Did you ever get any answers? I just put some leathered quartzite on hold. Thanks.

We selected Taj Mahal for our kitchen and were told by 3 different stone yards and a fabricator that leathered TM is more likely to stain as the "leathering" makes the top more porous. Those crevices that create the texture hold on to stains; polished is the easier maintenance option with Taj, I personally think it looks much prettier that way, too. It's such a beautiful stone. But I think if you keep up on sealing the leathered, you should be ok.

Thanks for your reply. Your post made me try ketchup, sauce and lemon juice on a sample I have Overnight. No stains but it isn’t our exact slab. We saw a beautiful honed slab but that had such a matte finish it seemed like even oil would stain it. What color are you cabinets?

@lisachew5, Our perimeter cabinets are BM White Dove and our island is a dark stained wood. We have ebony stained Brazilian cherry floors. Hopefully, our project will be completed by the end of this month!

Pretty slab and nice choice of colors! Hope it all come out great!

Wow that is a very nice slab it is very white. I did go back to the yard and tested a polished piece, honed piece, and sandblasted piece. Honed stained horribly, sandblasted horribly, polished not even a trace of stain, leathered as above. My wife loves leathered and honed and is very against polished since the house is mid century modern.

Evan-when you say ‘leathered as above’ what do you mean about the leathered?

Meaning you can see it in the photo the small pink stains in crevices

leathered, sanblasted, honed, polished shown posh testing

Okay. Thank you!

@MinnesotaMary that is a beautiful slab of TM - wish I could find one like it around here. Everything we've seen is very brown/grey. sigh.

@Evan Man in your picture above, is the leathered one on the top? We're looking at leather Taj for our kitchen. I wonder if you need a brush to get stains out of the crevices? I love how it looks and feels but don't want to be creating more work for myself. Did you end up going with the leathered finish?

Would love to see the Leathered Taj installed. This is what we have chosen for our new build. Having trouble choosing a backsplash; would love to see what you chose!

all this info is so helpful! I'm installing leathered Taj Mahal in my kitchen as well in May. Have had lots of concern since many folks have mentioned that it stains.. It's a big and expensive decision so want to get it right with no regrets! I love the leathered look so it seems that as long as I keep it sealed and stay ahead of any stains I should be OK? right? We entertain and we all drink red wine.. Thats been a concern of mine.. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Joan from South Carolina..

One of the slabs we were buying was damaged before it was installed so we had to choose a different quartzite. (polished, not leathered) Though we sealed it, we have had a couple of stains from olive oil which we were able to remove with a baking soda and water poultice covered by Saran Wrap for a couple of hours. We make it a habit to wipe the counters down every night, just in case.

Enjoy your Taj Mahal!

MinnestoaMary I would love to see photos of your finished kitchen! Are you able to share them here?

Here is a link to my reveal:
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6035318/i-m-in-love-again-my-2020-reveal

Reviving the thread. Do the people that installed leathered Taj still love it?????

We have quite a lot of Taj Mahal. It took 3 years for our home to be completed and we just moved in 4 weeks ago. I have leathered Taj in my laundry room, working pantry and my kitchen. I also put Taj Mahal, not leathered, in our master bathroom. I love it. We did a different Quartzite in the guest baths, powder room and and on our two fireplace surrounds. So far, so good. I am careful with it, but not any more so than I always was with my choices of granite, in the past. Best of luck to you on your decision❣️