Hi, I'm a new soapstone owner too! After oiling, do you mean that some of the areas 'dry' or evaporate more quickly than rest of stone and the stone looks blotchy? I think that is referred to as flashing. It happened after the first time installers oiled the island. I wound up re-oiling the entire island, thinking something was wrong. Less flashing the next time. I'm trying to get my ss back to original unoiled look, so have been refraining from re-oiling. I believe oiling the stone helps it to even out so it patinae evens out. I don't think you can mess up the patina by reoiling a section or the entire stone. Maybe more experienced soapstone owners can chime in with something more definitive.

You can re-oil those spots. It should eventually stop splotching.

I've read that the beeswax-mineral oil blend has a little more staying power (and oomph!) than straight mineral oil. I know it does on our wood cutting boards. I usually just use the oil, but every so often I use the beeswax-oil. Maybe try that and see if it lasts a little longer on those spots.

when you oil soapstone the oil sits on top and so it looks like it does when you cover it with water. it's wet. just as the water evaporates and the soapstone returns to its dry color, eventually the oil evaporates. some areas are harder than others and those will dry faster. eventually the slow areas and the fast areas will even out and you wont have to follow up on the dry spots. i would re-oil then if i wanted a consistent look.
when you add wax to the mix you slow down the evaporation of the oil but you are also adding a layer of wax. like waxing your car or floor. so you would oil less often with the wax mixed in. i don't know why we can't just wax it but the products are all mixed with oil.
http://www.soapstones.com/soapstone_care.html
http://geology.com/rocks/soapstone.shtml
i am planning on not oiling my new soapstone counter once it is installed.

The spots may or may not eventually blend, all soapstone is different in how it darkens. You can always use an enhancing sealant to evenly darken the stone, then you do not have to oil or wax at all.

Enhancing sealers are for porous products, they are not recommended for soapstone. Using enhancing sealers on soapstone can cause a whole new set of problems.

This forum is absolutely awesome! Thank you everyone for the responses! Appreciate it very much! Yes Mags438, it's just a few spots/areas that tend to dry up faster than the rest of the soapstone. I've been touching them up here and there as needed to blend in. Just wanted to get some feedback on whether this was part of the oiling/drying process. I love the oiled dark look and I'm very, very happy with my soapstone! :)

kevdp4- That is a common misconception. While soapstone does not need to be sealed, it does not harm the stone or cause any issues. Using a color enhancing sealant on soapstone darkens the stone and allows water to bead up just like on any other stone. I have soapstone throughout my house, all from Alberene in the US, and it is all sealed. I was reluctant to try a sealant because of what I had read here but when my fabricator recommended it I decided to test it on some samples (samples of the Alberene and some from Brazil). My stone has been in for over 5 years so if any issues were going to come up then they would have by now. For me, I tried oiling a few pieces before sealing them to see the difference, I like the look and feel of the sealant the best. The stone still looks matte but feels so nice, I never cared for the feel with the oil or the maintenance to keep it evenly dark.

So, why is it that you think that sealing soapstone causes issues? Have you tried it yourself or are you just passing along what you have read?

I have been fabricating stone for 20 years, soapstone for probably 15 years. Any time you apply a sealer onto a dense products that does not absorb the sealer the sealer sits on the surface. Any time the sealer sits on the surface it tends to cause problems.
It is not a misconception just because you have been lucky.

It has nothing to do with luck. I am not the only person who has sealed their soapstone and had no issues. I have never heard of anyone sealing their stone and having issues, but I have heard of issues from oil and wax.

Have you tried sealing soapstone and seen problems yourself?

Many years ago I enhanced a soapstone countertop for a customer and she scratched it. Typically scratches in soapstone are very simple to fix but with the enhancing sealer on the surface it became a problem to fix. The enhancer had to be removed with chemicals and abrasion just to fix the scratch and even the stone out, no small job. If she would have had to pay for the process she would have either had to live with it or pay handsomely for the repair.
I've never sealed/enhanced a soapstone top since. Lesson learned!

If the soapstone sealer doesn't absorb, and just sits on the surface, what does it do... just sit there and eventually wear off? Or, does it dry completely and become impervious forever, until removed?

FWIW, a few months ago I waxed my soapstone, and it has remained consistently dark far longer than it ever did with oiling.

I have scratched my stone and have sanded off mineral build up around the faucets and have had no problem with the sealants. The sealant did not affect the ability to sand down the stone or to cover the scratch marks. I also have chips along an edge and a small chip in the center of a slab and the sealant did not make any difference. I have used both solevant based (Miracle 511 seal and enhance) and water based (Tilelab seal and enhance), both work and have had no problems with either. I can only guess that if you could not fix a scratch without removing the sealant, it must have been a resin or poly type top coat.

*adding- It is not sitting on top, wet... you apply it, buff it out, and it dries, just like with any other stone.

It will wear off with time and can be reapplied. Our stone was sealed when installed 5 years ago, I resealed it about a year later, and it has stayed dark and water still beads everywhere except the area around our soap and the faucets due to a lot of scrubbing from hard water. As expected, the solvent based lasts a lot longer than the water based.

This post was edited by athomeinva on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 13:42

So you can see what it looks like sealed, this pic shows a scratch in the middle of the stone. The scratches eventually fade on their own.

This one shows a bunch of small marks from the sugar jar, the stone marks the same as it would with out sealing.

*I can still oil over any marks and help them fade too, the sealant does not affect oil absorption.

This post was edited by athomeinva on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 14:07