Polished or matte (leathered)? If you are getting polished, you should consider how much you'll be seeing dust/crumbs/waterspots. Leathered or honed would be easier to deal with.

I just did this chip repair last week. Not bad for no mechanical polishing. The guy dropped his hammer on it.

Many black granites are dyed. That means that if I touch it with diamonds to make it perfectly smooth, I could cut through the dye and reveal a gray spot. If I make a gray spot, I've just bought the customer a new top and I can't make any money buying customers new tops on $300.00 repairs.

Notice the difference in the end grain on the pictured backsplash? How would that look on the top?

Please, no pencil edge like this guy had.

We had Blue in the Night antiqued in our previous home. Read black . Loved the antiqued finish.

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Did you find it hard to keep clean? I keep reading about waterspots.

I had polished black granite in my old kitchen. The only time it ever looked good was the day the cleaning person came, I asked her how she did it. After she cleaned the counter she took a microfiber cloth and buffed it. She said it was a great upper arm workout.

I didn't find ours difficult to keep clean. I think the antiquing is very forgiving.

We had leathered AB in my old kitchen. Loved it! Wasn't as crazy about it in the bathroom, probably because of products used there.

Black granite is absolutely gorgeous. Blue in the night black granite that someone mentioned above is my favorite of the black granites.

However, black granite is much like a black car: When it's clean, it's sleek and lovely and nothing is nicer ... but when it has a speck of dirt on it, it's super-evident.

When I was a teenager, one of my summer jobs was cleaning rooms at a high end hotel with suites. All the suites had polished dark granite, which was beautiful, but used to drive me crazy trying to keep it polished. It was like cleaning a mirror! In my last two kitchens I have avoided dark granite because of that, despite loving the look. However, the idea of having it honed may solve that problem.

Black "granite" does not exist. There is no such thing as a black granite. I'm only and amateur geologist, so Karen and Lori could probably explain things better, but here goes:

I think there are only two possibilities really:

1. The "granite" isn't granite at all but is in fact gabbro. Gabbro is very hard, it typically gets polished to a mirror sheen but when finished this way, it will of course show every dust particle, fingerprint, smudge, whatever, you name it. Imho, it only looks good when freshly cleaned and buffed. Gabbro can be honed, but then it will look dark grey rather than black. It's a great material for countertops, stronger than granite (great for wider overhangs) and more water resistant due to having a more uniform and finer grain. I have no idea why the industry is not marketing these features and sell gabbro as superior to granite.
2. The stone has not only been polished but it has been dyed with black pigment. It might indeed be granite (coarse grained) or it might be another darkish rock (finer grained). This is done so they can sell that stone at a premium price, it's essentially a con job and it's done industry wide.

The stone countertop industry is misleading their customers, and has been doing so for many years. They know full well what type of stone was quarried, but intentionally mislabel many of the stones with their fancy (and silly) trade names.

This explains the many threads where people thought they purchased a hard, non-etching stone, and end up with a scratched counter surface full of rings, stains, etc.

I don't understand how this whole industry keeps getting away with it.

pippabean:

I'll tell you how they "get away with it."

Look at all the threads here and you'll hear "love" "looks great" etc. People buy countertops on emotion, not on practicality. There is no other explanation for the popularity of marble.

Of course when that beauty doesn't perform, these same folks get on here to complain. This is not my opinion, it is easily verifiable fact. Check the written record here.

Not that I'm any different. I'm in the vanity business and know it. I'll never be in the commodities end of construction like roofing. You've gotta have a roof like it or not, but your countertop still works fine with that chip in it. But like a spot on her favorite party dress, that chip in her countertop has got to go. Hubby and the kids probably won't notice eating more mac 'n cheese, but she's going to find a way to pay me.

We have polished Labrador Golden Flake granite in our kitchen. It is a soft (color) black with a lot of mica; bronze and silvery shimmer. Because it has a lot of mica, it can scratch somewhat easily, we don't really baby ours (I slide things across the counters), so there are a few scratches here and there. After the first scratch or two, no big deal.

We have moderately hard water, so puddles and water droplets can and do leave hard water "stains" (deposits) especially near the sink. When they occur, I buff them away with a piece of steel wool. I use whatever I have available in a Baggie in my junk drawer (00, 000, or 0000--I usually can't tell which is which if they are "used" ones). Takes seconds to buff away the deposits.

To clean the counters, I spray with alcohol-water spray, and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth or paper towel (if really grimy or after prepping raw eggs, chicken....). No need for elbow grease, and no streaks (unless counters were greasy-grimy to start, or my cloth is very damp to begin with, then it might take an extra pass or two to get rid of any smears or streaks).

We have had polished uba tuba and now leathered AB and I had no issues with either of them. I didn't find the uba tuba hard to upkeep and it was by the sink and stove. I sprayed it with an alcohol water mix like cat mom mentioned and it shined up easy.

Now we have leathered AB (in use for a year +) by the stove and again it cleans up easy. I have no complaints and I prefer the matte finish.

I've have had Black Galaxy polished for the last 6 years in my kitchen. Yes, it does show greasy fingerprints and crumbs, but I LOVE IT!! It is so classy and elegant and I don't mind the upkeep. It is all about trade offs and what you really like.

Thank you for the comments. This countertop will be used mostly for dishwashing and possibly some food prep so hopefully it will work well. The cabinets are a light to medium cherry color, which looks nice in pictures.

I had it on a large dining table. I didn't find it difficult at all

We just had Black Pearl Granite with a suede finish installed (similar to leather finish, but with less pitting).

We don't have a fully functional kitchen yet. We have sink working, but no stove. The only thing I've done on the counter is sit my cutting board there to use for prepping. I have black splotching in different areas, even in areas where I did not do any prep.

Any ideas what I can use to clean the entire counter and then what to use to seal it? I was thinking it wouldn't need sealing, but obviously it does.

designsavvy, I'd start my own thread about your issue. That said, I'd be calling the fabricator. You shouldn't have to be doing anything to a new top

Pippabean is correct!

I used to get uptight when I heard about so-called black granite, because there is no such thing. Granite is, by definition, light colored. Pippa is correct again, it is gabbro or something similar (basalt, diabase, diorite, etc, depending on the color and the grain size).

I have since relaxed a bit over this. The stone industry apparently can only wrap its head around a few different kinds of rocks, and so they end up with many different types of rocks lumped into big categories. In most cases it's wrong, but I only get annoyed when it matters to the customer, such as in how the rock will perform for its intended use.

The word "granite" seems to cover all igneous rocks and most metamorphic rocks aside from marble, quartzite, and soapstone. If we dig a little deeper, the term granite applies to rocks that are made mostly of the mineral feldspar. Feldspars come in lots of colors and textures but they generally all act the same way on your countertop. So as far as the customer is concerned, granite and gabbro will hold up similarly and I'm OK with them both being called granite for the sake of simplicity.

Black "granites" do have a problem with water marks which is from sealing the rock when no sealer should be applied. Or so I'm told because I have never actually done experiments on this, but that is the usual explanation.

Now, I do grind my teeth when sandstone is called granite, quartzite is called granite, marble is called soft quartzite, etc. All of that is not only wrong but very misleading. The industry really could benefit if they added a few more categories to their naming system.

But until that happens, we've got Gardenweb to hash out these things. :)

My uba tuba was never sealed and I don't believe my leathered AB is either. Maybe it is excess sealer or rather that the sealer did not absorb but it's picking up the water?

The thing that bothers me more than absolute black and black galaxy being called granite, is the mostly man-made material they call "quartz", since there already is something called quartz, that has existed for millions of years.

I have honed "so called absolute black" and I despise it. It shows watermarks and just about anything else. I am getting ready to seal it. I hope it helps!

aktillery9 - sealing Absolute Black will make your issues worse. AB is so dense, its absorption ratio is so low, that sealant does not absorb, and just sits on top of the stone, causing haze. If anything, I would try to remove from your AB whatever sealant was applied upon installation. There are guides about this on the internet.

Look, a black counter will by its very nature, show crumbs, specks, fingerprints, and anything spilled. As MrsPete mentioned, it's like a black car. It helps to have it leathered or honed.

Ak,

I agree with Karin-there are many stones sold in the market that are misclassified .So important to test the stones you are thinking about purchasing. Educated consumers are important when it comes to choosing a stone.

Honed black Absolute is generally color enhanced (color enhancing sealer) when delivered and installed. Color enhancers can be impregnating or topical. Honed black ab under a microscope looks like a Thomas English muffin-nooks and crannies. So the color enhancer becomes a topical coating(in the case of black ab) as the stone is too dense to let it absorb below the surface. Any topical coating will require maintenance from time to time as it is susceptible to wear . In our business we refinish many color enhanced honed black absolute countertops every year. We always show our clients the surfaces after we remove the color enhancers. Some opt to have the enhancers reapplied(darkens the stone) and some actually love it with a natural finish. We are always asked if it should be sealed. We explain the nature of the stone that because of it character it will require a little extra care to maintain. A good daily stone safe alkaline cleaner with a higher than neutral PH that is formulated to breakdown grease and oil will work fine. These type cleaners are usually ready to use and don't need to be rinsed.

It is also wise to have on hand a stone safe high alkaline(PH between 11.5 and 13) cleaner to use when the daily cleaner reached its limit. Because of the nature of this stone with its microscopic nooks and crannies oils and grease can get embedded into the surface. It wont stain but to the untrained owner it sure can look like one. The high alkaline cleaner are usually concentrated and need diluting.(these type cleaners will need rinsing as well.) will emulsify the oil and grease. These products will help you manage dense stones especially honed black ab.

I have Volga Blue polished granite (same as Blue in the Night). It looks black from a distance, but close up you can see the flecks of silver, white, grey. Depending on how the light (natural or overhead) hits it, you can see the beautiful blue! I absolutely LOVE it! The previous owner had done the kitchen when she built the house. Go for it, get what you want, and enjoy your counters!

I have a leathered Cambrian Black "granite." It isn't sealed. It has been fairly worry free, and it barely shows dirt. We do have hard water, so those dried water spots need to be cleaned. That is easy, though. :)

If I built again, I would be tempted to purchase this same granite.

I have honed Verde Lavras which had been color enhanced sealed (I didn't want that but...) so it is a very dark green-black with some grey, and looks black until you get close up. Rather than showing spots, crumbs etc, they can be rather hard to see! I just clean mine with dish soap -- Stoneshine, should I really not do that? and how long will it take for that enhancing sealer to wear away? I thought that this was also a stone that didn't need to be sealed. How do you remove that old sealer?

We had cambrian black antiqued in a prior home. LOVED IT. New kitchen will likely have it on the perimeter. Also looking at honed mist (virginia/nero)