Nero Marquina Kitchen Countertop

Hello Maurizo, Thank you for the valuable information on your site. I am building a new home and I am crazy for marble, but having read the related posts, I am being dissueded from installing the Calacatta on my countertops because of probability of staining and other damage. Just wondering, what your opinion would be on using honed nero marquina for a kitchen countertop? Black would be much less likely to show the stains, and I would still get all the lovely veining etc . I am looking specifically for a honed stone. I do not want the high polish of granite. Many thanks. I value your advise.
 

Dear Elaine:

 

“ Black would be much less likely to show the stains ”

 

On the contrary, black will be more likely (it is actually a certainty) to show the stains, which in reality are not stains but “stains” – acid etchings, that it.

If you insist on marble, hone-finished Calicatta is a better bet, although honed Negro Marquina treated with a high-quality stone color enhancer like MB-6 may be acceptable if the kitchen is not going to be too busy. 

But no matter what, about marble in the kitchen t he stone itself has little to do with it. It's rather a collective culture issue.

All throughout the Mediterranean basin marble is a very popular stone as a kitchen countertop and everybody enjoys it. (Limestone is not so popular, but certain types of limestone could be acceptable in relation of what follows.) In Northern Europe and all throughout North America , many like the way it looks, but nobody enjoys it!

How's that?

For the simple reason that In Southern Europe they never install a polished marble countertop (or a polished marble floor, for that matter). They start from a hone-finished surface and then they start using and abusing it and only care for it with a good-quality stone cleaner (like MB-5). The “worse” it gets, the better they like it! It's considered “aging.” It's like a pair of old blue jeans, if you know what I mean: a highly sought “lived-in” look. (They never use black marble, though…)

While the looks of an old pair of jeans is very much appreciated in Northern Europe or in North America , too, the same principle does not seem to apply to stone. Most people over here expect their stone to look like brand-new all the time, and any “change” is not considered “aging”, but a damage that needs to be rectified.

Hence the problem.

The question now is: regardless of your geographical location, which one of the two groups do you belong to? J
 
  So, assuming that you're “American”, you should forget about marble and look into soapstone instead. Certain dark selections have beautiful marble-like veining.

 

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

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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


Article ID: 524
Created On: Sun, Sep 23, 2007 at 11:18 AM
Last Updated On: Sun, Sep 23, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Authored by: Maurizio Bertoli [mail@mbstone.com]

Online URL: https://marblecleaning.org/knowledgebase/article.php?id=524