We are in contract on, but have not yet closed on a house with a beautiful new kitchen. To my dismay, I've just discovered the countertops are honed absolute black granite. This because I have complained that the stain around the sink must be fixed before we close. But now I am very worried for the long-term for what we have taken on. The reason we wanted this house was the beautiful kitchen! Is there anything we can do before we move in and start using the house to make things better? Can the counter be polished in place? Would that fix things for the long-term? Can you provide me with a detailed maintenance plan? I think polished black granite is in the bathrooms. Should we try to get out of this contract? We are a couple looking for a low-maintenance home. Thank you!!!

 

Dear BA:

To be certain, it's a tough call. Let's see:

 

“ Can the counter be polished in place? ”

 

No.

 

“ Can you provide me with a detailed maintenance plan? ”

 

First you have to find out for sure if the fabricator applied an impregnating sealer to your countertop. If they did, the first thing to do is get rid of it by having the entire countertop professionally re-honed in place with a good-quality honing powder (not diamond pads: they will not produce the same result and will not strip the sealer completely). If not the fabricator, a bona fide stone restoration contractor can do that for you.

After that, a good-quality, acid-resistant stone color-enhancer like MB-6 should be applied.

Then you will take it from there with a good-quality stone cleaner like MB-5 for routine care.

If every step is followed to the letter, your countertop will become (almost) easy to maintain, especially if you won't use the kitchen intensively.

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 z io Bertoli

 

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