It does seem to have a spot in the middle where it dries up faster than the edges. And I think it dries faster around the vein. But I still figured it would start to stick a bit more by now. Can I expect it to act this way all over my countertop too? I'm a little worried that I'm going to be oiling every day for the rest of my life. This stinks because I was all set to go with GMO.

Thoughts?

I have googled and googled for hours in the past several months trying to find out exactly WHY soapstone oxidizes in the presence of oil (what does that mean exactly?), and why it lasts longer on different stones. But I've never found an answer.

Francy

And grannabelle, how long have you had your GMO? I'm surprised you were told it was soft but I guess it depends on how long you've had it. I was told the stone has gotten much harder as they go through the quarry. How long did it take for it to stay dark grey with oiling? It's so strange how this sample is lightening kind of in the center and not as much around the edge or the side facing edges.

Babka, so your 80 grit areas hold oil better? That would seem to make sense, I guess. Curious why the big difference in your sanding levels. Do you like one better than the other? The fabricator we're talking to likes to take it up to 220 grit and I think we're going to have to insist on lower than that (though hope that's not a mistake).

Francy, how long did it take for you to get to your current level of oiling? Did you oil every day at first? And if so, for how long?

- Don

Casey: I'd love to see pictures of your stone! So the magic eraser doesn't remove oil? I'm curious to see what it does to mine.

2 things will easily suck the oil out of mine: a very hot dish (seems to draw the oil out and leaves a gray ring), and rubber-bottomed things. For example, a mixing bowl left out overnight leaves a gray ring. And when my son gets out his electric pencil sharpener, it leaves three little gray footprints from the rubber pads on the bottom of it.

Ah, mysterious soapstone!

Regarding sanding lower than 220: my only "caution" is that--for me anyway--what makes soapstone so special is its silky feel. My fabricator (not a soapstone expert, in my opinion) didn't make mine smooth enough. I've been working on it myself with 220 and 400 grit, and I've made it feel sooooo much better. Certainly, rougher/leathered soapstones can look nifty, but I just can't imagine losing that feel that soapstone is famous for. Just my opinion, of course.

:-)

Francy

Francy, I thought that the lower grit sanding leaves you with a talc-ier, creamier feel and the higher grit you go makes it harder, smoother, more polished looking (more granite-ish). Have I got this backwards?!

Recently, when I went out looking for backsplash tile (another saga, still not over) I wanted to take the sample that was the same color as the installed stone. I sanded it with 320 sandpaper and lo and behold, it is light again. So I am able to use it as I shop.

Just so you know what Dawn is referring to, in case you missed some of my other posts, here are a couple of pix. My husband keeps lovingly running his hands over the veins - the counter's, not mine - LOL. Here is my favorite part of the island.

And here's the piece on the vanity in the powder room (wallpaper will be replaced).

What comes from their current quarry is technically called Original PA (which stands for something Altos - the location of the mine). This just indicates what mine it comes from. It is different from what they used to sell called Original because it's a different mine. But the old "original" quarry is all mined out so PA is all they're selling now and they call it just "original" still now (without bothering with the PA).

The old original is the more green and soft stone. Original PA (the newer quarry) is dark, almost black with white veins and a harder stone.

I was told that the reason my sample is flashing off so quickly is because it is sanded too finely. He said they recommend sanding a countertop to 50-60 grit! So that it definitely has some texture to it. And that they buff out swirl marks with steel wool.

He said at that lower grit, it shouldn't flash off so fast (and might be more forgiving of scratches? definitely easier to buff out scratches when they happen).

So I'm feeling a little better about this if I can just get my fabricator to sand it to a lower grit instead of the higher grit he usually does. The GMO guy did know my fabricator and felt good about him so that was a good vote of confidence too.

Oh, and FL Josh, when I mentioned that we'd love to use you and how knowledgeable you are, he said he knew you (I guess via your old boss at Bucks County who he spoke very highly of). He was surprised to hear you were in FL.

So that's it. Straight from the horse's mouth.
Thanks for everyone's insight in getting to the bottom of this (or at least getting me over this last hump before I commit!).

I am also convinced that whatever some companies get in they call it what name they already have because they are known for that name, or it is trademarked . . . it gets confusing and it's not worth pointing the finger. People have to just find something they like and go with it, or find someone that truly knows the market and trust them. I only know a rare few importers of soapstone that I would trust to supply me with soapstone. There is a reason.

I feel the beauty of soapstone is in its look and feel, that soft silky feel with that beautiful matte finish. You change that with a course finish you loose what soapstone is truly known for. Put a rough finish on anything and of course it will hold oil a little longer, but still will act like what it is. It will also hold other things longer too. Think people. . .

Just totally confused. I just want a harder, dark, matte stone that I don't have to oil EVERY day for the rest of my life if I want it to look on the darker side. Is that too much to ask?! Argh.

Here are pics of our Julia. This picture is left unoiled for a pretty long time, I know this pic has been shown here before. The bottom is also brushed so it looks a little different than the top.

These next two are today and I just oiled the tops yesterday. I did not use my flash because it does not show the stone as you would see it with your naked eye.

Thanks for the clarification Joshua. The lower grit/less oil didn't really make a lot of sense to me. Obviously, I'm no expert, and I'm still googling to try and find out exactly what oxidation in soapstone means. Is it the talc componant that is primarily darkening? I'm guessing it is. If so, then imagine the lower grit at a magnified level: the talc is sanded down, and the other minerals are "taller" at the surface. The talc part darkens, and because it is "lower" maybe it is a bit protected from daily cleaning, etc. This helps it hold its oil longer. Just a hypothesis.

On a related note, I have read websites (not from any of the well known soapstone fabricators) where folks say things like honing to a rougher grit actually "densifies" the stone and makes it scratch less. Densifies?? Huh?? No, I think most of the "densification" happened lots of millions of years ago. Honing to a rougher grit will make the soft stuff recede into the background, and make the harder stuff act as a shield to protect from scratches.

A rougher sanding does take away from the soapstone feel. Think of a bar of soap: smooth and slippery. My counters (which were probably sanded about 110?) have a faint gritty/rough feel. Kinda hard to describe. Sort of like wooden trim that has been spray painted by a less-than-perfect-painter. But the 220, and a teeny bit of wet 400 sandpaper is making them feel just wonderful: slippery soft!

Dawn, I don't suppose you are in the San Francisco Bay Area? You could come play with my counters.

If Rayna is reading: did you ever oil the section that was later covered by the cabinet? And take pictures? If you didn't, you are very naughty! ;-)

Francy

Just a few minutes ago I was horrified to see a dark spot on my counter that was not going away. It is already gone - sanded away gently with my trusty 320 sheet of sandpaper. Phew!

NEVERTHELESS, you guys -- here's what I did, just for you. I re-oiled the cutting board that Jay gave to me - and took pictures. He did leave me a bottle of that low-viscosity mineral oil.
#1 - the cutting board, previously oiled by Jay, sitting on my unoiled soapstone island.

#2 the cutting board, freshly oiled by moi, still sitting on said island.

Now the cutting board looks to me like every other soapstone I have ever seen: very nice, very dark and rich - but to me, not nearly as special as my own soft gray-blue-green stone (depending on the light)which DH and I love looking at, and which makes everybody (including my contractor who had never heard of soapstone), gasp and say "omg - what is this stone? It is GORGEOUS."

I don't say I will never, ever oil it - but certainly not in the forseeable future. What can I say? De Gustibus Non Disputandum Est.
Rayna

I’ve found the harder ones needing less oiling however, my experiment was not very scientific because soft SS is ruled out very quickly here and put out of site so I can play with the harder varieties.

I must have a bad sample of Julia because it was one of the most easily scratched out of the 14 I got from M. Tex. I keep hearing that it’s hard and has some green but mine doesn’t reflect either of those things. This is frustrating because it sounds and looks (in pictures) like the stone I want and the price is right but the sample I was given did nothing for me.

If I wanted to lighten it back up, is this possible? And how?

Will ajax hurt them?????

Anyone else use olive oil? Any problems using it versus other oils?

I wouldn't use olive oil - it can become rancid. Then you'd have stinky counters, lol!

Anyway, I love your "dog" both oiled and unoiled!

Ajax won't hurt your counters. Nothing but a serious laboratory acid will damage them. I don't know how Ajax compares to sandpaper. You will be able to tell by feeling your counters carefully, and looking at them. There are no hard and fast rules here; it's up to you! Worst case scenario, you sand them too much (I've don't this myself) and change the texture in a way that you don't like. There will be a way to sand it back again, depending on the problem. Scrub gently. Go slow. And have fun with your soapstone!

:-)

Francy

Also I'll echo Francy, Ajax will not hurt the stone.. the deep scrubbing with Ajax may leave fine scratches, similar to what you would see on Corian or Cultured Marble in your bathroom.

On another note, the Indian soapstone (Cobra, Python, Mumbia Grey) that we have large samples of in our warehouse do hold the patina for a good while, much longer then the Brazilian Black and Julia Soapstone. The Cobra and Python Soapstone from experience are a consistent harder stone (the stone while being cut has no "soft" spots it's hard through and through). I think that since that because the talc content is so consistent it plays a major role in why the patina last longer. The Brazilian Black and Julia soapstone that we carry has a lot of other minerals in the stone, thus the rusty swirls mixed with the black and green swirls. Those minerals act as more of a resistant to the patina forming. I may be repeating what Josh mentioned but I didn't read all his ramblings. :)

I hate to break it to the group . . . but mineral oil is a toxic petroleum derivitive. It is concerning that so many people use mineral oil on their counters.

Here is a very informative government link on the topic of mineral oil toxicity compiled by the National Park Service. http://www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/minoil.pdf

And the following was taken from an article in PositiveHealth.com

"Adverse Effects of Petroleum Products
Products produced from petroleum, such as mineral oils, are classified as petrochemical pollutants. Petrochemical pollutants also known as xenohormones (xeno meaning foreign) can have a variety of negative hormonal effects in humans by blocking or opposing the action of oestrogen, resulting in functional loss of ovarian follicles in females and decreased progesterone production. The ultimate consequence of decreased progesterone production, is oestrogen dominance, PMS, endometriosis, miscarriages and many types of ovarian dysfunction. In addition, studies have shown widespread damage to the immune system. Infants of women who have been chronically exposed to xenohormones are particularly susceptible.[1]"

Here is a link to the full article http://www.positivehealth.com/article-abstract.php?articleid=621