I have Pietra almost 2 years and so far so good. No staing scratching etc. I have 4 kids (3 which are boys) and we are not the neatest family around. I had them sealed with an enhancer so that they would darker a little. My friend had her sealed with just a sealer and so far hers are doing well too. Both of us used sealers by StoneTech mine enhancer hers not. Just the plain sealer darkens it just a little but then it lightens over time. Try a little piece and ask the people at the yard to rub their sealer on it. Then take that piece home. I believe she has sealed hers twice in a year. I also have another friend that didn't seal hers at all but they have one child and are super neat so I wouldn't recommend doing that.

Thanks for your input! Makes me feel better about going ahead with the Pietra!

I have it too! We used a color enhancing sealer to darken it a bit and I love the look. We've only had it since Dec but it seems to be holding up pretty well. No scratches but I do have one "water ring" that I cannot get off. I believe it was caused by a glass of lemonade left sitting overnight on the counter. I think it etched the stone. It's not too noticeable but I am aware it is there. Now I make sure nothing is left on the counter that could possibly damage it. You should get a sample and leave ketchup, lemon juice etc over night and see how it reacts.
Good luck with your decision. I'm glad we went with the Pietra and I would choose it again.

I too fell totally in love w/Pietra de Cardosa and spent months agonizing over the reality of installing it in my kitchen w/kids and lots of messy, stovetop cooking. LOOONNNGGGG story short, I had Silestone "Raven" installed and absolutely love it, not only for the awesome stone-like look, but for the fact that I know it is bullet-proof.

I had a sample of sealed PdC that I put a few drops of lemon juice on and tipped it up so the juice would run down and left it for an hour or so. I could not get rid of that stain, and I couldn't get past the cleaning issues. I suggest you get a sealed sample from your stone place and test it for yourself (including dragging plates and pots over it - beat it up like it's in your kitchen already.)

THAT said, I also have read many posts on GW that say it is good for others, so experience varies, possibly due to the quality of the sealer, cooking/cleaning styles, etc.

Also, although I could have gotten a honed finish in the Silestone Raven, I didn't b/c the depth and the stone look was lost when it was honed, plus I had read that the honing of Silestone really makes it high maintenance, which is one of the key benefits of Silestone to begin with, so I went with the polished. I looked at my large sample of polished Raven next to a large sample of polished marble and noticed that the reflective shine of the marble was much shinier than the Silestone. You can see your face pretty clearly reflected in a polished marble or granite, while you can't in the Silestone.

Good luck with your decision!

I've got pietra cardosa also. Love it so far, but it's only been about 2 months. I love the matte finish, with very little veining. No scratches, no chips. No stains either, but it does show water marks (they go away after a little while) and I think it could stain - I definitely need to put a good sealant on it.
When I looked at soapstone, they sprayed water on it to show what it would look like oiled. I didn't do that with the pietra I looked at and selected, but maybe that is something you should do?
Good luck with your decision.

Thanks, everyone - it's great to hear feedback from those with first hand experience!!

Hmmm, I don't understand how lemon juice can stain anything. It is acidic and can etch calcitic stones, however. Is PdC etch-able? I thought it was slightly prone to staining which a sealer would cure (although lime and lemon won't impact staining) but didn't think it could etch. Perhaps I have it backward, though.

Just for fun, resurrecting this post on pietra del cardosa as part of the ongoing GW interest in soapstone vs honed dark granite vs slate counters. Any one out there have some recent experience with pietra del cardosa?

We are consider ing PdC. Went to pick out granite today and our stone company showed us a slab of this, since I didn't like any of the granite. Would love to read more feedback on it!

just bumping....any other feedback on it? we are considering this instead of soapstone as well

I have tentatively found a fabricator for kitchen counters, and I am off to look at a stoneyard today. I don't know if they'll have pietra del cardoso but I'm hoping. They have it at another stone yard that is farther away and I don't know if I want to drive that far, but the price I was quoted was within our price range, so I'm going to see if I can get a sample.

We just had installed and there are rings everywhere. It's been sealed 3x and the stone fabricator is here sealing again. As beautiful as it is would not recommend