I've always gotten samples from the stone yard, they often have small samples already cut from slab waste.

Interesting mxk3, the slab yards we’ve been to told us they don’t have any quartzite samples.

are you talking about samples in a store like home depot or a kitchen warehouse place?

if you want natural stone samples, you will HAVE to go to a stone yard and walk around to view the slabs in person.

If you find quartzite, you'll have to do some diligent research to determine if it's real quartzite and not mislabled by the stone place (it happens a LOT. marble is frequently labled as quartzite. that's where the samples will come into play. )

There are certain names that are real quartzite without question. TajMajal, SeaPearl, Macaubas, Infinity, are a few.

Super White is not, nor is Shadow Storm. (and to make matters worse, stone yards will frequently change the names of more commonly known names )

Quartzite is made up entirely (or at least 99%) of quartz. Real quartz, not the man-made stuff.

(if the stone place tells you, "this is a hard quartzite, or this is a soft quartzite, or, this quartzite has a little bit of marble in it", run. All of those statements are false. quartztie is quartzite and nothing else.

Quartzite will never etch. Why? because real quartzite does not contain calcite. Calcite is what etches when it comes in contact w/acid. Some take longer to etch (like dolomite) but that's a topic for another day.

That's how you tell the diff between it and marble (which has no quartz and is made up of minerals, including calcite. calcite etches w/acidic products)

The other way to tell is the scratch test. quartzite is very hard. about 7-8 on the mohs scale.

Marble is at a 3.

Regular glass will scratch marble, but it won't touch quartzite. (glass is softer than quartzite)

So, if you come up to a slab you want to test and they don't have a sample, see if you can scratch the very edge of the slab (always check w/the sales person. these rough edges are usually cut off during fabrication) or use a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar on it.

Quartzite can be very difficult to fabricate, so if you do purchase it, make sure you have an experienced fabrication guy.

Thanks, Beth! I will definitely test them when I get my hands on some samples.

Excellent explanarion from Beth. Those are all key points.

i have gorten large sized square samples from the fabricator / stone yard . typically the one we have iused for our counters has a large amount of samples, and if they dont have a smalle of the one we are interested in, they have offered to cut a piece for me to take home. im sure all places are different, but I would ask if you can get one or if they can cut you a sample to pick up another day if they cant do it then and there

UPDATE:
So we finally found a slab we really like (took forever) but it’s a honed quartzite, so we definitely want to test it before we buy, but the slab yard says they don’t have any samples. I’m so confused, we have only found one slab yard that offers samples on natural stone. How do we get samples?

Pay the deposit to reserve the stone.

what is the quartzite name? did you take a picture?

should be easy enough to determine if it's marble or quartzite.

ask if you can sample a very thin spot along the rough cut edge

The stone yards we went to when looking for our Taj Mahal did not have samples; at any rate, there are so many different colorations, they’re all different. Our fabricator (a very reputable business that does a good job) did have some samples ca 6x6”, but we had to bring them back after a week or so. Good luck!

I was able to verify that it is real quartzite, which is great. But it looks like I will not be able to get my hands on a sample to stain test. Did you guys do a stain test on your countertops before purchasing?

Miranda, what is it called! most quartzites don't stain (and never etch). Some of the lighter ones can stain, but nothing like a marble would.

When it's installed, make sure to apply a good sealer to it. (I like 511 or aquamix, but there are others) YOu want an impregnating sealer.

While these won't make anything stain-proof, they do buy you plenty of time to wipe up any spills before they sink into the stone.

Quartzite is pretty dense. between that and the sealer, staining isn't something that's going to happen a lot.

After they cut your slab, make sure they give you the left over pieces. apply a sealer to a small leftover and then use that as your test subject with all sorts of foods. I think you'll find you won't get much staining. (some of the white quartzites can stain. darker ones shouldn't be an issue. And as I've said, they will not etch. Calcite etches. there is no calcite in quartzite)

Beth, you’re awesome, thank you! It’s called Florida Wave (a.k.a Lamberti) It does have some light areas, so I am a little worried about those, but I really appreciate the info! Definitely makes me feel a bit better.

Comment above that most quartzites don’t stain - read the discussions here on Houzz on this topic. Seems that a lot of posts disagree with that - many horror stories of quartzite staining.

Miranda, Congratulations on finding such a beautiful stone! We were able to get a sample of our Bianco Superiore quartzite but only after we put a deposit on the slabs. Overall we couldn’t be happier we chose quartzite; enjoy yours!