Hi everyone. Really hoping you guys can help me with a bit of knowledge/advice.

I've read lots of posts on here but am now a bit confused so thought I would just ask the question and hope I get some definitive answers.

I'm in the UK and I've got a super white quartzite kitchen island in a leathered finish. I hate it with a passion. The top is riddled with stains or etching - I've no idea which and is very unsightly.

It was installed in December 2021. There were issues with the surface finish immediately (patches from the resin used to join the sides) and the installers came and tried to rectify them. They came a few times and in the end, I just gave up and accepted them as I assumed I would be able to get the top re sanded and/or polished and resealed further down the line if it got too bad (same as I do with the Corian surfaces I have elsewhere in the kitchen).

Both ends of the countertop were left with sort of dried foam marks from the fitters when they tried to rectify the surface - see images. In addition, we have a pop up extractor and the aperture they cut for it is out at one end. You can nudge the extractor over a bit when it goes back below the counter but a gap is still showing. It's a pain to have to do every time too.

The top stains if you so much as look at it the wrong way. The dishwasher is underneath the counter so when it's full, the dishes are left on top. This has led to a myriad of stains/etching.

Had I know it would mark this easily I would NEVER have chosen it. When the kitchen company owner (high end, reputable) came out to measure up for new Sub Zero's, I'd mentioned that the island could do with being revamped. He suggested the Quartzite and I was asked to go to the showroom to select the finish I liked. AT NO POINT was it ever mentioned that a matte finish would come with a myriad of do's and don'ts. Had I been aware of its propensity for staining I simply would never have chosen it. We have teenage twins who are proving very hard to train in the ways of the care and responsibilty world!! Ditto my husband....

My questions are:

1. Should it stain as easily as it does?

2. Can it be resanded and resealed?

3. Can I go back to the kitchen company and ask them to sort it out?

I don't want to be unreasonable but I really think the kitchen company should take some responsibilty for this debacle. It's not fit for purpose at all.

Any advice as to how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much Verbo.

So even though the invoice quotes fro quartzite, it's not? Why would they lie? How would I go about etching the whole thing? I can't live with it, it literally offends me.

The whole industry does the private label renaming and mislabeling bit. They may be vlurless, because they arent geologists, and its sn industry wide issue. You have to actually physically test stone samples to know what class of stone youre looking at. Tons of info out there on doing exactly that.

1. Should it stain as easily as it does?

Super White is notorious for its variation in its hardness and absorption rate from one slab to another because it is not a true quartzite. White Macaubus is another sold as quartzite that has various durability depending on the slab. Most of the time, they are closer to marble in behavior, so yes, your stone will stain and etch like marble does. Sealant will help prevent staining, but sealant cannot help with etching. As opposed to a true quartzite, like for example Taj Mahal quartzite, which will not stain nor etch.

2. Can it be resanded and resealed?

This will not help, you cannot change the intrinsic nature of your stone.

3. Can I go back to the kitchen company and ask them to sort it out?...I really think the kitchen company should take some responsibilty for this debacle.

You could try, but I don't think this issue is on them. When you buy other expensive items, such as your phone or your car, don't you do a little online research first? Or do you tell the car salesperson, I'll buy that blue one without checking whether it's suitable for you or not, and then ask the car salesperson to take responsibility for your choice. There are dozens of posts on just this forum alone about Super White, and also elsewhere on the internet. Also keep in mind that millions of people around the world have marble counters in their kitchens, and don't care if it etches or has patina, and that has been the case for hundreds of years. I do not see how you put the onus on the kitchen company for this one.

There are many discussions about quartzite on the internet, but here is a link to one sums things up well. The interviewee, Karen Kirk, is a geologist who has posted on this forum a number of times.

https://www.designnewjersey.com/features/rock-star/

M Miller, thanks so much for your well considered and lengthy response, much appreciated.

I accept what you’re saying re. them not being fully responsible but the reason i do hold them responsible is because i‘d told them about my previous kitchen counters that were granite and i hated them because they stained/etched (interchangeable in my head) so much. Why would i then want a product that was even worse?

It appears to me they’ve suggested it on the basis of looks alone. This isn’t helpful as we all know, looks fade!

It’s a major investment and i would have thought/expected an experienced, professional and quality organisation - who you are using for advice as well as to supply and fit - would have pointed out the pitfalls so as to allow me to make a decision based on all of the facts .

I would expect that a (reputable) salesman of any product would want the customer to walk away from the deal thinking they’d got good advice and service. Part of the salesmans job is to observe, ask questions and pose scenarios for the prospective purchaser to consider . i I.e. a customer should really be heard repeating the immortal line ’I hadn’t thought of that’. If nothing else, to stop them coming back later to complain .

Maybe I’m just old fashioned and the expectation of an honest appaisal of a product and its suitability is outrageous . If that’s the case then surely sales people will no longer be needed and people will just cut them out and go straight to the supplier. - as is happening more and more. Why should they get a cut of the purchase price if they’re not giving people the benefit of their experience/wisdom for it?

It’s up to them if they want to engage and take any ownership, I will have to wait and see how reputable they really are. I was looking at the possibility of a whole kitchen refit (excluding the island) later in the year but if they do shrug their shoulders, well, its 100% they wont be getting the work. I will also recount my negative experience far and wide - as is my right.

You mention issues with Corian, granite and now this marble. That’s a little unusual. What types of products/activity are causing marking on your Corian? & on your previous granite?

Mamm Cita. Thanks for your comments.

In answer to your question, nothing, just every day life .

The Corian I refer to is now 7 years old and was just a bit ‘tired’. We got it resanded and sealed and it’s come up like new. As I would expect anything that is considered suitable for prolonged family use, should.

The granite was in our last house and again, just normal family life . The kids were babies and a variety of food and drink routinely got dropped and spilled. Various cleaners would just ‘march to the beat of their own drum‘ when cleaning it too.

I am now of the opinion that these products should come with a warning prior to purchase i.e. Only for people who do not use their kitchens as intended. If you prepare food and eat and drink in your kitchen then DON’T buy this product*

*Unless you have a full time helper on stand by ready to mop up every spill with the correct cleaning product .

As I said, give it a try with the company and see what they say. But honestly - and I am not trying to be harsh, just realistic - it would have taken you a couple minutes to google Super White before plunking down your money. If you'd spent just half of the time researching the stone that you've now spent on this thread you would not be in this situation.