dull finish on seam in granite countertop

Maurizio, I just had Gialo California granite counter tops installed in my kitchen. The area up and down one of the seams has a dull finish several inches wide as if it was not buffed out properly. It is quite noticeable. I asked the installer about this and he buffed out some of the dullness and waxed and buffed a little more but told me that he could not go further because he was getting into the resin that was baked on at the factory and that at that level there was nothing he could do. Also the color of the two slabs that meet at this seam is noticeably different with one darker and smoother than the other. However the difference in color and smoothness doesn't begin at the seam but starts 6 or 8 inches past the seam where the difference in finishing can be seen and felt by touch. This appears to be a finishing issue. My question is: (1)what can be done to get rid of the dullness around the seam. Is this really an irreparable problem with the resin or can it be buffed out? (2)What needs to be done to complete the buffing/finishing process so the finish is the same all over this section of the counter top. (3)Did my installer just get lazy in finishing the seam and in buffing the pieces to match or is the stone damaged beyond repair? Not sure what to do from here. I would appreciate your input. Thank you, Larry

 

Dear Larry:

It looks to me that “Michelangelo” struck again!... L

 

“ he buffed out some of the dullness and waxed ”

 

What has wax got to do with stone polishing??...

 

“ told me that he could not go further because he was getting into the resin that was baked on at the factory ”

 

The resin is by the surface, not any deeper. And it does not get naked in by the factory: it cures chemically by itself.

 

“ that at that level there was nothing he could do. ”

 

Oh, by now I'm pretty convinced of that, too!... L

However, if he would take a course on face-polishing granite, it may help a lot and he would not need to give you that crock of doo-doo like he did! He did not get lazy: it is just plain incompetent at face-polishing stone. Just the idea of pathetically trying to use a wax, speaks volume right there.

 

But he doesn't care to learn through proper training, there's something else that he could do (see, there are always solutions!... J ):

 

1.     He can hire a real pro and send it over to your place to face-polish that seam.

2.     He can replace the entire countertop for you.

 

One thing is for sure, you do not have to keep that “masterpiece” for an extra minute!

 

I think that my comments automatically answered your questions.

And BTW, if you have two pieces of slab that don't match, that's it: no magic in a bottle of mastery from a pro could ever do the first thing about that.

 

Of course, if marblecleaning.org could have its ways, “Michelangelos” like that guy would not have much time left in the business. They actually would have never gotten into it in the first place.

 

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri zio Bertoli

 

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