Update: The granite tech/owner was here again yesterday. He repolished the surface but it still does not look consistant with the shine. He states that is the stone. My kitchen granite is a different granite color but the shine does look consistant. The polishing he has been doing looks like it has cloudy spots throughout the granite. This shows when the light from the bathroom window is reflecting on it. You can't tell when the bathroom lights are on, but it looks horrible when the natural light shines on it. He said that he used two different sealers this time and then he slapped the water in and showed me it did not darken. He did this "slapping" technique in less than a minute and said "see, it didn't get darker". I just don't know anymore. When he originally put the piece in I don't remember if this cloudy and shiny look was present, I just noticed the big scratch. Any help would be appreciated with your suggestions. He did say that he would change the whole piece if it doesn't stay sealed.

Limestone and travertine essentially have the same chemical composition, but the way they were formed is totally different. Travertine is formed by the percolating action of water - water moves through rock or soil and then deposits minerals that got dissolved in the water during its' journey. Travertine will have striations (layers) and voids (holes) and could have a billowy, cloud-like pattern. It is overall, typically harder than limestone. It can have areas of fill and is a very dense stone good for use in a wet environment. Ivory Travertine: > Limestone is a sedimentary rock formed of the exoskeletons of crustaceans, corals, plants and shells. Limestones could have fossils in it and has a more even coloring that travertine. Layers are not always as evident. You do get some really nice compact limestones (a lot of them come from France) that are very hard and could be suitable for heavy traffic areas (like Beauharnais) > Jerusalem Limestone (note the fossils) > When you mention "staining", are these ares lighter or darker? Lighter areas are etches (most personal hygiene products contain some acid and are able to etch calciferous stones) As far as the coffee and hair dye stains: You could try to poultice them out with a peroxide poultice (use beauty shop strength peroxide - not the stuff you buy in Walgreens as a disinfectant.) The best advice I could give you, though , is to get a stone restoration professional in there to have a look at it. They are specialized in cleaning and restoring stone surfaces and they will be able to deep clean and also grind out the etches to give you a brand new looking bathroom top. The resto guy will also be able to seal with a high quality sealer. Miracle's 511 Porous Plus would be a good sealer, but If it were me, I really would get a pro in there - if not for a restoration, at least just for a look-see and some first-hand advice.

I opted for a Karran sink but I saw a counterseal sink/counter on display - it looked pretty good but how it holds up longer term I don't know. I've had the Karran sink for a little over a year at my weekend lake place. No problems so far. Things to consider in my opinion. I'm careful about the edge where the laminate meets the sink - it seems like this might chip easily. The Karran sink does stain easily though it does clean up easily too with softscrub. It's the kind of sink you need to clean frequently though. Here's a picture of mine.

http://www.drytreat.com/sealers/residential/meta-creme.html It is the only sealer that does not need to be reapplied, nor is it a plastic filler. Meaning it is a microporosity impregnating sealer, but it is not a resin or plastic. So why it does not fall through or need reapplying