No worries, everyone. I've been lurking on here for some time and finally decided to post as demolition was completed on Sunday and I must make a decision soon! I love this site and appreciate all the comments. I'm just looking for honest feedback. Something about Granite Shield seemed iffy to me, but since my fabricator recommended it I wanted to check it out. From what I've read here it seems that applying the wrong sealant can ruin your marble, and it sounds like you need to make sure your fabricator uses the same sealant that you plan to apply later yourself. A lot of people seem to speak very highly of 511 on this site. Is this what you would recommend?

A penetrating sealer is inside the stone. Not a lot on the surface will come into contact with food. While it might not be a good idea to drink a quart of sealer, I wouldn't have an issue with kneading the occasional bit of bread dough on a surface treated with it.

A lot more folks like the look and idea of marble than are comfortable with living with it -- especially since we aren't used to it in kitchens we've grown up with. We just hear it will etch and stain, so folks become afraid of it. Fear creates a need for something to get rid of the fear. A market is born. They require trained applicators and the market is controlled, so it is more expensive and stays more expensive -- and the salesman is just going tot try to figure out what you want so he can sell it to you. If you are saying you are afraid of marble, it is an option he can present to you. And you're right -- if you come back and complain about the marble, they can tell you that you should have used the Dry Treat. I don't know the other sealer mentioned above, but I would suggest that you don't agree to anything without testing it on a sample of your surface. I really don't feel compelled to suggest anything more than a good quality penetrating sealer. My fabricator used StoneTech and it has been great. Never a stain -- with messy teen boys and a house full of ketchup, tomato sauces, chocolate, chili, lemon juice, vinegars, oils, coffee, tea, and wine. In another thread you said you saw how a seriously etched piece of marble was brought back nearly to its original state with some buffing. You are not likely to have anything nearly that bad in your kitchen. If you were okay with that, I'd stick with that. If not, go to something totally different. If I find that treated tile in the garage, I'll let you know -- but they shouldn't sell anything they can't show you a sample of, especially if it changes the surface of your stone (they say it gives an orange peel" texture to the surface).

In our stone refinishing business over the last several years we have been honing and rehoning many marbles(especially calacatta's,carrara's,dandy,statuary and more in and around the ny metro area.We do this work onsite at businesses or residences on polished marble whose owners found that dealing with polished marble in an acidic enviroment was to much to deal with. We also rehone honed countertops that have become abraded and or etched thru use. Or were just delivered with a finish that was a bit too shiny or at times not quite uniform enough. Anyway what we found is that if we get the level of hone just right although the countertops will etch from acidic substances it is much less obvious to the eye and can be easier to maintain. It also means customer will have longer intervals between professional services from companies like us. While polished stones or marble will etch and stand out like a sore thumb a polished surface is less resistant to the intrusion of staining agents. In the stone world always remember that a true stain will be darker than the stone and an etch mark will always be lighter. No exceptions to that rule. So anyway some polished stones will not need much sealer or take much because their surfaces when polished had a chemical reaction(beilby layer)with the polishing compounds used that caused the surface to gloss over and fill in the pores. However honed surfaces may make etching less obvious they can be more easily stained if not sealed properly. There are many sealers out there on the market that are very good. Water based sealers can be better for more porous stones due to there larger molecule composition. They also can be easier to work with and have less of an odor.Solvent based sealers can be more penetrating and work well on denser stones. Some have strong odors some dont. I like to work with sealers that dont smell and there are many goods brands out there. If you intend on doing this yourself send us an email and we will be happy to give you sugestions and walk you thru the process. If your fabricator is reputable and will take the time to properly seal the countertop then I would go with him as he should have a good knowledge of what the stone needs. The porousity should be tested so you know how porous your stone is. Based on that your fabricator should use a high quality sealer. No matter how good a impregnator(sealer) is,it is just as good as the operator who applies it. Your marble will need a minimum of two applications of sealer possibly more. The most effective way of applying a sealer is to load up the surface ,give the sealer time to absorb and then completly remove any resisue left on the surface. Most companies will apply another application immediatly after the first. We have found that if we do a application in the morning and one later on in the day we get a better result. Our chemist tells us that it is even better if you wait for the first application to cure(24 hours) and then apply a second one you will get even better results. While it is hard for a company to make extra service calls like that our chemist has always maintained that a better sealing job could in fact be done by the homeowner as they would in some cases have the time required to do a better job. If you do chose your fabricator make sure they tell you what sealer they are using so in the future you can use the same when needed again. Once the sealing has been done retest the surface using the water test and see how long it takes before the stone absorbs the water or not. If the water doesnt get absorbed after 30 minutes that is a great job. Remember a couple of important facts-sealers only temporarily inhibit or prevent the intrusion of staining agents into the pores of the stone. Sealers for stone are impregnators and live below the surface of the stone. Impregnating sealers can not prevent etching.(chemical reaction occuring from the calcites in acid sensitive stones neutralizing an acidic substance and leaving behind a dull spot) Stu Rosen www.mbstonecare.com www.stoneshine.com