Is this honed granite?

We've always had darker granite in our other homes. We recently installed a quartzite which is light colored and polished. Honed has a more of a matte finish. Initially was I very nervous about how light it is (relative to my past granite).

The installer said he sealed the installed countertops. One section was installed at a later time and wasn't sealed. They still have to come back to finish the laundry room so he was going to seal it and put another coat on the previous sealed counters. I asked him what product he would recommend and he said "Stonetech Bulletproof".

I felt like I will be needing to seal the countertops in the future so we bought some at a tile/flooring store. I read the directions, watched videos and put down one coat. I must not have done it properly because I didn't like the results. The instructions say you can put another coat within 30-40 minutes, so I did. This time I just poured it on the counter top and let it sit there, drenched, and only wiped the sides that were dripping. I wiped it all off as per the instructions and it looks great!

Feeling confident that I did it correctly, I decided to put a 2nd coat on the previously sealed counters and they were sealed so well that the product just pooled up. It was like putting water on wax paper.

So I highly recommend this product. We also purchased their other product, "Revitalizer", that cleans and seals. I use that every day when I clean the counters.

Generally, the lighter colored granites are more beautiful and also more porous and prone to absorb liquid. And of course, being light the rings and blotches from water spills show much more clearly. So far you've only had water rings, and water can evaporate. If you get a grease stain or pigmented liquid like grape juice embedded, it may be very difficult to remove. The dark ring is moisture being absorbed, so yes, you need to seal this. You'll know the sealing has been effective when dark rings no longer form due to water.

lori, do you know what sealer they used? is it an impregnating sealer or a topical sealer?

after 3 times, it shouldn't be doing that if it's granite. Does it look like this?

post a pic of the sealer or get the full name if you can

I have a small sample from my slabs that I just did a test on. I have a quartzite. I had sealed this sample so I could verify the sealer was working. And the sealer used was the Stonetech Bulletrproof product.

Here's a picture of the test. The blue tape is from the fabricator/installer of where he has to cut for the cooktop today. The sample piece is sitting on top. The yellow tape is where I wrote what the different things I put on the piece.

Back row (L-R): red wine, lemon juice, spaghetti sauce, sparkling water, coffee

Front row: tap water, red wine vinegar, canola oil, olive oil

I waited over 20 minutes and wiped it with a clean cloth. I did not use any cleaner.

I really can't tell a difference. I don't see any etching or discoloration.

I thought that if there are dark marks then the water is getting absorbed in the slab. And then as it evaporates the dark mark will eventually go away.

willi,,,drop water on the granite. does it bead up and sit there (wait a few minutes) or does it get absorbed? if absorbed, you need more sealer.

In my test, I didn't have any absorption of any of the liquids I tested with. If I had, yes, I would have done another coat.

Ok, new test. This time instead of 20 minutes, I left everything on for 1 hour and made larger sample sizes.

Back row: wine, spaghetti sauce, fresh squeezed lemon, water

Front row: Canola oil, olive oil, red wine vinegar

I thought this website had some good info:

https://www.stoneworld.com/articles/83737-stone-sealers-function-facts-fallacies

Lori, is your granite called River White? I am looking at granite that looks similar to yours (called River White) and you are making me nervous. I hope that this issue can be resolved for you. Must be super upsetting:(

Thanks for responding, Lori. Still crossing my fingers for you.

The light colored stones from India are generally more porous than say a black granite but Millennium Cream is a particularly porous granite. It is indeed a granite though so no need to worry about etching. They just need to seal it better and you will want to seal it more often. Also I would be particularly careful to clean up any grease or oil spills until your confident that its sealed well.

My light granite does this and ultimately I do wish I had chosen quartz (which we really wanted anyway but it was $2000 more for the one we liked) or a black granite. My stone is Glacier White/Thunder White and it was sealed upon installation but absorbed water within a few minutes so we sealed it ourselves with Tenax ProSeal which was recommended on here. It made no difference and water still absorbs. We missed a coffee drip for a day or two and it stained the granite. Also, on both sides of the oven the granite has darkened slightly due to splatters I guess even though we wipe it daily. We plan to try making a poultice to see if the darkened areas will lighten...our counters are only 1yr old.

Get some Tenax Pro Seal and do it yourself.

When it comes to sealers this is the only brand I trust. https://www.granquartz.com/314p-premium-stone-impregnator/product/0/1748

I have nothing to gain from this suggestion just years of trust with this product in the field and my own home. I use it on my polished carrera vanity and my kids manage to completely cover it in toothpaste every night (more often than not it wont get cleaned up right away). Also my 4 year old got into the wife's makeup and had it caked up all over the top I was sure I would have stains by now, to my surprise none. I dont guarantee it to prevent etching but my vanity is still a clean polish when it shouldn't be and Im sure its cause of this sealer.

"Also my 4 year old got into the wife's makeup and had it caked up all over the top,,,"

Pictures or it didn't happen. lol

I've only seen this happen when granite it newly sealed.

well I hardly think make-up is going to stain or etch solid granite, or any other type of rock. I mean, lets hope not, considering it sits on a face for half the day! Human skin is way more absorbent and tender than igneous rock!

when I walked into the "make up crime scene" I thought for sure if the red kids tooth paste didn't stain it this make up will for sure...it cleaned right up! I cant say I wear a whole lot of make up my self so....I wont go there. However I am certified to apply bullet proof sealer with the residential 25year warranty yet at my own home I choose the 314p. I suppose I will grab a sample of carrera, seal half of it and throw some make up at it. ill snag some photos of it.

Makeup is safe for contact with human skin, but that doesn't mean it won't leave a mark on granite, especially lighter colored and more porous varieties and individual slabs. Granite as its own vulnerability in that its porosity lets materials - such as pigments and oils - travel deep within the stone. Some stains may be highly visible and uncleanable. Human skin can renew itself and slough off embedded stains, whereas granite cannot.

Sorry I took so long. Starting Top left to right Coffee grinds, kids toothpaste, black sharpie, red wine, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara and cool aid. After 1hour The wine and the cool aid both stained and etched severely the non sealed side and the sealed side had minor etching and no staining. The only makeup that stained was on the non sealed side and it was eyeliner. Coffee stained the non sealed and was repelled on the sealed side. Sharpie did what permanent markers do and that's make parents hair turn grey and thin out every time it ends up in the hands of their child!

@lori_vandehei I'm having the same problem with my newly installed granite. How did you resolve this?

We install tons of granite and quartz products and never really have a problem if sealed with an alcohol based sealer. (2 coats) https://www.kitchensplusco.com