We had polished AB in our previous house and loved it. It was pretty much bullet-proof and looked as good the day we moved out as the day it was installed. (10 years). It wasn't really 'low maintenance' as it showed every crumb and fingerprint. But when cleaned and wiped dry, it was brand new again. Hope this helps.

I have 13 feet of honed in my laundry room. To its credit it's a hard stone. But it shows everything, as black does. Dust is the worst and you see every speck at certain times of the day. Many are very happy with black kitchen counters but I would find them too high maintenance in a kitchen.

I love mine! I have polished. I have a very large garden/bay window in my kitchen behind my sink. When it's sunny out, it reflects so much light and brightens the whole kitchen. I also like the calmness of it since I have lots of counters. I didn't want a lot of pattern there. I find it's really easy to keep clean, it always looks better than my dirty Bluestar lol.

It's a mirror. Just like owning a black car. It shows everything. Other than that, it's bulletproof for wear and tear.

I am planning to get polished AB granite for the perimeter of my kitchen, so can't share my experience yet, but am interested to see what others have to say.

For those of you that like your AB granite - was it sealed? My fabricator recommends sealing, but I have read threads where people had problems with the sealer on AB causing cloudiness and even etching.

Also, I have read threads that some AB gets dyed, which can cause issues. Supposedly you can test to see if it has been dyed by wiping a sample with acetone. If the cloth wipes "clean" you are fine and if it has black on it, it has been dyed.

I asked my fabricator about this as well and he said that AB from India has been dyed since the beginning of time but he hasn't seen any issues with AB from Zimbabwe.

I've had AB in the past. I would buy it again. I love it in white bathrooms. It's a great look.

I'm having buyer's remorse that I didn't do it in this recent kitchen. I chose quartz instead. With my AB I could put a hot pot on it and never worry. The quartz is requiring me to return to my days of laminate habits. The AB was half the price of the quartz.

The reason I selected the quartz was due to having an adjacent bar cabinet set up with black cabinets. The only application where AB isn't complimentary is next to black. I had to go with something else.

I liked my old AB. It did show dust. On the bright side, I knew if there was anything on them. The lack of pattern didn't obscure the dirt, water or dust. AB wears like iron. You don't have to seal it.

It is my understanding that AB from Zimbabwe is almost impossible to get due to "government issues". AB from China is always dyed. AB from India is not usually dyed. You have to rely on your stone source, but I would test anyway. Most available AB comes from India. Don't accept the AB from China, it's an inferior stone.

Sealing AB in not necessary. If you do seal it, you may be unhappy if the sealer doesn't penetrate it. It's so dense that sealer doesn't tend to penetrate it. This effect is most pronounced on the honed and leathered slabs. You see the sealer peeling away and you think something is wrong with your granite. You fabricator may want to seal it, but this is more from habit than necessity.

Good luck with your choice. I like the polished, but I'm old school.

We have polished AB in a second home. It is a bigger maintenance issue because it shows not only every spec of dust or bread crumb but every drop of water. If you have hard water or the area won't be wiped down several times a day I would use the honed variety.

We have it on our bar top in our pub. It shows every bit of dust. That bar top is rarely used, so I don't have to clean and wipe it dry much. VERY happy I chose porcelain floor tile for my kitchen counters. They clean easily, don't show dust and never need to be dried to avoid streaks.

Have leathered AB and love it! I guess it shows a lot, but I'd rather it did. That's in the kitchen. Now for the bathroom, not so much... Love how it looks, but with two children brushing their teeth, well let's just say it's obvious when they have brushed.