No on both counts because it does not have that mirror black finish.

This post made me laugh. We had to put our soapstone countertops on hold while we replaced our sewer line. We have painted MDF in BM Graphite with a bazillion coats of poly and man they show EVERYTHING and we live in a VERY dusty place, especially with this dry winter so far. I was going to forget the dark counters until I remembered that not everything will be so black and shiny. Good luck! Just as an aside, friends just put in soapstone in a new build, looks fabulous, but they both wish they had gone with the honed Absolute Black they had in their last house.

If you search this site there are many threads on the relative merits of soapstone counters. Many of us have installed SS counters based on testimony here and have been very happy. Soapstone, as palimpsest states, is not a shiny finish and IMO is a breeze to keep clean. Just a spray bottle with water and a little dish soap, a sponge and you're good to go. Plus it isn't sealed and therefore never needs resealing. Very low maintenance surface.

palimpsest - Thank you! That is good to hear!

cluelessincolorado - Too funny! We have pretty much the same scenario going on! (Minus the sewer line - eek - I hope the old one didn't make a mess!) So, you're still going to go with soapstone in the future? That's too bad that your friends aren't loving their soapstone. :( What are their issues with it? Thanks for your reply!

gardengrl66 - Ahhhh, "Very low maintenance" - that is music to my ears! Lol! Yes, I learned about soapstone through this site (the feel, look, durability, etc.), but I couldn't find anything on the dust/cleaning factor, hence my post. Thank you so much for your reply. Soapstone WILL stay at the top of my list for when we're ready to ditch the butcherblock. Hooray! :)

bellajourney - they do love their soapstone, but they loved their AB even better! The sewer line break, breakage, didn't make a mess per se, but did hollow out a cavern under part of the basement... Our decades old grapevines however mitigated the mess by enjoying the steady supply of fertilizer and water. From two houses. We found out our neighbor's line ran under our house and was broken as well...Fun times this summer :-)

I live on a dirt road with no central AC, so the windows are open a lot, and I get dust EVERYWHERE!

I've never had a problem with it showing on the soapstone, though I do make sure to wipe the counter before I use it just to make sure it's clean (just because I can't see it does not mean it's not got some on it).

My finished oak countertop on the baking center shows the dust way more than the soapstone.

My original plans were for butcher block over stone because I can't get a fabricator at an affordable price in SD (I went DIY). But I'm so much happier with soapstone than I would have been with the butcher block, mostly because I love being able to set hot pans down without a worry, and I love working directly on it with dough and other stuff. Things defrost much faster, and I can cool down hot bakeware fast (like a cookie sheet between batches). The drawback is if you want something to stay hot or cold, don't put it directly on the stone. Most of that any stone will do that, but butcher block won't.

I have a marble slab I can put in my freezer if I need to work chilled dough.