Thanks so much for the info.

I called the stone shop and they said the finish on display is "matte", but they do not have further information. They had 2 options, the gorgeous polished slab (truly, it takes your breath away. Nice work!) and another finish that felt very "commercial floor" to me. I wonder if it could have been Riverwashed? I'd be very interested in seeing the Silk, and testing the Polished.

Is there a way to get samples?

Thanks again!

Just had Neolith polished Calacatta 12 mm installed today, already has very fine minor scratches, but you really need to look closely like putting your face to the countertop close at the right angle to see them. Still much better looking and nature looking than Dekton (which I'd install in a heart beat as a bar top in a man cave for hubby, but we don't have the space). I'm happy with it given there's no maintenance and I can use as many lemons as I want on it. Hopefully I'll keep being happy after wear and tear in a few years.

Congratulations! It's sooo pretty! Do you have any photos?

I saw Neolith a t a friend's house. I was hanging out at the island and touched the counter, and was like, "Ooooh!" because it felt so different (and nice), so I asked what it was. First time I'd seen it outside a showroom. She had one of the Iron colors, Iron Moss maybe. It had a little bit of texture to it, maybe the riverwashed finish. I was impressed.

I can't comment, as ours isn't in yet. I decided on the Silk surface because I wanted something softer and less reflective. The fact that it's less likely to scratch didn't figure into the equation, but I'm glad it's the case--this may be the only time that I didn't know something and it actually turned out OK!

I posted pics in another thread. I'm new to this site, don't know how to use it yet. Search keywords "help" and Neolith and it should come up.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3717273/help-is-my-new-neolith-countertops-cut-and-installed-wrong-see-pic?n=13

thanks :)

Maxima9, now that you have lived with Neolith in your kitchen for a while, what is your assessment? I saw it today and it took my breath away. I really want "real" Calacutta gold, but can't afford it (plus all the issues in a kitchen.) I'm in research mode on the Neolith. Anyone else have input?

Hi Gina,

The 1st time we put something hot on the counter, it cracked 10 inches. the crack continues to expand, now it's 14 inches long and the crack is feathering from the original straight line crack.

I contacted Neolith numerous times via many channels: Calling them, emailing them, posting on message boards, even left my cell number on their public FB page. NO RESPONSE. So I started telling my horrible experience on message boards. That got their attention. Instead of contacting me, their social media person tried to spin it, and kept saying "Gives us another chance, we'll take care of you." So I did, like an idiot, I contacted them again. And once again, NO response. Do your search on other threads, and you'll find MANY people with similar experiences. Some experienced chipping during 1st year of usage.

DO NOT GET IT! It's NOT durable as their promo video shows when they chop on it and use blow torch on it. It was misleading. The fine prints says no hot items on it.

Plus they do NOT stand behind their product and blame the installer. Homeowners are stuck between installer and Neolith. We saw an open house with Neolith counter, it cracked from one end to the other end of the kitchen island. The owner said they couldn't get it fixed either and had to sell a 2 million home with a cracked kitxhen counter as is. It's possible the installer is to blame in some cases. But not in our case because we installed the same counter in the kitchen and in 3 bathrooms. The bathroom counters are fine. So it's not the installation, it's Neolith misrepresenting their product being durable to heat.

Take a look at Dekton countertops. Also porcelain slabs from Spain but much harder material. We got a sample and saw finished island and vanity in person. Loved it. If we ever have the money to build a new kitchen and bathrooms again, we will use Dekton.

Good luck!

Gina, BTW, Neolith is more expensive than real Calacatta marble. You also must use an "authorized" fabricator, which is really rare. Otherwise you void the warranty. Which is stupid, because Neolith doesn't stand behind it when issues happen anyway.

Some owners tried using fabricator that were not familiar with it and it was disastrous. Some Neolith slab sellers won't let you choose the orientation (right vs. left) of the slab. It was really a pain in the butt to get it. I absolutely regret it.

Their social media person said they are following all my posts. So I won't be surprised if they come up here to argue about it after my posts. Hope this helps.

Gina--we've had Neolith Calacatta silk in our kitchen for about a year and a half and are happy with it. I won't belabor what I've said on other threads, but we do have a couple of small chips on the mitered edge caused by sharp, accidental bashes with a heavy pot. Haven't checked into having them repaired yet. We love how it looks, and the cleanup is fantastic given that we're not careful with things that would otherwise stain some stones, like coffee, red wine, oils, tomato sauce, etc. When I was considering Neolith, I got samples of silk and polished in various colors and put a cast iron pan from a 450 degree oven on them (filled with Brussels sprouts) with no adverse effects. Maybe it's different on a full slab, but the sample squares were fine.

As for customer service, I can't comment on the Neolith company itself, except that they were quick to respond when our installer seemingly changed the sheen while cleaning off what might have been adhesive marks. The first dealer/fabricator I found was utterly atrocious--lazy, uninformed, dishonest, and careless to the point that I gave up on Neolith, but I was finally put in touch with a different one and they were very helpful and responsive. From these threads, it does sound like Neolith corporate could do a more effective job of making sure that customer support reaches the customer. Personally though, I'm happy with the product.

AvatarWait and maxima9, thank you both for your input. Maxima9, I'm so sorry to hear about your problems. How incredibly frustrating, especially for a premium product. I had a lengthy conversation today with an authorized installer. He said that he has found he had to go above and beyond what Neolith recommended for support (i.e., stone, not plywood) and some of his installations have had difficulties with cracking around their goose-neck faucets after a year or two. Plus, you are right, it is going to be even more than Calacutta given the difficult fabrication and install. All of this is making me pretty nervous about it. I can't imagine paying top dollar and then having a problem down the road. And at this price, I think chips would bug me also. But boy is it gorgeous. I also saw MSI's new porcelain slab and thought it was even more beautiful but it is new enough that there isn't a lot of input on it. So now I am completely up in the air between quartz, "real" marble or a porcelain, spinning my wheels... Right now I have no idea what I will end up doing.

Hello Maxima9. My name is Alejandro Castillo, contacting you from Neolith Marketing Department. We are interested in having a conversation with you to understand your complaints better and feedback about the material. If you could please share with us a telephone number where we can contact your or an email address. Please send the information to digitalmarketing@neolith.com

Best regards,

Neolith Team

Avatarwait, I am wondering about the change of sheen to your silk finish-are there spots that are shinier? I was trying to remove some metallic looking areas which I think are metal transfer marks and now there are two shiny spots on the counter-I think I made it worse. Thanks for any info

Hi Margo-- that is indeed what happened. After install (actually a few months later, as the counters were covered up) we noticed rows of little shiny marks in a pattern like the ties in a model railroad track in lots of different places. I have no idea if it was adhesive, or wear marks from transport, or something else, but I couldn't feel them and couldn't get them off either. The fabricator came and scrubbed away most of them with what I'm told was an orange scrubby and acetone, but in a couple of places that left areas where, at certain angles and lighting, you could see a shinier finish. I was really really not happy.

The fabricator offered to change the slabs or work out a financial deal, and, after considering, I decided to keep what we had and have no regrets about that. I'm not sure if it's gotten better over time or if I've stopped noticing (I'm out of town so can't check right now), but I haven't seen any shine since the issue first came up well over a year ago.

What did you use to scrub? I've used Barkeeper's Friend since then and, while I don't scrub super hard, it's removed anything and everything with no damage to the surface. All in all I really like the Neolith; I figure there's no perfect material, and since we've already nicked the cabinets and banged painted corners and inflicted any number of other insults, I'm filing it all under "lived-in and well-used."

Hi Avatarwait,

I just saw your comment. For some reason it didn't show up in my email.Thank you for responding!! My fabricator will come in a week or so. When you use BKF, do you use a sponge or anything else? Happy to hear you like the Neolith after living with it for a while.

Avatarwait,

One other question-did your fabricator try to buff the surface to even it out so the shiny spots were removed? Thanks again for you information.

Please read the post "want to see pix of CRACKED NEOLITH?" before choosing your material.