I am quite happy with the Carrara. It was much cheaper than anything else I liked. And we like antiques and such so we decided we would be okay with patina. So far it has a few scratches and etches, but no stains at all. And just to be clear, I make no effort to baby the counter at all. I have found drops of salsa that sat overnight from someone getting a snack after I went to bed--no damage from that. And various other drips and such that didn't get cleaned up quickly and no damage from those either. I think all of my etches have been associated with lemons/lemon juice.
Also, My gc left me with some fine grit sandpaper and showed me how to get etches out. And it can be re-honed in place if we decide it looks too trashed or we need to sell the house (not in our plans, but you never know).
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GC showed her how to use fine sandpaper to get etches out
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