Soapstone is so dense that nothing actually penetrates it, but oils will cling to the surface. Did you see the installed counters before the workmen oiled them? I would guess that those stains were there on the counters before they were oiled over. When you stripped off the top coat they would have appeared. Try scrubbing at the marks gently with a sponge (try plan side first, scrubby side second if nothing is happening) and Blue Dawn, or CitraSolv or Simple Green and see what how it goes. My counters are now two years old and have darkened, but the first month or so it seemed like they showed every cooking splatter or oil ring from a bottle of olive oil. I was able to keep them the natural color but it took a daily effort. Over time they and I reached an equilibrium, though it did take mineral oiling them a couple of times to form a barrier. After that they weren’t completely dark but oil didn’t cling. Be sure to give them a through buffing when you do treat them.

Pod marks again. Your stone slabs are often unloaded and handled in the shop by black rubber pods attached to an articulating arm. Fabricators clean the pods with acetone, it breaks down the rubber, the vacuum sucks the rubber into the stone, and it leaches out later.

If you want proof, measure the diameter of your circles and the distance between them and compare those measurements to your fabricator's handling equipment. The rectangle matches the pods on his CNC machine, I guarantee.

Try some denatured alcohol and Magic Eraser or some stone slurry and Dawn dish soap. Unlike engineered stone, you don't need to worry too much about ruining the finish on soapstone. Better yet, call your fabricator out and have him remove them. He knows what they are and what caused them, believe me.

Thank you! Yes I sent them pictures and they said I could try acetone or they will come out in 2 weeks and remove it! I just think it’s CRAZY that they left an $8,000 dollar counter looking like this! 😡

You don't use acetone for pod marks please. Denatured alcohol and Magic Eraser.

just curious, are your fabricators soapstone specialists? If the marks were oil I could see them doing a coat of mineral oil, hoping or supposing that the underlying oil stains would merge with that top application. That would be a little sloppy IMHO. it would be preferable to clean the slab first, maybe with acetone if that’s what they use:) But @Joseph CorlettLLC’s explanation just makes more sense given the pattern of the under-covered marks. And that’s a puzzle. Anyone dealing with soapstone regularly should figure a smear of rubber/acetone wouldn’t go away on its lonesome or be hidden by the mineral oil for long. The first four or five coats of mineral oil evaporate or wear off new soapstone rather rapidly. Even if you hadn’t stripped your counters those dark areas would have shown up soon enough.