Green Mountain PA soapstone oil vs wax

6 years ago

I have had my new counters (Green Mountain Soapstone PA) installed about a month ago and I love them. Before I got them based on reading here I had purchased a soapstone wax. However, Green Mountain Soapstone said with their harder soapstone to just use the mineral oil they gave me. Curious if anyone waxes the GM PA? I have the Milk Company soapstone wax and I have other beeswax/oil combos use for my cutting boards etc

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Mrs. Gopher #BringBackSophie

6 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoOu-m57gnk&t=208s

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Anglophilia
6 years ago
I would follow the instructions of the company from whom I bought the countertops.
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sherri1058
6 years ago
I don't have the Green Mountain PA, but I have had my soapstone for a year or so and have used both oil and beeswax combo. Honestly, you can use either. My preference is the oil. It is easier to apply and I don't notice a big difference in how long it lasts.
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I have Santa Rita Venata - I chose it because I needed an over size piece and it was so beautiful. I got it from M. Tex in NJ. I found a 150" slab and was able to do my huge center island in one piece with no seaming. It is stunning and I love it. Everyone who sees it touches it and comments on the gorgeous green/white veining. But a word of caution: mine dings and scratches very easily. The dings make an indent which turns white. Either sand the dings out (easy) but they make an very thin impression in the stone. Or just dot the dings with a black sharpie and they are not noticeable. I do wish now I had picked a harder variety, so do some ding tests on your sample to be sure. Regarding maintenance, at the beginning I was obsessive and oiled every day. The oil would lift quickly and there would be gray patches- I was getting stressed out about it. But, my experience and the wise words of Joshua from FL, were to give it time and the soapstone would "season/Patina". Sure enough, six months later I only oil monthly and I notice I am needed ot do less and less. I use grape seed oil from Trader Joes. No graying or lifting like earlier in the process. I think different parts of the stone take longer to patina to the oil but eventually it all evens out. Have patience it will work itself out. The oiling is a snap - wipe on wipe off. I keep my oil rag in a ziploc bag and now I hardly even add any oil to it - just swipe and go! Great stone! I would chose my slabs again because I wanted no seaming, but in another kitchen I would just try to find a harder variety.
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I'm only a couple of weeks in, but we've been very happy with the dry wax from Alberene. It goes on much more easily than I expected it would and lasts much longer than mineral oil.
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Oh, thank you all so much! N and I were having a glass of wine in our new (but still non-operational) kitchen and enjoying the stone. We're still camping out upstairs, in my studio, which is equipped with a little fridge and a sink and a butane powered single burner stove. It's a little like being students again. But the soapstone has really made the kitchen feel like a kitchen. We are delighted with our choice, and we appreciate your comments so much. No charge to come over, Cindaintx (but here we consider oursleves to be in the southwest, at least of our province, Ontario). VictorNYC, I do think our prices are inflated in Canada, but if I deduct the sills, which were about 1K, our price per sq' installed was about $110. It's definitely steep, but about neck in neck with a premium marble or stainless steel (at least here, where we have few suppliers). Dianalo, the veining is a little like lightning, or something delicious. The veining is a little "chubby", 10KDiamond, and moreso than in our sample. We didn't choose the precise slabs--just the variety, so the result has been a really great surprise for us. We would encourage any of you soapstone fence sitters to jump on over. We're really delighted. I have word that the marble for the island will be installed on Wednesday. I will post more photos when that happens. Thank you all--especially those of you who encouraged us to go with soapstone. Now that it's in place, we can't believe we considered anything else. The caramel veined variety was just a lucky break for us. We didn't know such a thing existed until we saw it, and were smitten forever.
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I have Green Mountain Original PA. Comparatively speaking, it's among the hardest of soapstones on the market, with little or no veining. That's also why it primarily reads black. Although it's not the case with all GM stone, mine also has small,caramel-colored flecks throughout and occasional, unusual multi-colored veining which look like either dried river beds or snake skins. Here's a close-up of it:
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muskokascp
6 years ago
I have Original PA and love it. I think I used wax on it about 4 years ago and none since. It's still a lovely dark color and no scratches or chips.
Buehl
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
If your goal is to keep it dark, this thread has some useful information. Unfortunately, the pictures are no longer available. Hopefully, the text will help.

(If anyone has the pictures saved, could you add them to the thread please?!)

Thread from Florida_Joshua: What keeps soapstone darker longer. . .The answer! ! !

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2695199/what-keeps-soapstone-darker-longer-the-answer
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winonelson
6 years ago
I've been using Real Milk Paint Company's soapstone wax, which is apparently a blend of walnut oil and carnuba wax flakes. According to the website, using walnut oil instead of mineral oil keeps the oil from transferring around the house. I have no idea if this is correct.

Here's a link - https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/waxes/soapstone/
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kfpwvt
Original Author
6 years ago
The Milk Paint is what I purchased based on reading the thread Buehl mentioned (among others - I'm a big researcher). I decided to try it and it went on easy. Just a bit more work to rub than the oil but i like the look and feel better. Time will tell on how it ages vs oil.
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Allison0704
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Any updates to this thread? I was about to order a soapstone wax on Amazon, but came here to search/read first. Turns out it's The Milk Paint kfpwvt posted about last year. Thank you.
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kfpwvt
Original Author
6 years ago
I ended up using both the mineral oil and the milk paint wax. I also don’t oil/wax that much after the first weeks/months. The counter has darkened and stays darker now. I so,dimes oil to dress up bod,people who haven’t seen the kitchen yet. Most is needed around the sinks where it does seem to dry out and get lighter.

I think both work and seem to be fine to use both (at separate times). Oil is a bit quicker but leaves more residue (maybe I should rub it out more) the wax takes a bit more effort to rub in but leaves a flatter sheen with a feel I like a bit more. But that difference could be that I used too much oil or don’t rub it out enough - with the wax takes more effort on but doesn’t seem to overdo.
Allison0704
6 years ago
Thank you, kfpwvt.
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quadesl
6 years ago
It takes about a year of oiling every few weeks, after that they stay dark and require an occasional oil to maintain them. The oil they supply is easy to apply.

Green Mountain PA soapstone oil vs wax

Mrs. Gopher #BringBackSophie

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Green Mountain PA soapstone oil vs wax

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