Will that stone cut glass? It looks more marble than granite.

OP said, quote:

"This counter top is more sensitive than our marble in the bathroom."

"We have quartzite in our bathroom on the vanity and love it. We opted not to have it in the kitchen as it can be a little softer with scratching." End quote.

I think you are confused with your stones!

Quartzite is much harder than granite or marble, but could still be porous. Did you do any testing of your slabs as suggested in the Geology threads on this forum?

You might want to read through this thread on staining, cleaning and sealing a problem stone. Long read, but informative.
https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5352781/brand-new-quartzite-already-stained#n=314

I read thru and was so happy to see that there was a happy ending. Sad to see that Joseph was just as snide with her as he was with me. I really love going on this website and seeing all the success stories and truly appreciate the people who have knowledge and are willing to share it in a constructive way. Thanks to all of you!

I think it is your type of stone not the leathering. My leathered granite from Brazil has had none of the issues you describe.

A quick google search for the absorption rate of Azul Sea produced nothing; a quick search for just information on the stone did not provide many results either, but one source listed its origin as India. I avoided slabs from India because of problems I had read about here like softness, staining, and discoloration.

Did your stone yard provide ratings for absorption, hardness, etc. for Azul Sea? They did not have that information for the stone I selected but made the effort to get me the information from the quarry/supplier when I requested it. I would request it now so you know if it is the sealer or, as I suspect, the stone itself.

Best of luck for a satisfactory solution.

Yes I believe that my stone is from India. It is extremely hard but clearly very porous. No, the stone yard did not provide any of that or I would have totally avoided it. I am hoping that a better sealer will help. Thank you!

Sorry.......... I don't think you have granite. I think you have marble. It seems too porous for granite, especially leathered in which the process tighten pores, despite adding texture. It is absorbing and staining like MARBLE.

Totally appreciate your opinion and given my current situation, it may be easy to think I have no idea what is going on. : ) I am telling all of you, I have leathered granite from India. Thanks for your interest in my situation!

I have leathered granite and it’s been bulletproof. Oil left by accident for ahem a while, etc... no stains at all. It was sealed by the company who did the leathering.

OT:

beachem - It's you! I'm so glad to see you're back on the forum!

You were very much missed around here you know. People worried about you, and several threads were started, asking about you.

I hope all is well with you and your family!

I’ve never had leathered granite but used Miracle 511 Porous Plus extensively in our last home on travertine flooring (kitchen, bathrooms) and limestone counters (bathrooms). If something was spilled it beaded up. No stains, even on the limestone. We used Sealer vs Enhancer because we did not want to change the color or shiny surface.

Thank you beachem- Curiosity, what kind of leathered granite do you have? I have heard that the darker colors especially the black are so porous that they barely need sealer. That being said, my fabricator literally poured a bit of sealer on that was housed in a Gatorade bottle wiped it down and minutes later said you are all set. it def. smelled super strong but when he was leaving I said, OK to spill wine on this? He said yes, put water on. We did and the water sucked right in. He said I will do another coat. Splashed it on, rubbed it all on and told me to come by the shop and he will get me more so I can do myself and that I should reapply every 6 months. Went to shop and they gave me more in a gatorade bottle which as I write this seems funny now. How could it be that strong if it can be poured in plastic? I am really hoping that we find the answer...and I hope that it is sealer. I can't afford to rip them all out and replace.

I have to echo what a couple other posters have said. What you have is not granite. It doesn't look like granite, and it is not acting like granite. I know you insist it is, but it's not. But now that it is installed, it doesn't matter what it is, because you have it installed. I would get the mindset of all the marble people who are on this forum who adore their marble, shrug at its porosity, as a small price to pay for its inimitable beauty.

CW - I know you think its definitely granite, but I'm afraid it has been misrepresented. As far as I'm aware, there is NO blue real granite. There is a product called Tuffskin that is applied over natural stone to provide a protective layer. It is not a sealer. Its a thin sheet. Its supposed to prevent etching, staining and scratching. I don't have personal experience with the product, but friends used it at their wine bar for the marble bar top that looks great and has def been exposed to plenty of red wine.

If it is granite the "from India" label should have scared you away. I agree it may be marble the way it's acting. What sealer did you use? Do you have pictures of what it is doing? If it's as soft/porous as you are describing I would probably get new bar stools because those are going to hit the stone & chip it.

CW my granite is Azurite. It’s gray with blue streaks and pockets of quartz.

Your stone looks a lot like my limestone flooring. That however is porous as heck and stains even after buckets of sealers (511 dealer). I just live with the outcome.

@pippabean. I’m finally back after months of hell. I’ll update all in a separate post.

Your stone is beautiful! I am sending a pic of mine up close. It is def. not really "blue" as name would insist but more like a deep gray. You can also see the water mark that is there after 10 minutes. My fabricator is being very odd and will not supply me with the name of sealer used but offered to come out "try something different". Thinking I am just going to try the terax or Miracle 511 on my own and see if there is a change. Thanks everyone!

Also thanks for the thought on the stools mark_rachel. It is actually feels very hard and hard to scratch. I used a knife in the corner and nothing?!

No. Take a sacrificial glass, and use the bottom edge of the counter overhang where it’s a bit sharp. Pull the glass across that sharp edge. Careful to not press too hard and cause the glass to break. Does that scratch the glass?

Yes. It scratched the glass. What does that mean?! I have done so much reading I forgot what means what. : (

That means has a significant quartz component. And the rest of your issues show that it is an extremely porous stone that should have come with a Red Flag Warning against real world use.

It IS granite. CW is correct. It's granulite, to be specific, and unfortunately it looks like it's a porous one. Bummer.

To answer some questions:

- CW, if the stone scratches glass that means it's harder than glass. That would include granite and quartzite. Marble does not scratch glass.

- To those who thought that just because the stone is porous must mean that it's marble - that is not the case. Lots of stones can be porous. And some marbles are low porosity and are good at repelling stains. It just depends. So, be careful in making 'rules of thumb' that are actually not true. That's part of why people end up so confused. Be careful not to spread information that's not really true.

- India is a huge continent with all kinds of stones. No way is it true that a stone from India is categorically low quality. Geology does not follow national boundaries.

CW, if this stone can't be made usable with sealer, then you have a legitimate beef with the supplier. The onus is on them not to sell stones that are basically unusable. I'm so sorry this happened and I hope you can get this worked out to your satisfaction.

"Geology does not follow national boundaries" You are awesome! I am going to try to re-seal and see where we land.Again, not looking for perfection but looking for it to be usable without looking like a dirty rag in a few months. Thanks you for your insight!

I would definitely be concerned that the 'sealer' came out of a Gatorade bottle. My granite it from India and it does not stain (Raw Silk - the "pink" version). Before you try putting on another sealer please work on removing the sauce stain.

Agreed. As I typed it I had to laugh realizing what I had signed off on. I did remove the stain with a lil poultice that I made myself, Was going to wash down with Acetone, construction grade not nail polish remover grade, before applying. Was going to go the Miracle 511 porous plus. Fingers and toes crossed.

C W , your stone is a grey granite from India; yes it is a granite; some granites are more porous than others. Depending on the factory who processed it overseas, each factory uses a different quality of resin; by experience I see many stones from same region of yours are more porous than white feldspar granites from Brazil... just saying

The fabricator came back and used a different sealer. It darkened the stone slightly but it is now repelling both Oil and Water! Thank you to everyone for your comments that were directed towards helping me. . I must second the comment that "all sealers are not created equal". I am truly loving my leathered granite from India!

Yay!

What brand sealer did they use?

This looks like a super white marble from india also sometimes listed as a quartzite so im not surprised for the confusion and mix up. i know because i almist bought this same slab. im in the same hell now for different reasons though. i ended up with a gorgeous calcatta lincon ”leatherd” just placed this week, and its so so poreous i feel i made a huge mistake ! its a nightmare already im so bummed. even setting a cold starbucks drink on it for a moment leaves a ring - 💆🏼‍♀️

I’m in the same situation. We just installed leathered Coffee granite, and any spattered grease leaves a stain that soap and water does not remove. So far, baking soda and acetone have worked, but that is no real solution. The installer sealed it once, and I have sealed it again. How liable is the granite company?

What does your paperwork say please? If they said they sold you granite, but in fact sold you dolomite, you may have a case.

I realize this is an old OP but just as an FYI we've had leathered Absolute Black granite on our kitchen island for 8 years and don't have any issues. I'm sure it was sealed with something but couldn't tell you what at this point. Any spots or marks clean up fine with some soapy water and a good rinse and I do use granite cleaner on it every now and then just to buff it up.

Thanks for the response. Glad it’s worked out for you. From your success, it would seem that it’s not the leathering process, but rather something about this slab.

To Joseph Corlett, LLC. The paperwork says, ”Installation/ Fabrication of Stone- Coffee Brown Lthr 3 CM//Soft Eased Edge

They also provided a Care Sheet that includes the sentènce, ”If not wiped up immediately, cooking oils can also leave stains.”

I know it would unfortunately change the color, but would an oil-based sealer give more protection?

"we've had leathered Absolute Black granite on our kitchen island for 8 years and don't have any issues. I'm sure it was sealed with something"

@User your comment does not really make sense in the context of this thread. Absolute Black granite has the lowest porosity of all granites. There is no comparison between Absolute Black and the OP's from 5 years ago nor to @wdoering5's situation. Furthermore, Absolute Black granite is so dense it should never be sealed. Yours probably was not, but if it was, it would have caused streaks and haze since the sealant cannot absorb into such a non-porous stone as Absolute Black. After 8 years, the sealant - if there was any - has long ago worn off.

@wdoering5 - looking at pics of "Coffee granite" online, it looks to be the type that is quite low-absorptive. I wonder if it is the sealant that is causing the problem. I.e, the sealant perhaps should not have been applied at all. We have seen that a number of times on this forum where counters had sealant applied when the counter was too dense to need sealant. That would also be borne out by you saying the acetone helped - it would have removed the sealant. Perhaps use acetone on an inconspicuous area of your stone in order to remove the sealant in that spot. Then try putting a drop of oil on it and see if it still absorbs. If it doesn't, then it is the sealant that is the issue, not your stone. If that turns out to be the case, just wipe acetone over the entire counter to remove the sealant - make sure the windows are open.

M Miller: so sorry that you needed to be the superiority complex responder to what was simply a comment about my experience. Turn it over to the universe please!

@cathi33 no superiority complex. Your comment was misleading. This forum is all about providing correct knowledge to the consumer.

M Miller: Again, I was merely sharing my experience with a leathered granite product. Whoever died and made you God made a BIG mistake. I guess replying to original postings that are 5 years old is just something I won't do in the future. Never intended to be misleading and your opinion that is doesn't matter to me in the scheme of things. Bye bye!

Thanks, M Miller. As you can see, I have a boat-load of this granite and was looking forward to the extra workspace on the pennsula. If you’re right about the sealer maybe being the problem, I’ll buy you a beer. If I understand correctly, there must be a chart that I should be able to find online that shows the porosity of different sorts of granite. I‘ll run your suggestion by the granite company and then give your suggestion a try.

@User You changed your Houzz name for some reason (was cathi33, then jessie987, now she changed it back to cathi33). In any case, it is evident you are activated by me providing information - not opinion - about Absolute Black granite, its low porosity and not needing sealant. While you said my opinion does not matter, by your responses it clearly does. It seems odd to react that way over the topic of granite. I am going to assume you have something going on in your life that is making you on edge. We've all been there.

Nope. Just tired of holier than thou people. Assume = makes an ASS our of U and ME. Nice try.

@wdoering5 there used to be an extensive table online of stone porosity years ago provided by Maurizio Bertoli, a stone guy who was kind of revered in the industry, but has sadly passed away. That table was taken offline. For the more popular stones you can do a search with the name with the words "porosity" or "absorption rate" and can frequently get that stone's absorption rate.

Edited to add: found the table! It has 180 stones on there, but I do not see "Coffee", but it likely has another name. http://www.findstone.com/daniel2.htm

That chart I linked looks like it only has the A-L, and is missing the M-Z. But it does look like your "Coffee" could be also known as "Cafe Bahia" or "Cafe Imperial", both of which have absorption rates of 0.15-0.2%. That is fairly low, though not as low as Absolute Black or Blue Pearl, which are both famously ultra-low absorption. The acetone test I mentioned, in an inconspicuous spot, would be worthwhile.

CAFE BAHIA:

CAFE IMPERIAL:

This string does a good job of describing the problem which I hope people in the early stages of choosing granite will run across. Your input with this chart is new information to this string and should be considered when making that initial decision.. The rest of us who are past that point and are now trying to solve the problem will find your suggestion helpful and something else to try. Thanks for it.

I found the following info about Coffee Brown online:

Compressive Strength : 1920 kg/cm2

After Freezing : 1810 kg/cm2

Water Absorption: 0.15%

Bulk Density: 2720 kg/m3

Hardness(Moh's Scale) : 6:

It’s from India.

Well, its it’s been four months, and I believe I’ve finally fixed my granite staining problem. I put on over 8 coats of water based sealer, and finally have the surface where it does’t seem to stain - though I work on a silicone mat and try to keep splashes wiped up. I didn’t switch to an oil based sealer because I didnt want the darker look. I keep an eye on how water looks on the surface when I wipe it down, and I’ve noticed that it looks like it might be absorbing... I’m ready to put on another coat of sealer. It’s a small price to pay to avoid the staining problem I had.

What was the name of sealer? Mine is suppose to be black but it is getting whiter and whiter

I‘m sorry, I dont know the brand name. The stone company gave me the sealer in a plastic water bottle. i know it was a water-based product, though.