Is this really soapstone?

Hi Maurizio. When we bought this "green iron" last fall, we were told it was granite with a brushed finish. Now the fabricator is telling me it is soapstone. The original supplier (Granitex) also now identifies it as soapstone on its website, http://www.granitex.it/Materiali/Green%20Iron.htm. Stone World magazine had these specs for green iron it its Dec 06 publication: Stone of the Month Green Iron Country of origin: Brazil Bulk density: 2.83 g/cu.cm Absorption: maximum 0.1% per hour Compressive strength: 32.7 Mpa Flexural strength: 7.2 Mpa Is this really soapstone? What do you recommend for maintenance? Do you recommend sealing? We love the looks of this, but are not sure we're getting good advice on maintenance. Thanks, Les

 

Dear Leslie:

If I could actually see and feel it I would be able to tell. By those specs it is impossible (they don't even report the hardness of the stone, which could be strong tell or its basic mineralogy). From the picture, if it is indeed soapstone, it's a kind of soapstone that I never saw before and totally different from any other soapstone. I might be wrong, but I really don't think that's soapstone

But the way I see it, The huge question that begs to be asked is:

Is it ever possible that the merchants that sell that stone and a prominent industry magazine don't even know what they're selling and talking about?! They don't even know what stone it is – do you really think they're going to be able to tell you how to take care of it?...

What happened to the sacred right of the consumer to know what the heck they're buying?

Is this an “amazing” industry or what?!

At any rate, with a reported absorbency rate of 0.1%, the stone that you have – whatever that might be – can't be technically sealed: it is just too dense to take any sealer in.

That doesn't mean, however, that you can neglect the vastly issue of the routine maintenance, which, as it should be intuitive, is vastly more important than the sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable). By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm .  

And remember, every single penny of the cost of the literature will be used to support this site and its cause: your cause.

While you are in the “Helpful Hints” section, do spend some time reading all of the interesting FREE articles you'll find in there!

Finally, keep in mind that we need your support to help us helping you!

Will you please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?    

By spreading the word about this valuable site among your friend & family and the stone trades' people you've been dealing with, you will be rendering everybody a valuable service!

Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

www.marblecleaning.org – The only Consumers' Portal to the Stone Industry Establishment!