honed absolute black granite

15 years ago

I've just had honed absolute black granite countertops installed. After it was installed, it looked terrible. There were a lot of dark spots on it -- very uneven looking. Someone from the granite company came out; said the installers had used the wrong sealer(should have used a sealer for honed granite); cleaned off the sealer and put on the right kind of sealer. Now it looks good, but not perfect. There are a few dark spots (look kind of like drips) and an area that is a little lighter than the rest. I know there are problems with maintaining this stone, but in your experience, should it start out looking perfect? I would really appreciate your advice, because I have to decide whether to complain again to the company. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

lovemcm
15 years ago
Oh, your heart must be sinking! Hopefully someone here with that granite will chime in. All I can do is point you to NorCalNancy's beautiful kitchen in the Finished Kitchen Blog, who has an acre of the stuff, and it sure looks perfect in the photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: acres of honed AB
jb1176
15 years ago
Do a search function for AB Honed and you will find a wealth of information. Also check Stoneadvice.com and Findstone Forums where there are lots of discussions about AB honed. You may be experiencing a slab that was dyed to look more black than it really is in its natural state. There are a myriad of cautions about this stone and the chance of getting a dyed slab.
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jennypie- Slate quarried in VT and upstate NY holds up very well (the edge does not chip or crack) and works well as a fireplace hearth. It has a dull finish and when honed is smooth, with no cracks or crevices. I have had a FP with slate and one with granite and both can be beautiful but they offer 2 very different looks. Granite, even honed AB, has a pattern, slate does not. Slate can have variation and swirling of 2 different colors, but slabs can be had that are one color only. IMO, and only in IMO, slate is preferable to granite because of its naturall dull finish, it would let your tiled surround "pop" without calling attention to itself. Full disclosure: I am a slate fan, and have had it in previous homes as fireplace surrounds, flooring and patios, so I am sort of prejudiced. I will also only have slate quarried in VT or upstate NY, as I know it doesn't chip or delaminate. I have included a couple of links to quarries that carry VT slate. Cheers- Liz http://www.vermontslatedepot.com/ http://camaraslate.com/index.htm
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Four sink vanities in our home have absolute black granite. It is lovely, no doubt about it. The granite is strong and took some fancy edging designs easily, which does not chip easily. I sealed it well and have to 'stay on top' of keeping it clean. I wipe down the bathroom tops in two guest baths every single day because you can see "EVERYTHING". You see dust, drip marks from someone washing their hands. White rings develop around faucet handles fast... even though we have a water softener and I keep the bathrooms wiped down. Knowing how hard it is to keep any dark floor or counter pristine looking and how this granite reacts with water, there is no way that I would ever use it in a kitchen. I would not have chosen it for these bathrooms, but the tops were prefabricated on these vanities units that I bought. FWIW: I used a very dark navy blue granite with a lot of movement in my master bath. It is much easier to live with because of the 'movement'. Anyone that has movement in their granite will tell you that it is very forgiving. There is NO forgiveness with absolute black. Here are a couple of the tops we have on some of the vanities in the sunlight before install and my navy granite with movement to 'see' what I mean. ALSO, I only have a few small rugs in the bathrooms in front of sinks. All of my floors are tiled or stone in the bathrooms. My home is clean and I have no pets. My air filters are changed frequently and are MERV 12 or higher. I have a super, duper 'dust eater' type of filtering system on my AC units, too. I tell you this for you to understand than even the tiniest particles of dust that land on absolute black granite, show up every day. The small bath counters don't bother me. 85 sf of counter in my kitchen most certainly would bother me. I'd drive myself bonkers keeping a kitchen like mine clean with AB granite.
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There's not a SS market here. I would not do honed AB because of all the bad things I've read about it re: etching, staining, upkeep etc. It's not a true granite so it doesn't behave like a lot of the other dark granites. From what I've read, they recommend not using an impregnating sealer but a color enhancing sealer. But even then, many have major issues with upkeep. I got so sick of cleaning then polishing my polished (but gorgeous) antique brown that I can't fathom risking adding even more upkeep on a countertop. Here's a detailed article on it by a marble/granite guy and comments below. I know people here have had issues with AB too. I know not everyone has had issues, but IMO it's a crap shoot. With my luck, I'd have issues. Article & Comments Below Here's one small blurb: Another Small Blurb I'd find a different one to use. There are lots of other dark/black granites and quartzes to use with soft/honed looks.
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you know I have a positive review! I don't have a problem with prints and I use Method (but I imagine any other granite cleaner would also be fine). Water also seems to be fine. We did not have it sealed, but I think the fabricator cleaned it or treated it before installation with something that really caused fingerprints for the first few days. After that substance was gone, we haven't had any problems. Actually, we DO have a problem if my DH wipes it with a very soapy cloth - then it looks streaky until it's wiped with water (or Method). I'm trying to be completely honest, so I will also say this - I wipe it down frequently because I loooooove how it looks when there are no crumbs, etc. And my kids make a lot of messes, so I have to clean all the time anyway. Maybe if you didn't wipe it very often, it would look yucky. But what wouldn't? The look is so quiet and simple and beautiful. I am so happy with it. And I love gardenweb for these kinds of questions!! No one in my real life wants to hear me talk about my granite any more! Or my cabinets! Or my pulls! I'm so TKO...
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cait38
15 years ago
Hi there. I do not have absolute black honed, although I have seen it and think it is really great looking. jb1176 is right about the warnings re: absolute black and honed granite in general. You should speak again with your fabricator and maybe do some independent research regarding the chance that it was dyed.
However, and this is really the point of my post, try to keep it in perspective. This site is great, and trust me I have learned so much, but I think that it encourages some unhealthy obsessions with the ideal kitchen. I am not immune, and I do not mean to sound condescending. I am in the middle of redoing my kitchen right now and between the disarray, my high expectations and the sickening amount of money (even for our modest kitchen) being spent, I am often at the end of my rope. I practically had a stroke when I saw that the color of the new wood floor didn't match the old wood. My kids backed away from me, as I sputtered and spewed while examining the floors. Sputtered and spewed are euphemisms for swore and threatened, by the way. Later that day, I had a little pow wow with the gc and the floor sub. And they made it better. They didn't make it perfect, but the floor, like your counters, looks good. And that is ok.
Good Luck.
neesie
15 years ago
cait38, I just have to say: good post.

honed absolute black granite

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lovemcm

jb1176

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neesie

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