soapstone and others

just had the most beautiful soapstone kitchen counter installed. like the black look that comes up when it's oiled, but may be getting a little crazy about it. any suggestions? also, redoing master bath. looking at honed, 18" squares of honed "turco classico" travertine for the main floor and shower walls. will i want to shoot myself afterward? would carrara marble be a better choice?

 

Dear Sarah:

 

“ like the black look that comes up when it's oiled, but may be getting a little crazy about it. any suggestions? ”

 

Suggestions about what?... I don't quite understand your question. But if you'd like to have the same dark look that the mineral oil gives you in a more permanent way, you could clean your countertop a couple of times with acetone and then apply a good-quality stone color enhancer like MB-6, which will give you the very same look, but for a much longer period of time. (It should go over a year.)

 

“ will i want to shoot myself afterward? would carrara marble be a better choice? ”

 

No, white Carrara marble wouldn't be a better choice. But you shouldn't worry so much about the stone as you should be worrying about the installer! The best stone in the hands of some “Michelangelo” will turn into a heap of sorry junk.

99 out 100 installation failures in shower stalls are due to faulty installation – not the stone.

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! 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 . In there you will also find priceless tips on natural stone shower stall installation.

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!

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Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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