I'm gonna sheepishly ask this as me and my Cairn terriers are still a bit confused on this issue. Maybe Bassets are quicker on the uptake here. My travertine kitchen backsplash is up. I bought a sealer enhancer combo product from Lowe's but none of you pros had used it so I got spooked by it. Yesterday I purchased Stonetech Rich Color Enhancer Pro from a tile store. Guy said to grout then apply the Stonetech twice without letting the first coat dry before applying the second coat. I've been doing some test runs on left over tile I have (tile is on a 12X12 mesh) trying to pick my grout color. Thus far with the Lowes' stuff, I have been applying a coat of it, grouting, then applying another coat. Now these directions with Stonetech are totally different. Does it really matter? Yeah, why should we ever follow the directions? HA! It's just my tile guy says he usually seals, grouts, and seals again. Is this Stonetech Enhancer Pro a good way to go given I do want to darken my stone and, of course, I want to seal and protect it? Or do I need a sealer and a separate enchancer? Thanks from the Cairns for any replies. Come on guys, let's go pee on some tiles. pup

Mine is Stone Tech -- made by DuPont. Not sure if it's the same one you are talking about but I've had it down just short of 4 years. I have no complaints with it. I would just get the sealer and don't worry about the warranty. Not only is it like buying a tire and thinking they'll replace your car, you don't want the counters replaced, the cabinets and slash possibly damaged, your sink and plumbing upset (which I'm sure they won't cover), and that's assuming you overcome the it wasn't applied correctly and it wasn't maintained correctly exceptions. They said repair or replace, and chances are the only thing they will do is tell you that you that the sealer either wasn't applied correctly or that it is a wear area where you should have reapplied sealer and then apply a poultice and tell you to reseal the area. I doubt they do pay out on any replacements. But it sounds good. Marble is a very durable stone and can be worked with. Most sealers will do a fine job of protecting from stains. They do need to be reapplied, especially in your heavy traffic areas. I've only spot resealed in some wear spots, but I've had tomato sauce, chocolate and other stuff splattered in places I didn't see and clean until the morning after. No stains. In the wear area by my sink, I had a light tea stain, but it came right out with any special efforts -- a little cleaner and a light buffing. If it were worse, I'd have been here looking for a poultice to put on it. To me, that's less of an issue than waiting around to have someone come do it for me, dealing with the dogs while they do it and having to listen to "don't you know this about your marble, honey." Get the marble and enjoy it -- or don't. Don't get it thinking miracle products will change the nature of the stone and make it okay for you. Be okay with the stone itself if you are going to get it.

Following up on this...I tried a few different sealers and all were failing the oil test. I was in a panic and wondered if I'd chosen a stone that was super fussy. I finally got some good advice from a local fabricator (not the one who installed my granite) to use Tenax Ager (to enhance) and Tenax ProSeal. They are both solvent based. Both oil and water beaded up after one application to my sample. My counters are completely transformed. It's too early to say how often I will have to reapply, but the fabricator suggested it would be about 1 year. He said to watch for water to stop beading up around the sink.

"Stone is porous and unfortunately hold undesirable attributes because of this." @Jason Martell resurrected a 5-year-old thread to add an ignorant statement. For anyone reading this--now that he has brought it up to the top from 5 years ago--please note that while some stones used for counters are porous, there are so many that are not. Many stone counters, both of granites and quartzites, need no sealant at all, ever, due to their low absorption rate (i.e. very low porosity). Some stones have such low absorption rates that the use of sealant mars their appearance; since the stone is so dense, the sealant cannot be absorbed so it sits on top, and causes the counters to look hazed and streaky. There are a number of posts on this forum from people who sealed counters of a more dense stone, and got that result. Quartzite, like granite, has different varieties that vary in porosity. Taj Mahal is one of the well-known quartzites that is not porous and does not need to be sealed. However, the OP's quartzite, Calacatta Gold, is not as dense and will need to be sealed. A Deep Dive into the Properties of Quartzite