Acetone, just like vinegar, a hot steamy pan lid, paint thinner, blue tape, lime/lemon juice, and soapy water can turn soapstone back to its original color. It is simply the oil film you are removing. The soapstone stays the same.

All of these things I can fix with a 30 second wipe with an oily cloth. The resin coating would sit on the top and if you messed that up, how would you repair it to restore the look of the soapstone?

Why would you want to coat a surface that you can put ANYTHING on, and that is easily made to look fabulous in literally seconds.

That looks more like Rainforest Green marble than soapstone.

And, talk to another stone place. The place you're dealing with doesn't know what they're doing.

They said it's called, "Green Iron Soapstone". I searched online and it seems there is a soapstone like this:

Green Iron Soapstone example

I believe they're telling you all that about a resin because that's technically serpentine, not soapstone.
They're calling it 'Green Iron' because those reddish/orange veins are iron deposits which is why the stone needs to be sealed. It's not for shipping reasons, its because you can probably guess how good an idea it would be to have exposed iron in your kitchen countertops. And the question of whether or not to oil is moot because the stone has been resined.

This stone place is giving you some serious misinformation. Please look elsewhere....

Wait a minute, Vizslalover! Please tell us more of what you know about iron deposits in soapstone. I'm asking because I've got a slab of Green Mountain Original on hold that has some rust/caramel inclusions in it. I've always thought it likely that those inclusions were iron. But, I was never concerned about it and never raised any questions about with my supplier. Unfortunately, I'm too slow on the uptake to guess why iron deposits are a problem in soapstone kitchen countertops. Help me out here!

Wow, this is unbelievable, thanks! The store is Integrated Resources by the way. I'm going to stop by tomorrow to take a look, just because I told them I would, but will defintely look elsewhere. Anyone know of any good soapstone dealers in the SF bay area? Thanks.

Are you a fan of rust on your counter? :)

My soapstone has some small caramel inclusions as well but they're not iron. I'm not sure what they are but they look very different from the inclusions pictured above and that I saw in Malibu Green at M. Texiera (which is who told me the stone is serpentine and the inclusions are iron). The iron inclusions are very dense and solid looking-the same color all the way through. Other similar colored inclusions I've seen that were not pure iron were a little more mottled.

Why don't you ask Green Mountain about your stone?

As for soapstone in the bay area, I can't think of a reason NOT to be talking to M. Teixeira. We purchased our DIY slabs from them and they were very helpful. And WOW do they have a lot of soapstone! They only do soapstone (and the serpentine shown above) so they won't be giving you the usual soapstone nonsense.

Here is a link that might be useful: M. Teixeira

Why would you ever want to feel resin instead of soapstones? One of the delights of soapstone is that wonderful silky, organic feel. Putting a plastic coating on it would just be turning it Las Vegas like all the other stone out there.

Not meaning to oversimplify but the reason to have soapstone is that you love it. Why monkey with what makes it unique?

If you can, try to get a sample of that soapstone and see if it will even hold oil. It's very similar looking to a sample we came across that oil totally disappeared from in a very short time. I'm honestly not even sure that it is in fact soapstone.

OK, I'm back from a visit to the store. They said that all their stones have a resin coating. One guy there said that it's done to fill in the tiny fissures. On top of the resin coating there is a satin finish, to bring out the texture of the "iron" veins. The woman there said that she didn't know if it was actually iron, it could be something else. Anyway, here are more photos of the slab:

I think this shows that Verona in Italy applied the resin coating:

Closeup:

Section that shows the satin finish, vs the (smooth) honed finish. Satin finish is more expensive:

If anyone has more info about this I'd be interested in knowing. I'm going to visit M Texiera next week also.

I forgot to mention that they said due to the coating it won't get darker for a while, so it's not really possible to test with oil. So I didn't bother getting a sample.

ok, it is not technically a soapstone, but it does share some characteristics. it's referred to as malibu green by a number of dealers. It's a variety of serpentine. it does not take oil well, as it is porous. It is harder than most soapstones, but not as hard as granite. probably on the order of a julia or belvedere.
I played with a bunch of samples of it for a long time, even wax finishes didn't stay over time.
The supplier I almost got it from (rocktops) suggested a polished finish with a color enhancer/sealant. it's a VERY pretty and striking color of stone, but for me it wasn't worth the potential issues of stains (hard to do, but i did get a couple small rings to stick after multiple days of oxposure) and the non-carefree oil finish. Also, it's harder to DIY (the iron inclusions are much harder than the surrounding stone, making it harder to form an even edge/cut)
That said, professionally installed, it was very pretty, and would make a grand addition to a kitchen. It was a very close second to the soapstone I ended up getting.

This is fascinating. According to florida_joshua, "FYI, Malibu green from my experience is more of a serpentinite (sp??) or serpentine. It is categorized as soapstone in the granite industry"

Can you point me to soapstone with brown/beige inclusions?

Also, M. Texiera designated Malibu green as a soapstone according to their website, "MALIBU GREEN SOAPSTONE - BRAZIL:
This soapstone posseses the same characteristics as other soapstones, but if not treated it will age beautifully in its natural, untreated state. The stone is light green with fine golden veins. This soapstone is also available with a "Leathered" or Brushed/Antique Finish

FEATURED ON HGTV'S SHOW "SPICE UP MY KITCHEN"

Episode 309"

So, if the granite industry designates it as soapstone, and M. texiera states it's soapstone, this begs the question, why? If it's serpentine, why not designate it as, "serpentine"? Then people could have serpentine counters.

This is strange, because I can't go back to my contractor and tell him it's not soapstone since M. texiera states it's soapstone. And then I look silly because I told him soapstone is not porous, when in this case it is porous.

I find this bizarre why it would be labeled a "soapstone", instead of serpentine, just because it has a some characteristics of soapstone. Thanks for the info.

PS I've been doing more searching and apparently seprentine is a type of green marble?

And according to the "Vermont Soapstone" company, "Recently a number of sources have been marketing a "harder" soapstone which is not soapstone at all, but serpentine, which has in the past been discarded or sold as low quality marble. It does not have the same characteristics as soapstone and we do not work with or recommend it."

Vermont Soapstone Company FAQ

That's weird that a company like M. Texiera would sell it then. Why would they do that? Unless that statement by the Vermont company is incorrect.

Google Cache of M. Texiera's Malibu Soapstone

This may be a question of how much talc content is necessary or sufficient to call a stone soapstone. Certainly, Belvedere would seem to be far from pure talc. It is at least Mohs = 3.5 as it isn't scratched by copper. (Pure talc would be Mohs = 1.) Yet the surfaces away from the pretty inclusions turn dark with oiling and stay dark for a long time. (The inclusions may be talc or some other mineral -- see link below.) Belevedere doesn't feel as soapy as soapstone that scratches with a findernail (Mohs The "granite" industry calls a wide variety of stone "granite," so naming soapstone-travertine or other soapstone mineral mixes "soapstone" is not inconsistent. On the sample I have, Malibu Green resists scratching by copper, but the level of resistance varies over the surface pattern.

The Vermont Soapstone comment is interesting. I have a sample from them sent to me a few years back. It is quite quiet, pattern-wise, but it is also harder than copper.

kas

Here is a link that might be useful: Wiki link to soapstone - note petrology section

I installed Malibu Green from M. Tex. in my kitchen. I was told it has enough talc in it to be classified as a soapstone. It is a dream countertop. It does not stain, it does not scratch or chip. It has a gleaming matte surface and its soft subtle green-gray-blue hue is perfect in my 1796 kitchen. And did I tell you how it looks with my copper sink and Herbeau copper pump-handle faucet?

I had black Alberene soapstone (very hard) in my last kitchen and loved the way it looked, but didn't like the chipping, dinging and oiling.

I am completely, happily satisfied with these countertops. BTW, Roger at M. Tex said the Malibu quarry is depleted now. It's now a rare stone. He likes it too. He has it all through his own house.
P.

pamela, I'm sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but I, too, have alberene soapstone, and am having some issues with it. I don't know if it's the honing or if it's the stone itself. Did you have issues with water rings and with the oil/wax not staying on very long? Thanks!

Pamela1 please show us pictures!!!

Yes Pamela! Pictures!

Yoyo: when I was at M Tex about a year ago, I specifically asked about those stones, and they agreed that they were actually "serpentine."

It is all so confusing, isn't it. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is soapstone. Unless it is serpentine.

I feel so badly--I have been a real "kitchen tease," talking about all this stuff I have. So many people have so politely asked for pics and I haven't yet obliged.

OK--I have a huge project I will complete on 9/26, and then I am going to post photos of TWO (2!) 18th c. house kitchens. Promise. It's the least I can do for all the help I've gotten on GW.
P.

I'm a skeptic. Pamela1, if you already have "soapstone" in your kitchen, post some pics. Show us your Malibu Green. Why must you wait until 9/26 to post photos of something that is already in and "is perfect in my 1796 kitchen"? Are you making this up? Why do we wait for posts of two kitchens? Just show us what you have in yours that "does not stain scratch or chip".

-Babka A REAL sospstone owner for 3 years.

OK--I'll see what I can do. I know it's hard for you computer experts to understand, but I have to learn how to post photos properly. I tried it once, and they were HUGE! I had planned to do two photo "essays" and it will take time to stage it just right. But I'll see if a friend can help me take, upload and post a counter shot early next week.
P.

Babka--
If my stone is resined, I can't tell. It looks more like honed marble and doesn't have the slightly gritty feel that my Alberene had. Roger from M. Tex says many stones with inclusions are treated with a penetrating resin at the quarry. The stone is rehoned at the fabricator, so it's all off the surface, but has soaked into any of the porous veins. That's a good thing, because things like red wine can stain veins.
P.

I hope it's not too late to weigh in on this. The reason this soapstone is coated is because of the large iron veins. They can rust and discolor the rest of the stone. (This can also happen to stones like marble if the iron becomes exposed to water--which I've experienced, very unattractive and impossible to undo.) As to whether or not it's really soapstone, I don't know, but it is sold as Iron Soapstone--and yes, it does look like the green rainforest stone that has similar veining. One thing I noticed about this stone is that sometimes the coating is not very water resistant. I was surprised to realize that the sample I brought home would actually absorb water into the coating.

We have a number of iron veins and inclusions in our Ice Flower...they are carmel colored and very beautiful.... and after 3 years have yet to "rust" and discolor the rest of the stone. It looks exactly the same as day of installation...and it has only been mineral oiled...no sealer.

Where did you obtain this info regarding rusting? Have you actually seen any soapstone where this has occurred?

This is starting to sound odd. Roger, from M Tex advocated penetrating resins for porous veins???? So, now the veins can stain, but not the soapstone, because, as we all know by now, one of the distinguishing, unique features of soapstone is that it is nonporous and cannot stain.

*Scratching head*

M Tex carries a huge variety of "soapstone" and I'm beginning to be a bit skeptical that everything they have is "soapstone" as we have traditionally understood it. I was really, really surprised to look at their website recently and see a stone they are calling Pietra Grigia, from Brazil. Isn't Pietra Grigia Italian for "gray stone"? Odd name for a stone from Brazil. And I've seen "Pietra Grigio" at fabricators. I have a friend who has it, and it ISN'T soapstone. Restoration Hardware even offers it as a sink surface, and they call it "Pietra Grigio Marble."

What's a gal to believe?

Once upon a time, soapstone was soapstone. Now will it be getting like granite, where not all granite is "granite"? All the more reason to make sure your soapstone dealer is reputable. (Which I had thought M Tex was, but I'm getting concerned. Especially given how badly my Santa Barbara soapstone from M Tex "soils"--can't say it stains right?)

re: Pamela's old kitchens. I'm still dying dying dying for a look. No pretty staging necessary. Just snap a few shots, pretty please? I've never seen a vintage kitchen as old as yours, and I'm excited! Pictures are super easy if you use photobucket. Just put your pics on photobucket, and then copy the html link in the body of your post. Let me know if I can help/advise. (I'm on a Mac, with iphoto, if that matters.)

:-)

francy

Hopefully I can help you out here a bit. The stone is referred to as Malibu Green. It is technically a serpentine, although it does share many characteristics and mineral compositions with soapstone. Several soapstone dealers carry it, not just MTex. It is a gorgeous and very striking stone, with the iron (yes) deposits.

dealers may refer to is as soapstone, because that's the closest 'common' thing to it often times. likewise for granite, many things are called granite that actually aren't really.

It will absorb water and oil, in a way that soapstone will not. 2 of the three fabricators i spoke with suggested a resin coating. since it is porous (unlike soapstone) it will actually stick, and does enhance the color quite a bit.

for those worried about "rusting", i saw a few benches made of the stone that were untreated and left outside exposed to all the elements for a long time, and none of them displayed any rusting. i played with a a number of un-resined samples at home for a long time. i was never able to get it to keep a mineral oil or even beeswax finishes, as they tend to absorb slowly over time. i got it to stain once, very very lightly (only i knew it was there, as it's a very busy stone), and it faded after a few months.

the following are pictures of honed malibu green, honed malibu green that is wet, and polished malibu green with the resin finish

Honed Malibu Green (untreated):
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Wet Honed Malibu Green:
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Polished Malibu Green with resin treatment:
{{gwi:1924976}}

Since true soapstone is nowhere near as prevelant as granite, I'm beginning to think that with it's increasing popularity, some fabricators are calling other stones that are similar in look "soapstone", in order to increase sales...which may indeed explain the problem some have with water rings etc, while others don't have the problem.

I too am dissapointed in M. Tex on this...bayareafrancy, you should not have to put up with a characteristic that is NOT one of soapstone. IMO, I would challnege M. Tex on this and require them to prove that what they sold you is indeed true soapstone.

Francy, I have seen the pitra grigia that M. Tex has on their site listed as a sopastone on an Italian stone website. They classify it as slate.

donna, I was in Italy a few weeks ago visiting a beautiful Baroque church with an interior that was extensively covered in slate on the inside, and they called it sandstone. Sandstone is really common where we live, so we were kind of amazed by that. It just makes me think there really aren't super-rigid vocabulary guidelines on this stuff.

Okay, I have to concede to Staticfritz. I was at a couple of stoneyards yesterday looking at this stone again. I asked several people for straight scoop. Their answers are inconsistent. One yard sells it uncoated and advocates oiling the other sells it with the resin and puts sealer on top of the resin.
Anyway, here's the conclusion I've come to after reading Statics commentary, if indeed this is a stone with soapstonelike qualities--inert and non-porous, then even unstable rust would not discolor the stone. Ergo, the resin coating is not necessary except perhaps to keep the iron from chipping, possible causing weaker faultlines in the stone.
Personally, I like the color of the un-oiled stone with or without sealer.
Lastly, LOGIC asked about my comments regarding rust. The stone guy told me it would rust. My own experience is with carrera marble that I had in my kitchen. I have a work surface slab that I used on my countertop. It was an immaculate white. It was often exposed to moisture. The moisture caused the iron in the marble to begin to rust and cause rusty discoloring. This did not happen on the top where the marble was sealed, it happened through the underside of the slab. I thought it had picked up iron from something else in the kitchen, but was told that it was iron. The iron in the stone may have previously been black specks turned rusty and caused orange discolations in my slab.

However, marble is porous and also etches...unlike soapstone. That said, it is, IMO, comparing apples to oranges.
The stone guy may have talking about whatever he may be selling...which does not seem as if it is actually soapstone...but in my experience he is not correct with regard to true soapstone.

Betty, I am just really jealous of your trip to Italy!

Interesting topic. It would be very nice if we were questioned directly, instead of being speculated upon.

I will take this piece by piece and answer the questions I saw here about my company and it's integrity and credibility:

One of the questions was: "Why does M.Teixeira has some many different kinds of soapsotne, they must not all be real soapstone?"

Well, as a native of the soapstone region of Brazil, I grew up around soapstone and soapstone people, which gives me an edge on the accessibility of soapstone, in addition, in the 10+ years I have been working with soapstone in the USA(started selling a softer variety of soapstone for the Inuit(Eskimos) to carve in Canada and Alaska), I have also made some really good contacts for soapstone supply in India, where I get my favourite soapstones (Python, Mumbai Gray and Cobra). I travel to India twice a year and to Brazil 6 or 8 times a year researching new quarries, etc.

Going to the main question that started this topic, "Malibu Green, is it a soapstone"?

What is soapstone? What is granite? What is marble? Well, depending on who you ask this question to, you will get different answers, ask a geologist, the name soapstone does not exist, granite and marble,can be gneisses, gabbros, serpentinites, etc. There is a commercial name and a Petrological name for natural stones, for instance the granite Azul Macaubas, one of the most expensive granites available, is actually a quartzite, Verde Antique marble from VT, is actually a serpentinite. The industry creates commercial names for natural stones because we do not expect the general public to be geologists.

Soapstone can be a number of different rocks, as an example carving soapstone is a very soft rock that is not suitable for architectural applications, some people wrongfully call it "Talc", well talc is one of the minerals, but talc is not a rock. The correct name is Steatite. The material we use for countertops and sinks, etc., is also a Steatite, soapstone is just a commercial name. So what "qualifies" as a soapstone? Well, leaving the geological terms aside, informally ,soapstone is seen as a non pourous soft material that can hold and radiate heat. Well how soft? It depends on the talc content. Malibu Green is a very unique soapstone, with enough talc to be called soapstone and non pourous. It is a very unique material, by the way that is what is on my kitchen tops and sink, because it is full of "foreign minerals" inclusions and natural fissures, cracks, etc. In order for us to make it suitable for countertops application, we must really work on it, by using a resin application to close all the fissures and cracks, sort of like a travertine. Malibu Green is nature and human technology at it's best, too bad it was too costly to operate this quarry at a profit and we shut it down. Other companies carry this material also, using different names such as Green iron, Maresias, etc. The correct name of that quarry is BOIADERO, which I had a stake on. We sold a lot of blocks to Italy to a company called Granitex and that is where they named it Green Iron.

I hope this clears things up, any questions I can be reached at Rogert@soapstones.com

Thank you,

Rogerio M. Teixeira

Thank you for speaking up. I hope all on here realize that you are a true icon for being able to bring such a variety and popularity to soapstone in the United States. You are a huge part of our industry.

A big pat on the back from our camp. . lol

Hey Josh,
Thanks. You know, you are a pretty popular guy around here, and your endorsement means a lot! lol

Have a nice weekend !

Sorry to beat a dead horse here but I'm really wanting to see someone who has these "Rainforest Green" or serpentine or "Malibu Green" countertops. I understand that they technically might not be soapstone--but how is their maintenance? And do you oil them and make them look darker? I would love to see some pics of these counters installed. The slabs I have seen look mottled although there were some other slabs from a different lot that looked more vein-y. The ones I saw looked green with a mottling of a blu-ish purple. Does anyone have these countertops???

I am now also seeing on the Levantina site something that looks exactly what I saw at the slab yard and they have it as "Green Sodalite" under marbles. Does this mean it would stain easily and again, any pics? Thanks in advance!

Did Pamela ever come back with pictures?