How do I seal my stone counter?
How do I seal my stone counter?
If you can wash a car, you can seal stone.
Before we talk about any kind of sealing procedure, some surfaces do NOT need sealer. The composition of Quartz counter-tops is mostly a pigmented binding agent that holds together the small pieces of natural quartz. Both the quartz and the polymer resin that binds the product are solid and are not porous. Soapstone is a relatively soft material but I have not observed any types of soapstone to absorb and retain water or stains.
The first step before sealing any natural stone is to thoroughly clean it of any dirt, grease, food or grime. Using a strong solvent such as Acetone or Denatured Alcohol is preferred because it evaporates rapidly. This cleaning can be done with a paper towel. Be very careful with acetone and alcohol, these liquids can harm many other finishes, but not stone. Once cleaned and dry, the sealer should be shaken well in its container. Apply sealer to stone by directly pouring small puddles on the stone surface. Spread sealer around in a nice even coat. DO NOT use paper towels to apply sealer. In my experience, the best way to apply sealer is with a paint edger pad, found at any hardware store. This pad is a woven material and is inexpensive. Paper towels or some cloth rags will collect all the pore-sealing agents out of the sealer and only leave behind a liquid carrier. Misapplying the sealer is the single biggest reason why consumers get less than ideal results.
Let the sealer dwell on the surface for about 5-10 minutes, more so for porous stones. This is the time when the sealer is actually doing work and penetrating into the stone. Wipe dry with a clean cloth before the sealer has the chance to dry on the surface. Every stone has a different absorption rate, so trial and error on a small section might be needed.
If left to dry on the surface, a hazy mess will cover the stone surface. This haze can take lots of elbow grease with a clean towel to remove. A trick to removing sealer haze is to apply a little bit of sealer and immediately wipe off and completely dry the hazy section with a clean cloth. At this point, I will encourage working in small sections at a time so that the sealer doesn’t have another chance to dry completely.
Philip Longo – V.P. of Operations with stone Masters Inc
www.stonemastersinc.net