Rellabgib3, we had exactly the same thing happen to us. So what happened with yours? I just finished trying to rub it out with car polishing compound. It got a little of the finer ones out, and shined it up really good! But the deeper ones aren't going away. I'm researching alternatives. Seems like it should buff out, using coarse grit and then finer grits till it shines as good as new. Like a car, right? Ours looks kinda like Mechy's above. I wonder what the hell did it. You would think workers would show a little care, but it seemed to me that as one finished, they did a little as they could leaving the next guy to look out for himself.

It's what I decided to buy and now I'm stuck with it. I was so careful with my decision, and tried to research and weigh my decisions and I just screwed up again. My granite is Brazilian Black or the St. Gabriel Black like at Lowes. We had already decided on soapstone and then thought that it might not be right for out home. Cost was also a factor. This granite reads very black with silver and gray flecks. I chose one slab that was very consistant. I was told that I would just need one. After he started to fabricate, my granite contractor went back and got the only other slab that "matched". I has some bigger gray flecks that stand out and look like dirt at times. There's also a green chunk in a very high profile place. There is also an area that looks like a darker black rainbow shape that catches your eye. I know that granite is natural and has things like that at times, but this is not the kind where you want movement or odd colored or odd shaped things that stand out. Also, I feel like I always have to wipe it...though I'm starting to get over that a little now. The color in my kitchen just doesn't have the intensity that it did at the granite yard. The other thing that I didn't count on was with the darkness of the granite, I need to use my undercounter lights more to see. When I do, the light not only light up what I'm doing, they reflect off of the granite and shine into my eyes. It's like a black mirror. I'd love to have a non shiny finish now. I'm working to make it better now with a nice backsplash. I know, I know...I should be grateful, but it's just not what I hoped it would be. The only time I like it is when direct sunlight from my skylight hits it. Then it's all that it was at the granite yard. We're going to work on different lighting to help bring out it's best. I really wish that I felt like you guys do about your choice. The good news is that I didn't get all new cabinets AND a countertop so my mistake is ONLY a 2,200 one...How long does granite last again????

I will try to get a picture taken here in a couple days. We've got the countertops off right now so we could cut out the sink holes on the router table. Another beautiful thing about wood. They are light enough that I can move the perimeters by myself, and two of us can move the island top. I think it weighs around 90 lbs. We've had them out a few times now for construction projects so they wouldn't get dented and scratched with tools and such. We used a marine varnish (can't remember the name off hand) just right around the edges of the sink where we thought water might be an issue on top, bottom, and edge, no problems when we took the drop in sink out, but will be doing undermount with the new sinks. If it looks like we might start having problems, we'll do something other than oil over the entire top, but I don't see it ever being a problem. I'm pretty religious about oiling in the most used area. Less often on the seating side. I think there are 3 different logs in our kitchen, and the darkest was kept for the tops, but walnut fades unlike most wood, so my floors are already lighter than when they went in a little over a year ago. I haven't noticed a significant change in the tops yet. I do believe oil makes for a deeper darker finish than the polyurethane which brings out the oranges and reds more. The knotholes in the floor are by far the darkest and prettiest areas. I took a picture of the most used area of the kitchen floor, where we had the table and chairs. We moved them to the kitchen when we ripped out the dining room floors and just now moved the table back to the dining room (procrastination is what we do best). Now that the table and chairs are out, I will probably lightly sand and recoat that area of the floor. All scratches seem to be in the finish (oil based polyurethane) and not into the wood itself. I can't feel any of them when I rub my fingers over them anyways. Not to bad for 5 chairs being scooted around every day. I'm sure there are thousands of tiny scratches that aren't noticeable to the naked eye, but if I can't see them with the sunlight beaming in, they don't exist lol. The countertop scratches aren't as noticeable, most likely do to the fact that the oil actually soaks into the surface, whereas the poly sits on top of the wood. I'm sure there are probably knife marks where I've neglected to reach for the cutting board or where I've slid a heavy cast iron pan, but I certainly don't go looking for them and none are big or deep enough to draw attention. I'm pretty sure at one point I found a child's drawing somewhat imprinted into the top, but I've either forgotten about it, or it's gotten enough abuse that it blends. I circled the biggest scratches in the picture, because I'm not sure how big it will be when it posts. They are where the two chairs that were unknowingly missing a pad on a leg sat. There are other smaller scratches that don't pick up in the picture, but again, not noticeable unless you get down on your hands and knees and look for them.

The spar varnish would work, but I suspect it will be too heavy and glossy for your taste, unless you want a glass-like surface that reflects the tiniest flaw. I would personally lightly scuff-sand the salad bowl finish (it's water-based, correct, the one from General Finishes?) with 220 or 320 grit and apply a layer or two of satin PolyWhey on it. It's a water-based poly that's one of the hardest I've worked with, and I do a lot of refinishing. I've had it on our walnut-stained oak stairs for a number of years; no scratches at all yet and these stairs take some shoe and cat-claw abuse. Bonus is that the PolyWhey is absolutely without odor and dries within an hour or so. Super easy application. It's also food-safe when dry, which is always a question for urethanes. Best of luck with your project! PS: yes, if you want the traditional satin rubbed-oil finish, you will have to sand down and remove every trace of the salad bowl urethane. (Oil finishes work by sinking into the wood, and urethanes work by preventing anything from sinking into the wood.) Real oil finishes would be things like pure tung oil, boiled linseed oil, mineral oil, or preparations like Osmo or Rubio. These get rubbed in and sink into the wood fibers -- which is why they don't scratch, per se. But they also provide very little in the way of gloss and are less protective over time, requiring touchups. Oil-based cooked varnishes would be things like the Marine Spar Varnish, Waterlox, "Danish Oil" and for all intents and purposes oil-based polyurethane. These get brushed or wiped on and form a hard protective shell over the wood. But in your shoes I'd eschew either of those, and instead stick with something waterbased, so as to ensure the best bond with what you've already got on there. Thus my recommendation of the PolyWhey, which comes in a nice satin finish version. This post was edited by circuspeanut on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 11:41