Honed marble countertops 3 years later? Photos? Experience?
Stacey Collins
14 years ago
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Marble countertop in bathroom? Experiences, please
Comments (13)I installed marble in a recent main/guest bathroom remodel. But, we're babying it so I can't say for certain how it will hold up to indelicate handling. We use pH neutral soap and marble cleaner and do not bring food in there. I would recommend picking up a sample of marble and either testing it with products you normally spill or at least setting it on your current countertop to see how it holds up to use. I also recently picked up an antique sideboard with a marble top. The marble has a few stains and etches and is quite old (maybe even 100+ years according to the previous owner - but I'm not an antique expert). However, even with the stains, after a quick cleaning, the marble looks fantastic. If you will be bothered by stains and etches and are not careful with your countertop, you may not be happy with the material. However, if you accept that it will possibly stain, scratch, and etch, maybe you will love it anyway....See MoreNervous about Blue Cabinet color
Comments (10)Peggy, Don't be nervous it all sounds wonderful. Just look at this cover! And as for Marble if you love it get. People have a misconception about marble. Marble is as easy to clean as granites. And in some ways it is easier to repair than a Quartz. Children grow up quickly, and children can be taught not to use permanent sharpies on the island. Does Marble stain? Sure but 98% of the stains can be removed with bleach. YES good ole fashioned Bleach. Or peroxide. But not togehter please. Does Marble Etch? You bet but if once every 6-8 years you have it rehoned or polished it will look fantastic. Is marble hard to care for? Marble has been around for 1000s of years. Marble is as easy to care for as most granite or quartz. Some Old GW posts that talk about Marble. Honed marble countertops 3 years later? Photos? Experience? http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0515282622706.html Anyone regret getting marble countertops? http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0211001428927.html Marble counter top questions http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0215374910799.html Quartz counter top questions http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0316414017978.html The pictures...Here are some images of kitchens. Some with blue islands. Maybe they can help you. ~boxer Letendre Woodworking Chadds Ford blue bell White Kitchens (Google Image) Winning Windows Sorry this does not have a blue island but notice the blue accent chairs and overall feel of this kitchen. Lovely. by Capecod designers Daisy Pink Cup Cake website (blog) Point Loma A wood island might be a great option too. Blue Kitchen and Bath Ideas website Hardy Kitchen Cottage Devon Blue Bell The Annex Cambria Quartz Welsh Pool Kitchen Island with a Bench (google image) Oliver Here is a link that might be useful: White Marble Countertops...See More1.5 years later antiqued/honed Black Pearl is staining
Comments (24)Hi repaintingagain, I promised an update. Bottom line: our absolute black leathered/antiqued counters will require a lot more care than I was led to believe, I hate them because of this because I am so not the type to patrol the countertops-that's why I sensibly talked myself into them and out of what I thought were higher maintenance materials (marble and soapstone.) So, the expert came out (kind/knowledgeable/professional) and basically there is a choice between the lesser of two evils: 1) leave unsealed and have to deal with darker fingerprints/oil spots darkening the counters (much like what I was trying to avoid with unoiled soapstone) or 2) use an enhancing sealer that helps to minimize/mask darker oil marks BUT the sealer still etches from acidic substances which show up as lighter/hazy marks on the granite (much like I was trying to avoid with marble, and what you have going on with your countertops, repaintingagain.) As we suspected, expert guy used acetone to strip off all the previous sealer, and then the counters looked mostly fine until people started resting their hands on it and it looked splotchy/dirty again. So we had him put an enhancing sealer on one area (we left the rest unsealed) and he gave us the weekend to conduct various "mess tests" on the different finishes to see what looked/cleaned up best. (we used ketchup, olive oil, and a lemon wedge.) The enhancing sealer (Dupont Stonetech product) did NOT make the counters wet/shiny as I feared/was originally told. The color difference was slight, not dramatic, but enough to help minimize the oil spots/look of darker stains. We left half a lemon wedge on the color enhanced countertop with a round circle of ketchup next to it for 15 minutes and both left lightened/hazy/etched looking areas that could not be cleaned up with dishsoap and water (repaintingagain, these spots looked like the spots on your counters.) The olive oil cleaned up well and fingerprints did not show. On the unsealed side, the lemon wedge and ketchup left for 15 minutes cleaned up well and I was so excited, but the olive oil left a splotchy blotchy darker mess that could not be cleaned up with dishsoap and water and fingerprints were a problem. (This is NOT to say that a stronger "grease cutter" product might not have worked-I don't know-we were just using some regular Joy dishsoap) Since we have young kids who will be leaving little fingerprints everywhere, we opted to use the enhancing sealer, (because they eliminated the dirty fingerprints look) and we're figuring we are just going to have to be extremely careful not to slop any acidic substances on the counters. (Again, we are not naturally neat/tidy folks, so this is extremely disappointing.) Confession: My 4 year old saw me crying over the counters and said "Mommy, what is wrong???" with such fear on his face that I felt just awful. So having to explain and reassure him that everything is fine, these are just counters was a good reality check for me. But I am deeply, deeply disappointed to have wasted hundreds of hours of my life researching countertops-not to mention thousands of dollars- to be stuck with countertops that don't meet my expectations for the next 30+ years. My husband feels terrible for me that I'm blaming myself for making a "bad" decision and has committed to periodically just stripping the enhancing sealer all off and reapplying when our etching gets too bad/the counters look too dirty. He likened it to power washing the deck periodically, just a part of the maintenance of the item. Which did help me feel better. I just didn't know we'd have to deal with this, so since we do, I wish either 1) I would have put in a harder soapstone (Original P.A. was the hardest we personally tested, but I understand Julia and Belvedere are two that perform similarly. I'm sure there are others too) or 2) that we would have selected the antiqued/leathered Virginia Mist/Jet Mist (around here it was renamed "Nebula") because at least the veins/movement would help to mask both the oil spots or the etching (depending on whether we'd left it unsealed or sealed.) repaintingagain, I did want to tell you that you/your husband could certainly strip off your sealer with acetone and start fresh and experiment with whether you want to leave your counters unsealed or seal with a regular or color enhancing sealer. Our guy did it with his bare hands and a cloth, I was in the room and the odor wasn't bad with any of the products and I'm fairly sensitive to smells/chemicals. For any lurkers who've read this far, I hope my experience helps someone else. Interestingly, we have gotten lots of compliments from some of the subs that are coming in at the end of the project finishing up details saying how cool our counters are and how great they look in the kitchen etc. Absolute black leathered/antiqued could be the perfect quiet, non shiny, non busy countertops for someone who is prepared to accept their maintenance as part of life. I wasn't and in the end our satisfaction with things are really just a result of how well the result meshes with our expectations....See MoreHoned vs. Polished cararra, my experience so far...
Comments (3)I am at the countertop decision phase and it is killing me. I want soapstone perimeter and carrera island. Both have MAJOR issues but I love "the look." I feel like if I chose (ex. honed jet mist granite) it would be an imitation of soapstone look even though I know granite is natural stone etc... I am tempted to hone and antique the finish of my (not yet mine) 5 cm. carrera and then pour tomatoe juice over it and call it a day. An architect friend did this and it greyed the marble, but it looks AMAZING over her tobacco green cabinets! I am also debating between off white or gray cabinets. Anyone out there have gray cabinets? Also person who used carrera what did you use on your island. THANKS!...See Morelucypwd
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