Lisa,

We have Butterfly Blue, and it's one of the bullet proof ones. However, having said that, we have two different batches (long story...) 1st one was supposedly sealed by the fabricator - but I'm not certain- it came from China, and the company is now bankrupt- but I've had it for over a year, have never sealed it, and nothing bothers it. The second batch (also from China) is clearly not sealed, and it will absorb water in that it darkens when wet, but dries instantly, and because it was supposed to be replaced before company went bankrupt, I never did seal it. Guess I could try now... But other than the colour change when wet, it doesn't stain.

Now, I'm not crazy about this stone honed, looks sort of like concrete to me, and the blue and garnet pieces don't really stand out, and I have no experience/knowledge of how honed stands up.

Thanks, Raehelen. I remember your kitchen - lovely - and the saga of your granite (so sorry). I'll have to hunt down photos of your kitchen again.

How is it with fingerprints and such? Our designer told us that honed stone is less likely to show these things, which is a plus for me. Also, her sealed and enhanced honed sample is gorgeous, more subtle than the polished sample but not concrete-like.

Bump.

I would really like to find out what it's water permeability number is. Are there other names for butterfly blue granite?

TIA.

After lots more time googling, maybe I've found my answer ... sort of.

I haven't found an alternate name for butterfly blue but I've found a range for water absorption, ranging from .17% to .26%.

China Stone

Yellow Mountain Stoneworks

According to poster bill_vincent (see link below for discussion), there's no need to - in fact, it's a good idea not to - seal granite that is .25% or less. Based on that and what I've learned via googling, it sounds like butterfly blue isn't one that should be sealed. But then you wrote, raehelen, that yours darkened when wet, which makes me think it should be sealed. I'm so confused!

bill_vincent, are you out there? I'd love your expertise here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Granite question - to seal or not to seal..

Hi Lisa-- as you said, anything under .25% shouldn't need to be sealed. One thing I left out, though-- that applies to polished stone ONLY. ALL honed stone must be sealed, no exceptions.

Thank you, Bill! All my Google searching did not turn up as concise an answer as yours. Good to know that all honed granites need to be sealed. We'll take that into consideration as we consider the stone and its finish.

I had no idea just what a head-spinning kitchen adventure I'd set myself upon when I innocently said to hubby, "Gee, I'd love a new oven, one big enough to hold all of Thanksgiving's dishes, not just the turkey. And while we're at it, we should update the counters. And maybe give the cabinets a new look. And, and, and...."