I think people on the Appliances Forum say stainless steel cooktops do get discoloration and scratches that arise from cleaning, but it's just something to live with. Black ones are worse cause they show every speck of dust. I don't have a Bluestar, but many people who love their Bluestar ranges say its cast iron top is a cinch to clean, and stays looking nice, even improving with age and seasoning.

Eurostoves has a video on this topic, and they show a stainless cooktop compared with the Bluestar's cooktop. I'll link it below - I believe it's the 3rd video called "Easy Clean Up". The beginning of the video talks about open-burner clean up, but at around minute 5:45, they talk about stainless cooktops.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eurostoves Link to their Videos - Go the 3rd one called Easy Clean Up

I'm a messy cook. So is my DH. We bought a stainless steel cooktop, and have had no staining problems, despite regular splotches of oil, tomato sauce, gravy, flour, whatever. It all cleans up nicely.

I try to be a tidy cook, and clean as I go,
but despite that I got a stain and some discolouration
that I could NOT get rid of on the cooktop. I tried EVERYTHING, including the cleaner that came with it,and then a friend said to use baking soda and water, and presto, it took all the discolouration and the stain away.

I just made a paste and smooshed it around with
my fingers. It had to be done a few times, but
it looks good as new. So no regrets here.

Good old baking soda, who knew!

I've had both and I prefer the black. It does show every fingerprint, and smear, but at least when you want to take the time you can get it looking good again. The problem with the stainless besides discoloration, is it has a grain, and you will see swirls and marks in the stainless where you tried to clean that look unsightly. I felt it was hard to keep clean too, and any scrubbing you did left it's mark.

I might use a white counter but don't see the problem with a black top range if the rest is stainless if there's some black elsewhere in the kitchen.

I've had one for five years now and so far no problems and no regrets. You do end up with some scratches unless you really baby it but I bought it to use not to look at so I don't get too worked up about that. I do tend to clean up the cooktop right after I make a mess because I think it's easier than waiting until things have been dried on for hours/days and I don't like looking at a big mess after I'm done cooking.

I have a black top on the stainless KA slide in range at my weekend lake place. It's actually newer than my cooktop at home and gets much less use. I cannot get that thing completely clean no matter what I do. It seems to have permanent "rings" where various spills happened - not to mention the dust issue.

In my old kitchen I had "almond" stovetop. That was easier to keep clean looking than either the stainless or black. Overall though I think I would choose stainless over black based on my current experience.

Stainless steel does not stain. It will get heat tint over time which is a slight discoloration -- you can see how that looks on the bottom of ss pots -- if you continually put really hot pots directly on it.

As a countertop it is nonporous, nonreactive and nonstaining. It will scratch. It can be completely disinfected and easily. Most everything wipes right off, which is why it's used in restaurant kitchens everywhere. It also has a very long lifespan.

I currently have a Dacor stainless steel gas cooktop. DH is a super messy cook. We've had some stains, but they cleaned up well with some Bar Keeper's Friend. Then I just used my regular SS cleaner to polish it up.

I've read that many folks use Easy Off Oven Cleaner to get discoloration off of SS cooktops and it works great! I will try that next time on mine.

I had black in the past and hated it...always looked dirty.

White is the easiest to keep clean...love it! Although it is perhaps not "in vogue" right now.

Bottom line...no regrets with the stainless. :)

I have Electrolux Icon Pro range and have no problems. The installer said to use stainless steel wipes and they take off EVERYTHING while leaving a beautiful shine and protective surface. They even removed water marks from my dishwasher ans fridge. Don't worry about scratches - they are a sign of a happy, busy kitchen!!

Thanks for the replies. I love the look of stainless. Has anyone seen any nice looking white stoves that are not outragous? Aga is wonderful but too much for me. Most white stoves are so boring.

I think one thing to bear in mind with stainless steel is the type of finish: the highly reflective type will show scratches much more easily than the 'brushed' finish types.

Hmm, I replaced my 1973 era stainless stove with another stainless *because* of how nice my old one looked at 35 years old.

Sara, I agree. My Dacor has the brushed SS on most of the cooktop (under the grates...the part that get super dirty). The shiny SS in only a small area around the perimeter and where the knobs are. The brushed definitely seems more forgiving in terms of not getting scratched and what you can use to clean it.

Forget stains it scratches far too easy jusr cleaning it gently can distort ot keep away from stainsteel vooke tops