The "industry" ???? this is natural stone the industry cannot change the nature of the stone get the right one for the use as mentioned. IMO if that white look is what you want I would still do marble you knoiw what the issues are and you deal with them or better yet do white granite polished pretty close to bullet proof.

chispa thank you for your input. I really like quartzite, and i like the colored ones. I think another poster misunderstood about what I was writing, as they didn't understand that quartzite is put in an acid bath, then an alkaline bath, to remove rust stains etc., in an effort to get that "white" look. I recalled reading an industry report a few years old, that talked about problems that were being experienced by installers and homeowners, perhaps in part due to this treatment. Thank you for your knowledgeable response.

Usually stone gets sealed if it's porous enough to stain or its inclusions tend to rise.I don't think there have been any innovations to quartzite over the last year. There might have been some changes to where in the quarries slab is cut, that can cause some differences in what's in the stone itself.

bjstem:

You've barely scratched the surface of quartzite horror threads here; there are at least 25. The industry doesn't care a bit. You have been warned.

Thank you Mr Corlett. I was worried my suspicions were correct and nothing has been done to address the issue.

Stone World has a great article on quartzite worth a read .

Every material has a negative. What are your negatives? You have to pick the least amount of drawbacks for you.

I think the threads regarding the issues with quartzite would not be so vehement, if it was a $30 a square entry level granite. People are more upset because it's more like a $230 a square stone, and they feel "cheated" that spending more money did not get them more utility and an exemption from standard care and cleaning. What they do not realize is that is pretty much always the case with specialty luxury materials. They are chosen for aesthetic or niche appeal, not because they perform better than standard consumer grade materials. They are mostly chosen precisely because they are pretty, and cost a lot, and that's kinda the whole point of the choice.

I mean, we'd all drive Honda's if all anyone cared about is utility and longevity vs money spent. But we do not. And people are OK with driving a 250K Maserati sports car for less than 10,000 miles a year. Because they don't expect it to be a Honda. It's supposed to be exclusive and temperamental and cost the earth to maintain properly. That's part of the appeal of luxury brands. The people that can truly afford them, don't sweat that it will be in the shop for 7 out of the 12 months of the year, with a 50K bill at the end.

That goes for the exotic luxury quartzite materials too. You put that in the "show" kitchen, for show's sake, and the back grease kitchen gets Ubatuba or something bulletproof and cheap. You don't make it be your sole car for the whole family to drive and abuse with goldfish in between the seats and a Dr. Pepper spilled on the carpet.

What Minardi said as I just lmao. : )

"You don't make it be your sole car for the whole family to drive and abuse with goldfish in between the seats and a Dr. Pepper spilled on the carpet."

Exactly that..... lol

PS.... I drive a Honda CRV because client samples/ junk goes in back, scratches side walls, leaves lint, etc. It is perfect for the tasks. I live at the car wash/vacuum, despite I eat no goldfish.....

Haha, with the number of miles I drive and the care I take with my car I SHOULD drive a Maserati. But I drive a Honda--4 years/20,000 miles/interior and exterior look exactly like the day I got it!

But I digress. If you want utility, you get laminate countertops. I had white laminate with cherry cabinets and after 27 years it was perfectly fine looking. No stains or marks. Heck the whole kitchen still looked new, but I tired of it so we did a renovation. Cabinets went to a family member and are still being used. White Danby marble is in the kitchen now--it was a bit pricey and it etches and chips, but I went into it knowing the drawbacks.

Nothing is perfect, not a counter top material, a cabinet material, a flooring material. As one of my teachers used to say "you pays your money and you makes your choice."