Soapstone is very soft and that's just how it is. Interactions with hard objects like metal utensils, pots-n-pans, or glass bottles will leave scratches. No surface finish will change that one way or the other. So I think you've just got normal wear and tear.

Some varieties of soapstone are harder than others, but they are all soft (much, much softer than metal utensils, for example). Also, some marks can be sanded out, but there are others here who know a lot more than I do about that.

It looks beautiful though, and hopefully the "patina" will be OK with you as the countertop ages.

Jackie...depending on the variety it is very much wear and tear. I have a harder type going on 4 years now. I'm very hard on my kitchen. I do have some surface scratches however whenever I oil/wax, they, for the most part are invisible. Typically, we just let it be I less company is coming. If you do a search on this forum, I know there are threads that outline how to sand down. My memory wants to say lower grit to high grit but I wouldn't trust my memory if I were you!

Ours is much worse that the pictures and that's only 18 months into it. We've got chips all around the sink and scratches everywhere. Oiling it makes them fade out quite a bit. I was REALLY worried my DW was going to have a fit about it but she say's I'm more concerned about than she is. At first she was appalled (I talked her into SS) but I explained that it's soft and will age with us :) She seems to have taken it to heart as she doesn't even care anymore. I only cared because I thought she would, we're all good now. Our 1st X-mas celebration we had the wine bottles on the SS counter, when it was over there were scratches all over from people dragging the bottles across the counter. My sis put a giant plant in a ceramic planter on the counter and then drug it off making the 1st really BAD scratches. Actually after a while all the scratches sort of meld together and it looks fine. I still love it, nothing looks like it or behaves like it. One thing people will tell you is that you can put a hot pan directly on the counter, like oven to counter, and you can but......that spot on the counter is going to be HOT for a while so you have to pay attention. I started using trivets just to avoid the hot spots. SS is really something you have to want, it's far from just a nice looking slab of rock, it will change constantly over time and you have to be willing to except and even embrace it. It cost more than granite and even some marble (we have marble on one side of the kitchen and on the island) but it wears like a cheap sock depending on which variety you get. I would get it again, even after all the scratches people still marvel at it, we have really large and dramatic talc veins in ours. I also sand out anything that I don't like (200/400 grit wet, dry makes a huge mess). It's very easy to maintain.

First of all, your stone is beautiful! I would say that is normal wear and tear, and embrace it as character signs of a living finish. Mine is a medium soft variety called Mariana that has been down about 18 months, and has as much or more "patina" than yours.
I stopped oiling after about six months, and really like the way it has matted down naturally. I love the counters for what they are, a practical working surface that really can't be hurt. I use my counters without any reserve, and would not trade them for any other countertop material!
You might try holding off the wax and oil for a while, and see if that doesn't help hide the freckles and marks that seem to contrast and show up more with the darker oiled surface in your photos.

I love them! Beautiful even with the scratches. Something definitely to be expected with soap stone. I wanted it originally but realized that my kitchen was just to small and dark with all the other dark things going on in it that could not be changed. :(

Mine has been a year and a half. I have never oiled or waxed it. Yes, in certain areas there are scratches where items are consistently dragged across the area. I ignore them and just accept that it is part of owning soapstone.

If by improper finish you mean that it needs to be re-oiled or re-waxed, you could try that. But, I think you'll eventually just have to start loving the patina.

qwertyjackiee:

We warned you about your bad boy when you were dating him, but you didn't listen. He's just exactly like we told you he would be, just like his cousin Marble, and you'd never be able to change him.

Trebruchet, omg! Hilarious - and well put.