What is the name of the quartzite and did the back have a lot of resin residue?

You can see the resin on the raw back side. From my importer, only some resin etch. It depends on who prep the stone before it comes into the state, whether they went cheap.

All stones are quarried in different countries then sent to China for prepping. Some quartzite are too brittle for transport and would be injected with resin on site prior to China.

I can't recall if there was residue on the back. I'll be sure to check in the future.

The name of this particular piece was "Frosty White Extra" .

This post can help you tell quartzite from marble. Most real quartzite is very hard.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2692150/countertop-geology-part-six-lets-talk-about-rocks-some-more

There is a very good long thread here called calling all fantasy brown owners you need to read it. I have fantasy brown quartzite countertops and I have thrown everything at them, never baby them and I don't have a single etch or stain. I had pasta sauce splatter on it next to the burner so it got baked on basically. I sprayed it with my alcohol and water mixture let it sit a bit and wiped it right off. I left some wine on it for a few days before I noticed it. Again spray it with the alcohol and water mixture and wiped it off. Mine has a lot of white and gray not as much brown just a bit of beige. Check out the testimonials on the thread I mentioned. If you love it do it.

From the above link: Scratch Test - Take a glass bottle or a glass tile with you when you go stone shopping. Find a rough, sharp edge of the stone. Drag the glass over the edge of the stone. Press pretty hard. Try to scratch the glass with the stone.

Has anyone had success doing this while shopping at a stone yard ? Wondering if the people there think you are up to no good . Best technique ? Buy a cheap glass tile at HD?

I forgot to bring glass when I went to my stone yard -- they let me use a ketchup bottle from their break room for my scratch test. Passed with flying colors and we love our quartzite!

I had a little round glass saucer thing you put a candle on, got it at dollar tree for a dollar. Fit in my purse. My granite guy had no problem with me doing it he gave me a good sized chunk he had to take with me.

oh, great idea! i'll check out the dollar store.

Resin does not etch.

I tested a piece I received from the stone yard today. It is being sold as a quartzite. I brought it home and tried to scratch it with glass and it did not scratch. I put ketchup, oil , vinegar and lemon juice on it for over two hours and no stains. It looks like your sample.

You mean you tried to scratch the glass with the stone right? You said you tried to scratch the stone with the glass.

Maybe it's my screen, but I see a couple small red/pink dots on that sample lower left, kalenangel

Raven- no I was actually dragging drinking glasses across the top to see if they would scratch. What are the results supposed to be if I scratch glass with the quartzite? What should I be looking for?

jaimeeap- Great eye! however it's just highlighter from my hands. Here is a clear picture from this morning in better light does it look OK? It has a few natural beige spots in it. Not all of the slabs had it, but this sample piece did. Red flag?

" It has a few natural beige spots in it. Not all of the slabs had it, but this sample piece did. Red flag?"

Mother nature has no quality control. There's no telling what may be lurking in your stone. If you find this exciting, go ahead. If you find this frightening, get engineered stone.

As long as the beige spots aren't apoxy they used to fill small holes and fisures with. That's the one thing we steered clear of with our quartzite.

I am fine with the spotting as the natural characteristics are what we love about the stone. When I said red flag, I was wondering if the discoloration somehow meant that it possibly wasn't a true quartzite? I was pleased with the performance tests but I know so little about stone that I am sure that I could easily be fooled into a marble that is marketed as a quartzite ;-) That is why I come to this great place to have my blinders removed :-)

From Karin's wonderful guide to Stone...

Scratch Test
Take a glass bottle or a glass tile with you when you go stone shopping. Find a rough, sharp edge of the stone. Drag the glass over the edge of the stone. Press pretty hard. Try to scratch the glass with the stone.

Quartzite will bite right into the glass and will leave a big scratch mark.
Any feldspar will do the same. (Granites are made mostly of feldspar)

Calcite and dolomite (that's what marble and limestone are made of) will not scratch. In fact you will be able to feel in your hand that the rock won't bite into the glass. It feels slippery, no matter how hard you press.

PS - don't press so hard that you risk breaking the glass in your hand. You shouldn't need to press that hard!

Ok so I came home and tried the true glass test and sadly it failed. It did not scratch the glass and the sharp edges kind of turned to powder and crumbled. I guess it is not a true quartzite. Normally I would say "no biggie" since it passed the ketchup and lemon juice test but tonight I put some soy sauce on it and it stained :-( No etching, but it stained in less than 2 minutes....

Do you know how lucky you are to know this now instead of after your final check has been cashed?

Do ask if the samples have been sealed, you will get different stain results on sealed vs non sealed many times.