The warning isn't about staining exactly.

This is what it says: "Please understand that the HONED FINISHES require more daily maintenance than our polished finishes. Since there is more exposed surface area with honed finishes, metal marks, finger prints and other signs of daily living will be more apparent, especially on darker colors." "By signing this document, you agree that the properties of this unique finish have been fully explained to you and that you understand that more frequent cleaning may be required to keep the product looking new and free of marks."

I'm not sure what they mean by "metal marks" assuming these aren't scratches in the material. It's hard to imagine that metal would leave a residue.

It goes on to say that it is easy to keep clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caesarstone honed finishes agreement

Thanks fern 4. I guess I'm still curious why Silestone doesn't make the same statement, and Ceasarstone has people actually SIGN the warning before allowing you to purchase it, which makes me think this is a pretty major problem that they got lots of complaints about. I like the colors of Silestone too, so if it's a better product for some reason, I'd probably rather switch.

Is there anyone out there who has Silestone leather finish on their countertops and is it okay?

Thanks

caligirl, I'm wondering the same thing and hope we can find someone with Silestone leather. I will tell you that the sales lady I talked to mentioned that the darkest black color would show finger marks and she put her hand on it a few times and it did show a darker area on it. Hard to explain...almost like it left a sweaty mark? Hope we find someone with this surface...I really want something that is a matte look.

I'm hoping for a sort of dark grey color not black because black shows everything so much I think it will drive me nuts. I think finger marks might be okay, but staining or other more difficult marks are a problem. Hope someone chimes in!

We installed Silestone in the leather finish in a light tan/with cream marbling. We are using it for our homework center for deskwork and computers. After using it the last 2 months I have noticed that pencil marks and the paint my daughter splashed on took some elbow grease to remove. I had to rub hard. There have been no issues with water rings or smudging that shows. It is not porous at all.

I am happy with the result so far.

Melinda

Could you order a sample of the material you are intersted in and "experiment" on that to see what will or will not be a problem?

Well, an update: I went to HD today and asked if they carried the Silestone "leather" and the salesperson said it had been discontinued because of complaints about the maintenance issues. I guess Ceasarstone addressed the issue by just making everyone sign an affidavit that they understood the problems and were willing to do the extra maintenance, while Silestone just dumped it altogether.

That's at least what the HD person said, doesn't mean it's gospel.

That sounds weird, caligirl. I was just in a place called "The Countertop Store" a couple weeks ago and they had the display of all the leather choices and the lady said nothing about it being discontinued? I did, however, ask my KD to ask "his guy" who has Silestone about the leather finish and he said only certain retailers could get the leather finish and he could not. I would wonder if this gal at HD was just telling you this because they cannot carry it. I was on the Silestone site a couple days ago and leather was still a choice. But, ya know, with all these caveats about the maintenance, I just don't know. Maybe they have chosen to discontinue? What's a girl lookin for a countertop to do? Have a glass of wine is what I'm gonna do and pray for some countertop wisdom to hit me between the eyes..

LOL, thanks for the chuckle pupwhipped! I think you may be right, that the stuff isn't discontinued, just only available from places where the maintenance thing is better controlled maybe? Dunno, but it sure is frustrating. And what's with kitchen showrooms closing at 4 or not open on Sundays! I just press my nose up against the glass and see if I can tell the difference between the countertop displays.... pathetic!

I have Caesarstone in a honed finish. The color has been discontinued (sadly), but it is a sandstone-type color.

Regarding the "metal marks" mentioned above -- if a metal pan is dragged across the surface, it leaves a dark mark. I have AllClad pans in the "Master Chef" finish, which is a matte aluminum exterior. This may be more prone to leaving marks than a polished stainless, for example.

My countertop fabricators left me with a can of Ajax when they did the counters a few years ago, and advised me to use it whenever there was any kind of staining on the countertop. I have done so, and it is 100% reliable at removing any marks, including these metal marks as well as ink (from a grocery bag). It's really not something that I worry about at all, and I *love* my honed counters.

Now I'm making some changes in the kitchen, and since my color has been discontinued, I'm faced with replacing my counters. Caesarstone has fewer honed colors now, and it's very disappointing because I hate the way that polished surfaces reflect my lighting.

I had Silestone leather finish installed about 3 years ago and we are very unhappy with it. The people at Silestone do not want to deal with us any more. They try to push this off to unlicensed installer. Our problem is not the installation. It is the quality of the leather finish product itself that is the problem.
We have "smudges" that we cannot get rid of. We are to the point where we just want to tear it out to get rid of it. It is that ugly.
Do not purchase this leather finish product from Silestone.

I have the sidle stone leatherette finish countertops in my kitchen and on my wine bar. I also used it as a full backsplash and behind my gas stove top. I have had no problems with it. I love it. Very easy to care for and zero staining or blemishes.

And I have had it since 2007.