My soapstone has been in for almost 4 years too and I have a small patch of white marks from the sugar jar but they do not look quite like yours. They are sort of hard to see in the pic but there are quite a few, they do not bother me at all as they blend with the stone and created a slightly aged appearance that I like. I wonder if your wax is causing build up. Your stone appears to have an overly dulled, cloudy appearance which may just be from the lighting. If it is dulled by something that has been used on the stone you could possibly deep clean it with acetone, I would have a stone professional look at it if I were you. BTW, in reference to the comments on soapstone and sealants my counters are sealed, it is a misconception that sealants do not work with soapstone. Sealants are not needed but they do bond and darken the stone (if color enhancing sealants are used) without flaking or any other issues. Obviously this is beside the point as you have not used sealants. This post was edited by athomeinva on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 16:50

Hi Ladeda - I used Jason Yates. I used him about 9 months ago and we had a great experience with him. He had recently returned from the East Coast and spent time training underneath the best "true East Coast" soapstone fabricators. His price was also very fair. So many fabricator focus on Granite but Jason loves soapstone and has a ton of experience; at least with ALL the fabricators i spoke with he had completed the most jobs. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Juliezlat, thanks so much for the thread and for the reveal. Your kitchen looks fantastic. We just put in soapstone, and reading your thread was really helpful. For anyone looking to install soapstone in the Pacific Northwest, we used Shadley's Soapstone. Kees Shadley does nothing but soapstone, and he did a fantastic job in our small kitchen. Yes, it's small, but it's a really old house, nothing is truly level, and still Kees & his family did a terrific job. I'm in love with the surface and the practicality of it. Here is a link that might be useful: Shadley's Soapstone.

I have some spots similar on my SS. Usually from setting something real hot on the counter, my solution is to give it time, eventually it fades back to the same patina as the rest of the counter. I've had mine in for over 4 years now, the 1st year was trying as the counters changed a lot from use and abuse, 4 years later nothing is an issue anymore. We wanted soapstone for all the wonderful properties it has and the fact it's not a static surface (like our cork floors), it changes as it's used. It's a surface that grows into it's own if given a chance, probably the best thing you can do for it is nothing. I used to oil mine, now I just let nature do it, it will darken and smooth out with use. It's all scratched up where used most and dinged around the sink but is still the striking black/white stone we thought we wanted. When people say 'it's not for everyone' it's a cliche no doubt but carries a lot of truth. After learning all about soapstone and you still say to yourself "I can live with that", make sure in your heart that you really can. It's a big expense and should not be taken lightly. The fact that it WILL scratch and WILL look uneven at times is a fact that you can't eliminate only mitigate. The 1st year is the hardest, if you still love it as much after a year as you did when you 1st saw it then it's right for you. You can't convince yourself of that, it just has to be. I don't think some people take the idiosyncrasy of SS into enough consideration when deciding on it. It's a wonderful surface and is a boon for your kitchen but when your spending big $$ on a surface to match the big $$ you spent on everything else and then see what it can turn into you may think you made the wrong choice. It must be appreciated for what it is not necessarily how it looks 100% of the time. My kitchen is a hi-end kitchen, Wolf, Bluestar, Sub Z, 4 ovens, beautiful cabinetry, etc. Even though my SS counters look well used they're still one of the features people notice and comment on 1st. I also have it in the laundry room. Since I bake a lot my island is marble for working dough.