlite counterrops refinished or do it yourself please.