Upkeep on Caesarstone? The upkeep is virtually nil, as far as I know (or have been told).

We considered Raw Concrete too. I liked it, but was concerned about review comments on the fingerprint issue. We chose the LG Viatera Nimbus pictured in my thread - https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5087266/help-me-choose-countertops

Check out Diresco Quartz (manufactured in Belgium - Breton type). We chose it when I had the same concerns about the honed finishes from Silestone and Caesarstone.

Diresco calls its honed finishes "velvet". It looks honed when looking from above, but has a slight sheen when looking at it against the light.

We've been using ours for a bit more than 6months, nothing stains it permanently, everything comes out. Mostly I just use a wet rag, Sometimes I add a bit of dish soap. Every so often I spray a bit of chlorine-free Scrubbing Bubble where the finish seems a bit mottled. a quick wipe, and the surface looks perfectly even and clean. Love it.

I'm in the Chicago area, not sure if Diresco is available everywhere, I'd check Diresco's Houzz site for suppliers

Good luck..

My Caesarstone doesn't have a stain on it after over a year of sloppy cooking. But there are lots of other good products out there.....I'm not sure the upkeep is any different, though.

lin - I heard ofDiresco first from Pippabean who also posts on these forums. We messaged each other about our concurrent kitchen remodels and she told me they were looking at Diresco. I bought it from the fabricator, Marble Emporium in Northbrook. Their supplier is Terrazzo and Marble, in Wheeling. Best of luck!

toronto vet - Not sure what type of finish your Caessarstone has, the issue with stains, difficult to remove fingerprints, is limited to honed quartz only.

Check out the solid surface concrete lookalikes, please. All the look and none of the performance issues of the real thing or quartz.

How about Emerstone Concretto

yes

pippabean or modellie I've read comments that both of you ended up with Diresco quartz with the textured "velvet" finish? Can you please send review how you like it now that you're using a kitchen with it? Or send a picture? Does it show fingerprints like a honed/matte finish? Thanks.

We put Caesarstone in our master bath about 3 years ago. Polished, not honed. The area around my sink looks dull, mottled, grimy. Also spots from water or something...We have cleaned it with vinegar and water or Mrs Meyer's countertop spray. Found out recently that Caesarstone says not to use Mrs. Meyers--Because it's "plant based." Seems strange to me, since people use it in their kitchen with plant based cooking oils splashing on it. My husband's sink doesn't look as bad as mine. I of course use makeup and more lotions. Also nightly contact lens cleaning (hard contacts require this). But I always wipe it dry when finished. Maybe it depends what pattern you choose. I think the grimy look I've noticed is called "patina" and it probably doesn't show on some patterns. I have Statuario Nuvo. When I contacted CS for advice on cleaning, they told me to use Soft Scrub Gel with bleach (this is also on their website). I tried that three times with no change. I'm looking for another brand for my kitchen remodel and will pick a pattern that is more forgiving, since I want ease of maintenance.