I've been googling madly about silicone and this is what I've found. They are not all created equal and some of the cheap ones attract dirt. I think that's what's happened here. In defense of the fabricator, I think they haven't installed much white quartz and I don't think you'd notice the grimy looking silicone on granite. Also, I wonder whether they did an inadequate job of cleaning the surface before they applied the silicone. Maybe it looks dirty because there's some dirt in there? Do I have any recourse here? Should the fabricator help me out? It doesn't seem reasonable that 3 months out, the joint looks bad. I think at the very least, I should call the fabricator who installed my quartz and let them know that they need to use a higher quality silicone for white quartz installations. How do I find out which silicone is best when I replace the existing caulk? I'm worried about the silicone that's down in the joint that I won't be able to reach. I think they put a bead of silicone on the edge of the counter near the wall and then put the backsplash piece on top. That silicone will be impossible to get out. If I cover it with white silicone, will it look OK? Is white silicone opaque? I'm upset about this because one of the big issues I had with my old kitchen was that no matter how clean I kept it, it never looked clean (thanks to the 1970s color scheme). Now I have a new kitchen with a 15 foot long seam that looks grimy no matter what I do. Ugh.

Blue222q: thank you for the compliment on the kitchen! I made a mistake in my measurements because we went through a few modifications on the island and I wasn't reading the most recent modifications when I posted the measurements. The wood counters are 24 1/2 inches each, and the quartz is 78 1/2 inches, giving a total of 127 inches. I love the wood counters. I have a lot of counter space around the perimeter of my kitchen (which is the same quartz as the island) and it really needed something to break up all the white marble looking quartz. Plus I have grayish marble floor tiles. The wood adds warmth to it and I really like the 2 surfaces. I have only had it for a few weeks now but I absolutely am grateful my kitchen designer thought of the wood. It is raised a little above the quartz which I suggest as well. So the wood is not flush with the quartz, intentionally. I could have gone with a thicker wood but for every inch you add on a wood counter, the cost really goes up and I didn't think I really needed a thicker piece of wood. The quartz was put down first in the middle of the island and then the wood on the ends. So the wood is not sitting on top of the quartz. The guys that put in the quartz, ran white caulk(I think that is what it is) on the seam where the wood meets up with the quartz. You don't notice it at all. I'm assuming the wood counter is glued onto the cabinets in the island but I wasn't around when the wood was installed. The book match is good and I'm assuming the more pattern your quartz has, the more you can hide the seam. I don't have a lot of pattern and you do see a very slight line that runs horizontal in the middle of the quartz. You really don't notice it. I'll have to take more photos for you to see it.

I noticed this right after work was being done on the ceiling above the counter. I even saw the debris that came out next to the chip. Any guesses how a chip like this occurred? The counter seemed well protected with cardboard and blankets, so the worker is denying he did the damage (it absolutely was him since the fresh debris was sitting right there after he left). Could a chip like this happen from something dropping on the counter? I feel like that kind of impact would cause a bigger chip, especially if the impact is strong enough to cause a chip to a padded counter. So maybe there was something trapped between the counter and what he used to pad it? And if he stood on it, that caused the counter to chip? I don't suppose this is something I can get covered by Silestone warranty? Since quartz is super durable, is it possible there was an inherent weakness that caused this to chip even though it was padded? It just seems like too small of a chip to be the result of blunt force impact, so maybe there was an issue with the material? Matt - We were typing at the same time. I'm trying to understand how it happened too.

Whilst I do agree with the above statement, though does not address why it is there. From the photo it looks to be from a 4" diamond polishing pad. Usually if this happens it is from a poor polishing technique and they run up onto the surface with the edge polishing pads. But this is not the case there. I would say they have chipped the edge or there was a mark in the surface. In any light something has been repaired in that spot. It has like sanding in a spot and why it is dull. It can be repaired but be aware of the difference in the compounds available around and methods of repairing be advised by those who are stone restoration qualified stone masons. And those who are just general contractors, even if they have some stone knowledge and experience. The statement about Quartz Renew, but it is only ever a blend of the polished surface. All the stone restoration guys that we know have the same issue with the Quartz Renew. It is only ever 90% of the reflectivity achieved, this means that the stone finish or polish in never the same as the factory finish. We are able to return the surface to the original factory finish for all Quartz brands, color and finishes. Including the highly polished pure white and marble look range. We are master stonemason not just a general contractor and have restored some of the most prestigious projects around the world. So we do know what we are talking about. Also we are one of a hand full of companies able to restore quartz stone or engineered stone back to the original factory finish. Just to give you some quantification to our advise. Whilst Quartz Renew is an ok solution, but it is far from perfect. It will only restore the stone to about 10% within the original shine or polish if you measure it with a gloss meter. It will NOT restore the high polished shine on marble look or fine grain quartz stone. As these are finished at about twice the gloss level. Yes measuring via a gloss meter is the same as viewing the surface from various angles to see the polish. If you do this ona Quartz Renew repaired surface you WILL SEE the slight haze where it has been used. Though it is better than leaving the surface as it was. The best option is Diamond Quartz Polish in the DIY-Trade kit. It returns the shine and gloss to any Quartz of any brand, colour and finish. It is a permanent solution as it nano activates the components the quartz is made of to achieve the polish and shine. The same as the factory finish. There is no hazing or shadow around the repair like quartz renew. It is best to AVOID using any of the following - the current big item causing etching damage is BLEACH or anything containing bleach. It is known to etch stone. Below are some links for similar etching cause by a wide range of etching chemical such as; Which will damage the stone and most likely have cause the issue to start with. 1) Windex - Window Cleaners 2) Bleach or bleach containing products 3) Oven cleaner 4) Drain Cleaner 5) Gumption 6) Magic Erasers 7) Jiff 8) Bar keepers friend 9) or any other abrasive or corrosive cleaners For example you can enter any product into google followed by MSDS to bring us the Material Safety Data Sheet. Where in section 3 all hazardous chemicals must be list by law. Along with the pH of the product in section 9. The optimum pH range for any surface and not to be caustic or acidic is pH6-8. This way no surface can be damaged from any cleaning product. Example of a google product search; - “Ajax Spray & Wipe MSDS” _____________