If you want maintenence free, you don't want marble. Not even honed. It WILL stain, even sealed. It WILL etch, and it WILL scratch. Those who use marble, usually don't mind all that. It adds "character". :-)

If you want pristine, stick either with granite or solid surface.

What Bill said. I have a marble bathroom vanity which was used as a kitchen sink while my kitchen was being renovated and it looks horrible now. I bought the vanity as a set (cabs and top) and mistakenly assumed they sealed the marble (maybe they did, I don't know) but I do know it's all stained from coffee and red wine and I don't know what else. Looks nasty. I'm good with 'patina' in some cases, but it just looks consistently dirty. I'm going to try a poultice to clean it up, but after dealing with that I would say marble is definitely not for everyone, especially me.

My thinking is your sample needed another coat of sealer or a different sealer. I'm certain Bill is right that the marble can still stain with sealer, but I've been making messes on mine for 3 years and haven't noticed any stains. I have two teen boys and a sloppy cook DH to help me and I'm still okay with the marble. Etching is an issue you just have to figure out if you can live with.

Last weekend was my mother's birthday and I made her cake. It was a 3-tier fondant covered cake in 3 shades of blue. In the process of making the cake, the buttercream and the fondant, then coloring the fondant and rolling it out -- directly on the marble, I had Crisco and sugar, even some smeared food coloring on the marble (wiped in the cleanup, so it didn't sit long before seeing it)-- it all cleaned right up and I thought it was a joy to work on.

Perhaps a compromise would be a lowered area with marble for baking and another counter surface for the rest of the kitchen that sees harder use. "No maintainence" isn't exactly an attribute of marble or soapstone.

I would look at some of the Quartz products. Caesarstone makes a marble as does Okite, both would be a much better choice for a kitchen that is going to get use.

Good Luck.

I still dont understand the behavior of Carrara and similar stones. I have sealed to where I know 100% would lock out ANYTHING on ANY stone. it still absorbs on the immediate surface.

1. deal with it and learn to appreciate the patina it will develop

2. budget yourself for routine refinishing to keep it perfect (not cheap)

3. pick something else.

Thanks everyone!
Looks like quartz is the answer for us. We looked at three slabs of the Okite and liked the veining (looked better than the online samples). Going to check out Caesarstone's misty cararra next week and decide.
E

Keep in mind most quartz surface manufacturers claim that their products dont need sealing and wont stain, this is not entirely true. You'll have better luck staining quartz than most of the granites out there.

not to take anything away from the quartz surfaces, just a heads up of what to realistically expect. its unlikely you'll stain it, but still possible.

theres ups and downs to every product out there, including granite. just do your homework and decide whats right for you.

While I was out the other day dh managed to chip the inside of the new mable sink rim. But no etching so far. It will happen eventually I'm sure.

dude, it's your sealer. I used that Akemi Nano and everything basically wipes off.

eoren - marble will absorb fat, even fat in soap so that's what most likely caused the olive oil and soup stains.

Eoren,

I got Okite samples last spring, but I really didn't like their looks.. . too much like sand dripped on a surface. But I have never seen a slab, so I'm very interested to hear that you liked it after seeing a whole slab. I know it won't pass for marble, but is it something you'd like in your kitchen? Did you take a picture and if so could you post a link to it? I'll be interested in how you think it stacks up against caesarstone.

I've also heard it's pretty expensive (the Okite, that is.)

And stonedude, did you mean you'll have better luck NOT staining quartz than granite? In other words, which are you saying is more likely to stain?

I am considering getting marble and was told to let straight bleach sit on any stains for about 10 minutes to get them out.
I've experimented with my sample and it has worked for me... so far :)
I'll be curious to hear about anyone else's thoughts or experience with this.
I self honed (sandpaper) half of it and see that scratches are much less noticeable on that side.

Everything I've read says that a penetrating sealer is the way to go for marble. I'm not sure what kind of sealer our fabricator used for the baking counter but if it's a topcoat, do I have to continue using a topcoat sealer or is there some way to remove it and use a penetrating sealer. If I have to continue with a top coat, can someone recommend a good one? Thanks.

rococogurl,
If the marble is well sealed, will the oil/butter, etc., still soak through?

Sorry - lost track of this thread until it popped to the top.
We are still playing with the marble sample and have been pleasantly surprised that, with time, the stains seem to have all but disappeared. You can still see them if you look at a 10-15 degree angle with the light just so but otherwise they really do blend well. What's really interesting is that I'm convinced the sealed half is not holding up as well as the unsealed one.
My wife has taken to using the thing as a cutting board and that has scratched it a lot... That being said, we don't cut on our current countertops but this sample has the feel of an extra board.
Happened to see Caesarstone's carrara today and it looked 'dirty' as others have said.
As to the question of the Okite, I did not grab a photo - sorry! We did like it and it looks the least 'fake' compared to the other engineered stones that aim for the veining pattern. You really do need to see a slab in person. I can give you the info for someone in NH if that helps.
We're planning a trip to a local marble/granite place to look at more white countertop options. I think we are moving back to marble though.
E

Quartz counters do not require, nor will they take any stain. Quartz counters are made from quartz particulate in a resin base. It also carries a NSF certification (national sanitation foundation) which means it can be used in commercial food service areas, UNLIKE natural stone, which may or may not require/take a seal, but can't be used in food preperation areas commercially.

All products are good, all have pros and cons. Laminate, solid surface, quartz, granite ( most stones are NOT granite) but granite meaning natural stone. Obviously you are seeing marble is not the best product for today's kitchens. They will stain and will etch. In that case Quartz which mimics marble may be a better choice.

Okite is not any more expensive than other quartz products, look for Okite, not Okite by Zodiaq, as they just add another layer of markup.

Good Luck

napagirl -- I'm not getting that since sealing but don't know if it's just my sealer or all will do it. So far so good.

cheri, I had a pastry marble in my other kitchen, unsealed for years, which had hard use as I ran a cooking school. I'm talking about hot caramel on it and chocolate work. It always cleaned up well and had no stains after a decade. (It was carrara). Kitchen detective brought that up and I said to her I wouldn't seal an area of marble that's used regularly for pastry or bread work. Not with anything. Expect it's ok but it makes me nervous.

Has anyone tried pouring OxiClean on these stains? I donÂt have Marble, but I sure would like to consider it when we redo our kitchen. IÂve always had such great success with OxiClean and being that it is liquid  I would think it might travel down the same pours as the ingredient that caused stain and work well.