I'm not a fabricator, but my soapstone is finished using 80 grit and we like it very much that way.

Hi,

As a stoner I can share several things; Use silicon carbide or diamond abrasives (aluminum oxide won't cut it). Without a hard pad on your ROS, you will get more texture. The diamond discs are metal-backed, so they machine the surface very flat.

I have very hard SS, so I was able to finish up at a higher grit. My last passes were by hand, in a straight line with 320.

I can't add anything about waxes or oils, because I go oil-free.

Casey

Your kitchen looks gorgeous!

So Casey, I could use these sanding pads? Would you recommend starting again at 80 to try to smooth the stone and then going up to maybe 120? I'm hoping I could cut some dust holes in them to help with that problem.

I also found these diamond pads and other similar ones, but it appears they all require a grinder or polisher. I didn't see any that seemed to work with a ROS. I could ask around to see if any friends have a grinder.

Thanks for the help. I've seen other posts of yours on other boards and it's great that you are willing to give advice. I'm going to be using a remnant for my laundry room, so that will be a complete DYI some day...

Thanks, eam44. Here are some pictures of the rest of it, not quite finished with painting and no decorations yet. Small steps left now... (like, oh yeah, now I need to paint the dining room and living room a different color!)

Love your kitchen--what's the backsplash?

Vpierce, thanks! I'm happy with how it all turned out and glad to have contractors out of my house! The backsplash is vein-cut limestone - Daltile Chenille White Polished.

That is a very pretty space! Ours were finished with 80 grit - we requested it after seeing a display in the showroom. I use the wax/oil combo on the perimeters and wipe it off until I can't see the towel marks when I swipe. It is a good arm workout!

It has been 10 years here, but I believe these are the same ones I bought; the price is high, but they last forever. https://www.defusco.com/diamond-products/diamond-polishing-pads-and-backers/diamond-sandpaper-discs/5-diamond-sanding-discs/5-inch-electro-diamond-sandpaper---220-grit

No, the ones you linked are polishing pads for wet-working granite IIRC, they will not hone a pebbly/leathered surface flat, they will wear the softer parts deeper than the harder parts.

Casey

80 grit is what Green Mountain recommends, who are a large distributor of architectural grade soapstone.

Thanks, Casey - I'll order the 120 grit and see how it goes. I'll be very tentative at first, I'm sure, since it looks like it will be removing a lot more material at a fast pace!

Jane David:

Those tops look fine to me. I'd leave well enough alone.

Thanks, Joseph, but if you are referring to the full-kitchen pictures, those were taken when the soapstone still had the high polish. Too shiny and felt like granite instead of soapstone.

Lovely kitchen. Can you tell me where you got your island lights? I really like them.

Thanks, weedmeyer! They are from Build.com - Uttermost Belding 1-Light Drum Pendant 22029, $196 each. I had a hard time finding a pendant that I liked because so many of the current crop have visible bulbs that put off too much glare for my eyes. This fixture has a piece of frosted glass above and below the bulb, so good light without glare.

thanks so much! my husband has the same problem with lights that have the visible bulb, so we can't agree on anything! I love your lights.

Gorgeous! great job.

Oh wow, it looks amazing!

Just beautiful, you did a terrific job!

Wow! Beautifully done. Congrats!

What a difference! Beautiful. Thank you so much for posting your follow up because I've been watching this thread. I want to sand down my counter tops that were finished to 220 and seem to slick for me. Quick question. How did you sand around your faucet and inside corners and how did you protect your back splash? Also, which wax did you use? I was using mineral oil but have decided to switch to wax. Your kitchen is beautiful!

Honu3421, I hadn't sanded around the faucet or right next to the walls quite as aggressively with the previous 80-grit sandpaper on the ROS (because I had to do most of the sanding there by hand and I'm lazy), so it wasn't leathery like the big open stretches, but the shine had been knocked down a bit. So now the areas next the walls and behind the sink blend just fine with the parts I sanded with the diamond paper, maybe a little shinier but not that anyone would notice. I used a piece of cardboard up against the backsplash and next to the stove when sanding nearby with the ROS.

Also, all of the edges of the counter top including inside the sink were basically in the same "knocked-down" condition due to my first ROS sanding, so again, I pretty much left those alone when working with the diamond paper. I did try sanding a tricky area with the diamond paper held in my hand, but it looked really uneven and scratchy and seemed like it would lead to more work than it was worth, so I quit right away.

I will say that it was scary when I first started using the diamond pad on the ROS because of the immediate swirls that it produces. But then I took a deep breath and reminded myself that all those tiny swirls would blend together into one big gray whole, once I finished sanding.

I'm using the Holland wax/oil combo and it seems to work out pretty well. I noticed that it needs a new waxing faster than the last time - I think because it's been really hot in the house.

Funny - I just sold my old kitchen table on craigslist and the lady that bought it was excited to see the soapstone since she had just purchased slabs for her kitchen!

I finally made a worthwhile recommendation.

Casey

Sombreuil - Your post was very helpful. Any advice for our situation? We just had a leathered soapstone counter for an island installed and a honed stone around our sink (I know -- two different finishes but we unfortunately had a mishap and lost the leathered piece for the sink and they were unable to hand leather the honed replacement to match). Both surfaces are installed and scratched up pretty bad with a few dings. Fabricator tried buffing out a scratch on the leathered island with 400 grit. It left an odd shiny spot. Looks like a strip of packaging tape on the island. We also have a very large shiny patch where they tried to sand an area with a small fissure. The fissure is still visible. And now it is surrounded by a glossy flat patch They want to apply resin to the dings. We've asked them not to. Any advice on getting out scratches and not ruining the leathered finish? How about for the honed section around the sink? They ran a test on a scrap but ended up polishing that to a high shine too even though we asked them to use a lower grit. We now have asked them not to do anything as we don't want a shiny soapstone countertop with a lot of resin dots. But both are pretty scratched and dinged. Any way for us to address this issue ourselves? Or any advice for our installers who clearly are granite folks (they said they had experience with soapstone when we hired them, but we highly doubt it at this point). NOTE: We intend to NOT oil or wax the counter. PS - We know what beautifully done leathered soapstone should look like as we've had it before in a different part of the country. But in our new city, there appears not to be much experience with soapstone among any of the local fabricators!

No advice just wanted to say love that soapstone with your white cabinets! Very nice!

I think they used too high a grit... I heard that is what granite installers do. Would it be possible to call your previous installers for advice Since you liked the look?

Thank you for the suggestion. Our previous installer provided the current installer with a telephone tutorial on how to hand leather soapstone. And what brushes to buy. But it did not seem to work. Nor did our suggestions to use a lower grit -- or so they said. I'm thinking it is a combination of grit, technique and lack of exposure to what soapstone is and should be. But, yes, that ordinarily would be an excellent idea to consult with an expert and I think would have been fruitful if the current installers had any previous experience to soapstone (besides the polishing issues, for example, they had put a color enhancing sealer on it which left the surface sticky and black that we had to remove). I think the next time I visit where our previous installer lives, I will head to his shop to pick his brain. Just wondering if there is anything else obvious to someone who works with un-oiled soapstone.

regrettaby, I have nothing to tell you for a technique to touch-up a leathered surface.I have no idea how they are made in the first place. Maybe sandblasting?

The leathering on soapstone is achieved via brushes. Any experience with touching up the honed, un-oiled surface?

any process that removes material is going to be exposing the lighter color it was before it developed a patina. Probably take some months to even back out, or just oil the lighter spots? IDK

OK - Thank you. Sorry, I had thought you might be a fabricator. Thank you for your response though. I appreciate your ideas.

My installers put a very high shine on my countertops. I did a repair with various grades of sandpaper and now have a dull, lighter gray spot that looks horrible. The dullness doesn't change with mineral oil application. This is my first experience with soapstone, and I am not able to sand the entire thing. My question for any of you is, will the dull spot even out in time? I followed the directions that all of the soapstone companies give for repair of scratches. I hate this dull spot!!! Any information would be greatly appreciated! This repair of scratches is on my island. The rest of the soapstone is on my countertops and is shiny as well. So, the dull gray spot (which is about 12" round) really stands out like a sore thumb!!!

You need to apply a succession of higher grit abrasives, in a larger and larger area until you blend it in. Ask your fabricator what protocol they used please.

Thanks so much. I will get in touch with them and find out.

I leave all of my soapstone without oil. Just the stone. Love it

Here is is last Christmas