Just did a comparison between Akemi Nano Effect and Miracle Porous Plus on Absolute black flamed granite tile: Both sealers are excellent against water (it beads up). Two coats of Akemi and even a single coat protect against water, espresso, wine, and olive oil (right). Porous Plus (right) darkens the stone a bit more (this is 24 hours after application), and resists all but the oil well. The negative control of untreated is down the center. Conditions left to right: 0.5 mL of distilled deionzed water, hot espresso, red wine, and olive oil. Top 1/4 (two coats of sealant applied 4 hours apart), top middle quarter (single coat), bottom half (two coats, applied immediately after one another with 5 minutes to soak, then wipe). Have some Tenax Proseal coming tomorrow to compare to Akemi, the clear winner here.

Glad: There's many different types of sealers that are out there on the market - the best advice I can give you is to - first - find out EXACTLY which brand and type your stone has been sealed with, then look up the reccomended maintainence methods that YOUR sealer company suggests... If YOU applied the sealer, check the label on the container it came in - many companies have websites that can give you what you are looking for... IF your Fabricator applied the sealer - get with him and get the name and the type that was used - maybe he'll have a partial container that he can give you with the info on it.... maybe / maybe not, but it's worth a try.... It's been MY experience over the last 30 years, that many silicone based sealers (which are pretty much the majority of sealers these days - that I run into anyways) can be affected by acetone, alchohol or MEK solution exposure (all snotty solvents) - Again, I am NOT a Chemist dude.. I am a Fabricator, and I like happy customers, so I prefer products that do not let me down, and perform well for MY customers - after all: "Call backs - AIN'T always GREEN BACKS" Anyways......... As for cleaning, many salers work well with a simple solution of warm water and a drop of dish soap if needed... But AGAIN - consult the company info that was provided by the sealer that YOU have on YOUR counters to play it safe. hope that helps ya kevin Kevin M. Padden Fabricator, Trainer & Consultant to the Natural Stone Industry www.azschoolofrock.com www.naturalstone101.com

While sealing stone surfaces is a professional activity or job I think it is better accomplished by the homeowner. I’ll explain why. I try to always explain to customers they should think of sealing in terms of applications. Sealers can take up to 24 hours and more to cure. If you consider the average sealer product is 90% or more carrier (water or solvents that the sealer resin is diluted into). Most sealers have less than 10% resins, the chemical that solidifies in the pores or open spaces of the stone. The carrier has to evaporate and the resins need to solidify. Some sealers will even take longer to cure. With this knowledge applying and understanding the sealer will make more sense. So applying multiple coats of sealer in the same time period or even day could be considered one application. To clarify the application process, Sealing could be done in this manner. Taking care to protect your cabinets and floors and working in manageable sections(3-4 feet wide) Apply the sealer to the first area and keep it wet(with more sealer) letting it load into the stone for 10-15 minutes. Then remove it all by wiping it away and buffing the surface dry. That's the crux of the process making sure all sealer that isn't absorbed is removed from the surface. Sealers are impregnating they live below the surface. Then move on to the next section overlapping the first and repeat the process until the entire surface is done. Check to make sure there aren't any sealer residues left on the surface. If your surface has turned darker that is a sign that the sealer has penetrated the surface. It will return to its original color. If you think the surface can take more sealer repeat the process. Then wait 24 hours and do the water test. See what you get if water can get though you will need another application. Repeat the process and test again. I hope that gives you a better understanding of the sealing process. As far as using porous plus the difference is only the dilution-there is a higher concentration of resins in the porous plus. Quite simply the comparison is that you will need more applications of the impregnator sealer product than of the porous plus product. As far as the DuPont bullet proof I don't think it is any better than the miracle except for the name bulletproof which is probably why it sells so well. While I do think homeowners will do a better job sealing I want to list the performances of a impregnating sealer. 1) To temporarily inhibit the intrusion of staining agents into the surface of the stone. End of performances! I am in residences everyday and don't see all that much staining on stone. When we do, most staining can be removed. Just like you mentioned we have had people call us and tell us about new stains, then call back days later and say they disappeared Rust stains are an issue that we see more often than other types of staining. Stones that contain iron content in their mineral composition can oxidize and yellow. When it does happen it is tough to resolve. Hope this helps regarding sealing of stones.

Your stone is acid resistant to acid except something like hydroflouric acid which should never be in your home anyway. Any well known name sealer manufacturers top of the line sealer will help if applied properly. Our MB-4 sealer is water based has no odor and is easy to work with. 511 has two sealers-the porous plus which is very good but harder to work with. They also have their "sealer" which is cheaper than porous but easier to work with and will require more applications. Which ever one you choose the real key is the application. With your type of stone you will need to apply a heavy first application. It is important that you do your top in sections so you can control the product(ex:centerisland do in 2 parts). You will need to let it sit on the top for maybe 20 minutes or so keeping it wet with more product. This way you are loading the sealer into the stone. You will see the top get very dark-this is the absorbtion of the sealer. Once you get this darkening and it becomes uniform in the section you are working on then remove every trace of sealer from the surface after the alloted time. You must not leave any sealer residue on the surface at all. Thats why you have to do this in manageable sections. Then move to the next section and repeat process overlapping the first section. Another big key to good sealing is to do the entire top with first application and then apply second application 24 hours after the first. This gives the sealer the required time for the resins to cure making the second application much more effective. In the case of kashmir white you will need to do as many as three or four applications. Then if you test the porosity after each application you will find it should be much less.If you use the right cleaning products the sealer will stay maintained for quite sometime.With kashmir sealing can be almost impossible but this method will work much better if you have the time and patience to deal with it. Stu Rosen www.mbstonecare.com www.stoneshine.com