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merryzinkand

Staining on quartzite/poultice drying too long

4 years ago

I am devastated that my month old, beautiful quartzite has shown staining that we think is from oils and we’re pretty careful. The fabricator came back out to do the poultice application. We let it sit for 48 hours, removed it and were told it would take 48 hours to dry. We are now on Day 4 of drying (see pics below). Has anyone else had this problem??? I know it was a very hard stone to hone so maybe it just takes longer?? The fabricator will come back out after all stains are gone to re-seal. I pray that will do the trick.

Comments (22)

  • 4 years ago

    You can try using a hair dryer to see if you can speed up the drying.

    Do you know if they sealed the stone? Once the stain is out, sealing is what can hopefully prevent that from happening again.

    I'm sorry that happened to you - it is a gorgeous stone, and unfortunately quartzites can be tricky when it comes to porosity and sealing.

  • 4 years ago

    Karin_mt..... I paid for them to seal it but I’m now questioning it. Is there any trick for sealing quartzite?? Does it need extra??

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    I'd take a Bernz-O-Matic to it.

  • 4 years ago

    What is that??

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    If it's an oil stain, try an acetone soaked paper towel covered in Saran Wrap with the edges taped.

  • 4 years ago

    They already did a poultice treatment

  • 4 years ago

    It may need extra thorough sealing - some quartzites are fairly porous and this problem crops up here with some regularity.


    Not all quartzites are prone to this. Here's an article that explains why it happens.

    http://usenaturalstone.org/properties-of-quartzite/


  • 4 years ago

    Thank you!! That was very helpful! Clearly mine is a more Porous stone. I was extremely thorough in my research beforehand. I brought glass to stone yards to do the “scratch test”. I brought samples home of various stones and let lemon juice, olive oil and red wine sit overnight. Of course Taj Majal wiped up right away so that convinced me quartzite was the way to go. That article mentioned Taj Mahal and fully explains to me why that is different from my white lux quartzite. Do you know anything more about specifically sealing this type of porous quartzite in case my fabricator doesn’t? Is there a specific brand? One just for quartzite?

  • 4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    You don’t have to have the fabricator seal your counters. It is not difficult to do. It may require several coats to get a proper seal when dealing with more porous materials. You just have to make sure to use a good stone counter sealer. Look into Tenax Proseal. Make sure you get the stains out first and area is dry before sealing.

  • 4 years ago

    There isn't a sealer specifically for quartzite, but there are several good sealers. One that was recommended when I was testing various materials is Dry Treat Stain Proof impregnating sealer.


    I'm not that knowledgeable about the details of sealing - sorry! There are others here who work with natural stone OldRyder is one of them. He might have more insight for you. Vinmarks also had good advice too!

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    "They already did a poultice treatment"


    Yeah, and it didn't turn out so hot. Just because you've tried one thing doesn't mean you should't try something else.

  • 3 years ago

    Mcc, how long did it take for your countertops to ultimately dry from the poultice?

  • 3 years ago

    A little too long. After months and months of dealing with this, I have noticed that the stains are less noticeable (and eventually fade away) than the actual poltice drying process. However, I do lay a kitchen towel down on my counter when I’m cooking with oil

  • 3 years ago

    Wow that’s so frustrating. Sorry to hear. Do you mean that the poultice wet stain never went away fully?

  • 3 years ago

    Oh no it definitely goes away!

  • 3 years ago

    Ok that’s good to hear. I was thinking I ruined my countertops by trying a poultice. It’s been 1 day of drying and not much change. I agree with you - next time I will just leave the stain alone. It was much less scary than this poultice moisture.

  • 3 years ago

    Do you remember if it was a week or a month (or longer) for the poultice moisture stain to dry?

  • 3 years ago

    Thank you!

  • 2 years ago

    I also have leathered white lux and I find it stains from oil. @Mcc have you found a good sealer for this specific stone?

  • 2 years ago

    @Debra Tenax Proseal.

  • 4 months ago

    Any update