@paul mason- glad to know you had fabricators that would give you some Professional advice. Question to you - did you verify that the raw edge of your quartzite was sealed before they glued your edges ? I was told my quartzite was sealed. But once when I had the stove pulled out My edge did not appear smooth or like anything but a raw cut. Granted I’m not a professional to know what a cut edge with seal verses a cut edge without seal would look like. But makes me wonder. To answer an earlier post asking whatever happened to my issue- Sadly I am living with it. To replace this small area (24x22 inch) was going to cost $3000 to buy a whole new slab. I was told that when I bought my quartzite the price given me was for the dimensions of counter space used and not the 3 slabs it took to do our kitchen. I’d have to buy a new slab as the remnants from the project were sold already. The fabricator said it was not the glue. They tried poultice two times without any improvement. If anything it is worse. Then life took over and I’ve let it go. Not sure I have good advice for this thread. But would like to know if using the “appropriate adhesive “ solved anyone’s issue. Has anyone tried a poultice that resolved the adhesive staining issue? If so what did they use?

UPDATE 2: Those are very good questions and ones I asked. He did not seal the edges before the glue went on which I believe is why I now have the issue.

I've also managed to get a hold of original fabricator and I'm running into further problems with him. He's now saying that it was the sun that 'burned' the quartzite and therefore not his fault.

I think my only way forward is going to be to go to small claims court.

I still think that this is his fault as he knew exactly where the counter was being installed and advised us to get Quartzite. He should have known it would 'burn', if that's even possible,

Read the entire thread please.

I am so sad. I waited a long time for my white and black kitchen. I chose Calcutta Quartzite in white because my installer said it was almost indestructible. Nevertheless I babied it. Using only recommended products and never letting anything stay for a minute. Pictures are before and after 18 months installed. Reaching out to installing “ shop local” installing company has done no good. Slab was from AZ Tile in Roseville.

Here are pics

Here are the pics. Babied this stuff to no avail!

I decided not to use quartzite for the kitchen having read of so many issues, but couldn't return or even exchange the two slabs that I had already bought.

It was a lovely light coloured Taj Mahal, which took months to seek out. Fortunately I could use it to clad the TV wall in my family room. I had an elongated electric fireplace installed below the TV and the wall is gorgeous. Originally I had planned to use black marble on the wall, but I am very happy with the Taj Mahal, and unless someone throws a jar of mustard at it, I should have no problem with staining.

I used quartz with a lovely Calacatta pattern, (which I had originally rejected because the look is so common), on the counters and backsplash and so far - so good.

Jeanine:

Cut that sink out and install an Elkay Quartz Luxe Ferguson in Ricotta:

Jeanine Burnett Wow that quartzite looks awful - (the stained part - the rest of it is really gorgeous!) :-( So sorry for you . I have never heard of that particular quartzite, and honestly have never seen one that white. I would almost think that it was really a marble. Were etching and staining tests performed before you purchased?

Been reading this thread after our light quartzite started to discolor at the edges, but it is not consistent. The installers have been out twice and used a different compound each time. One for moisture the other for oils.

Please see attached photos.

Please help!

Joseph Cortlett, could you EVEN cut out the sink on an installed slab? This stuff is so hard that to grind it down just a tad (1 inch area on seam) took forever. Plus the existing sink is very wide. The sink in the pic doesn’t look as wide.

@Jeanine Burnett, that is exactly what Joe does for a living, so he can definitely cut the sink out of an installed slab! If you search some old posts by Joe on Houzz or his website, you can see some photos of his work .

@focused, too bad you didn't use your Taj Mahal in the kitchen. In reading the threads here, I'm surprised you didn't notice that most of the quartzite issues do not include Taj Mahal. TM has been pretty much bullet proof for most of us who have used it. I'm on my second kitchen with TM and I've had no issues. In the new house I also used TM on an outdoor counter, so it will be interesting to see how it does outside. It is under the lanai/patio and shouldn't get direct sun. My new location also has 3 cm slabs which means I don't have laminated/mitered edges and don't have to worry about glue failing and edges coming apart when exposed to sun/heat.

"Joseph Cortlett, could you EVEN cut out the sink on an installed slab?"

Not a problem.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC

I recently started reading this forum because I’m thinking about a future kitchen remodel. More than once, you’ve recommended replacing a sink with an apron front style. Is that a form or function suggestion? I’m trying to learn and understand the options before I even approach a KD. Thanks.

"Is that a form or function suggestion?"

It can be both. Some folks just like the look and function and some have an oxidixed reinforcement rod that's caused a catastrophic crack in the front rail. In that case, the best repair is an apron front sink replacement.

Yours looks like a hard water problem.

Taj Mahal kitchen counter discolored on all slabs and edges that were cut within months of installation. Some areas are worse than other areas. Fabricator and quartzite supplier did not know why this happened. I am going to try to remove the gray discoloration on all of the surfaces using acetone, heat gun and then resealing the entire surface. If this does not work, I guess I will be getting a new counter top, which I do not want to do.

and a heat gun.

Acetone is quite flammable, so I'd skip the heat gun. I set a customer's sink on fire for a few seconds once. Good thing it was a pass through and not a window with curtains. Whew. Thrilling.

@ kevin my countertop looks exactly like yours and has the same problem. Did you find a solution?

FolloFollowing…that doesnt look like taj mahal.

mtirandz: I have tried several things over the last 2 mos. First, the counter supplier came out and rubbed acetone on the seam you see, let it dry, and then used his heat gun. The shadow almost disappeared and looked pretty good immediately.

Since that technique seemed successful, he came back and placed saturate paper towels with acetone all over the counter, cover it with plastic wrap and tape the edges of the plastic and let it sit 2 days. After 2 days, I removed the plastic wrap and found a large gray shadow everywhere the acetone was, which was pretty much the entire counter. This indicated that the stone was absorbing the acetone. I wiped the area clean and then heated one area with the heat gun. It did not improve at all.

I let it sit a few more days air drying, but still little improvement in the now large gray areas.

discouraged, I let it sit 2.5 weeks longer, and the graying seemed to improve on its own. In fact, over 80% of the edges greatly improved. The sink bowl edge did not improve except for one small area.

I also tried putting baking soda with plastic wrap over the gray areas with tape around the edges. That did not work.

Counter person suggested adding acetone to the baking soda making a slurry similar to peanut butter, smear it onto the gray area, covering it with plastic and tape only on one edge to allow air to flow under plastic. Again, not much improvement...just more graying.

So, I placed my Vornado space heater on high on the counter with the heat directed at the gray area over the seam. This improved/lightened the area within hours.

I am confident that the entire area will evaporate and return to original state of graying. So, after the large gray area dries to original grayness, I am going to rub the acetone just over the gray line, towel dry it off and then immediately use the heat gun to hopefully remove the graying like it did when the counter guy did it originally.

So: the acetone seems to open the area up to evaporation of liquid but it takes 3-6 weeks for noticeable improvement but not on all areas. Baking soda, acetone with the heat gun does not seem to work at least not quickly work. Adding the space heater directed at the grayed area seemed to work the best.

ILoveRedre you are right. the quartzite is Tahiti, not taj mahal.

kdwyer……my quartzite is one of the stones notorious for this awful staining.

and my staining is awful. im probably going to have it replaced either by my fabricator or on my own if i must.

the taj seems to be the one quartzite that has NOT appeared on here with this staining. so thats probably going to be my choice….that is why i doubted that yours was taj mahal. yours is gorgeous. what a shame.

sorry you are also having this issue. remediation never seems to work unfortunately. poultices, etc etc. none of it seems to be a permanent fix.

kdwyer82, So sorry you are dealing with all of this. Is your quartzite Tahitian Cream? Or just Tahiti? I have a deposit on 2 slabs of Tahitian Cream from Dal Tile waiting for fabrication. I have heard from others they have had no problems with TC but if that is what you have, I'm concerned. I hope you are able to get the discoloration out this time. Best of luck

chestnut3: my receipt says just Tahiti. It is beautiful, but not with all the gray staining. I sincerely hope you have better luck than I did. Both my supplier and fabricator have worked with me, even allowing me to select something else if I wanted to look, and have it fabricated free of charge. But Tahiti is what I want, and if I can get it back to reasonably clean, they have a better sealer to try than they had a year and a half ago. I am willing to save them money, time and I get to keep what I really like with a bit of sweat equity on my part.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4950179/tahiti-quartzite

See my comments here. Tahitian Cream has been perfect for several years now.

Thank you for your reply. I guess I will try acetone. My staining looks like oil from fingers right where the kids sit.

Wilson and Kdwyer- Thank you both for your replies! Wilson I remember seeing pics of yours and its beautiful. Kdwyer I hope it works out for you but at least you have an option to fall back on if it doesn't.

I just can't believe the stoners can sleep at night passing this stuff off as countertop material.

We have had Daltile Tahitian Cream quartzite kitchen and island countertops for just over two years. Unfortunately, we have grey staining along our stove, around our sink, seams, and along some of our front edges. So disappointing.

We are looking for a very similar look to TC for a replaccmentcement. Anyone have a suggestion? Thank you in advance!

Ugh Tracy this is so disappointing. Another poster on here has had it and not had any problems. I don't know what to do now! I have deposits on slabs but I'm worried now. Sorry you are dealing with this. I hope you are able to find something as pretty. Do you have any pictures? Good luck

@chestnut3

@chestnut3 these are just some of the areas. There are multiple which is so disappointing as we cannot find a new natural quartzite stone that we like.

This is very helpful!

https://stein.akemi.de/fileadmin/user_upload/beitraege/Flecken_auf_hellem_Quarzit_-_was_tun_EN.pdf

kdwyer82, Tracy, any updates? Any imporvements or advice for a solution to remedy the stains?

I am replacing my Tahiti with Taj Mahal. I offered to pay the difference in the cost of the Taj, and I was surprised when he said $1200 more (1.5 slabs). When I looked online the price difference was miniscule.

This discussion, and others on Houzz, convinced me to change my countertop selection from quartzite to granite for kitchen renovation about to start.

Red Butterfly; I am going to replace my counters. Replacement was supposed to have happened in Sept. It did not, and fabricator did not call or contact me. He just did not show up. I made several attempts to follow up, but he did not respond until much later and after an email that indicated that his actions (or inaction) indicated the replacement promise, was just empty words/a lie. He then called. I am now scheduled for replacement between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We shall see. My fabricator does not seem sincere in his promise to replace the counters. I do not have high hopes for him to replace the counters.

@Red Butterfly Homes…we are still trying to find a countertop that we like to replace our Tahitian Cream natural quartzite. If anyone has any new suggestions, please send them!!

Read thru the comments, acetone and heat the only solution? My fabricator has no idea how to remove it and only offer re-sealing it. Help!

Amber Then I have had good results with a combination of Poultice PLus Cleaner mixed with ZEP degreaser. We did a small sample area that was improved 90% and I am getting ready to do the whole kitchen this week.

Thank you, I’m going to try it

@Joseph Troskie Design, will you post directions after you've done the kitchen? I have grease stains on my white granite.

Just a follow up: My fabricator did not show up for the second promised date to get new counter installed. Again, I emailed him and gave him a deadline to respond, or I would be pursuing other means and he did not respond. I contacted an attorney, who sent an email outlining the history of their actions (inaction) and told them that I wanted my money back. The fabricator responded within 30 min. and I had my money in a week.

Rachel yes I will. I applied it Wed evening and will be removing it tomorrow. I'll post pictures.

Do you let it sit? Or just spray it? How did it turn out?

Can anyone recommend a silicone for around white quartzite where it meets wall that will not bleed into Calacatta Lux Quartzite? It is installed and the edges were not sealed. any help is greatly appreciate to be able to avoid these problems. We had a little silicone bleed one the one piece they sealed and acetone removed it. I want to avoid this, and ESPECIALLY these slow bleeds that take awhile to show. I want to put up tiles but not before I can test a good silicone for the edges and wait a few weeks. Thanks so so much in advance!!!! It is quartzite and passed all the tests, but when I learned hardness and porousity are two different things, it was already installed - came across this looking for maintenance and care.

One other question - when big box stores sell things like vanities with "real" marble, they seem to have a finish on them. For good or for bad, nothing stains. Is this something that can be added to countertops? It is a little coating looking, but the problems of custom quartzite far outweighs. What do they use? I've had bathroom counterops for years that were sold as cararra marble and they are clearly not plastic.

Joseph Troskie. Can you post your results. I, too, have the stain next to the stove top that has not dried in years. Thank you 😊

We have the same stain around all the edges of our quartzite counters.