I'm curious to hear what the experts have to say about this too. I am considering Cambrian black antiqued, I have a sample that I used Aquamix Enrich N Seal on, and it looks perfect. Made it more black, and not smeary at all. When I use the Aquamix on other leathered black granite(like Absolute black and luna pearl)it seems like there is a film on it, and shows many prints. Maybe the fabricators can bring some samples with sealers on them ,so you can test it.

Hopefully one of the experts will be able to help with the drippy marks too. Hang in there, I'm sure there is a solution. Good luck!

It needs to be sealed with an enhancer / sealer.

It sounds as if he has had a bad experience once ( maybe did not apply it correctly) and now does not want to do it for anyone.

I have Cambrian Black - Antiqued and love love love love it. Mine was sealed at installation and because sealing is such an easy task, I went ahead and did it a second time when my marble island counter was installed on another day. It is only a month old, but gets PLENTY of use with 5 teenagers and still looks just beautiful and very black.

I agree with my brother VR James...

See if you can get a piece of scrap Cambrian Black that
has the same texture that is in your kitchen, and test some
sealer on it - yourself. Putting sealer on Granite is
definately NOT rocket science.

I have had really great success using Miracle Sealant's
511 Porous Plus, and lately, have started using 511 Impregnator
on darker more dense stones.

There's lot's of sealers on the market - the 511 series
from Miracle has worked for me for close to 20 years now.

hope that helps

kevin

Mine has what they called a brushed finish and was acid washed in the process. It beaded up water at the yard before we picked it. They did apply a sealer, but I was told that they weren't sure any actually went into the stone. I've had no problems, but if you are seeing hand marks, I would want it cleaned and sealed. And the drippy marks shouls be completely removed before they seal it. I would feel certain they can be removed -- just need to be a bit more careful about getting it all and making sure they get it all once everything is dry.

I'm so confused. The guys showed up this morning and used acetone on it and then sealed it. I asked what the sealer was and they said they didn't know but it was "industrial strength" vs. a water-based type sealant you could get at Lowes. They put it all over and my drippy stains were still totally visible. So they called the office and were instructed to strip the sealer back off. So they acetoned it again. And now they're sending out their fabrication "expert" this afternoon.

I'm really stressed about this. For one, I kind of doubt these stains are going to come out. And I'm frustrated because I mentioned the stains to them before they glued the counters down. Would have been much easier to take them off and work on them at the shop than now!

Also, their production mgr is telling me they shouldn't be sealed (honed black in general, not necessarily Cambrian). She said she was reading that on-line. Again, not instilling confidence here!

Meanwhile, it does seem slightly less smudgy/printy now that they acetoned it all clean. So it's possible that they had sealed it once in fabrication and that was what was causing the prints. But the counter side that had 2 layers of sealer (one more applied at install) seemed less tempermental before. That was making me think I do need sealer.

So what's the answer? I don't want to test it out with a water glass or grease spot on a counter I'm stuck with, but I don't know what this "expert" is going to want to do and I'm not convinced I'm dealing with any experts here.

Any advice on how to remove a stain that looks like a water drip? Any thoughts on the to seal or not to seal question from the folks in the know here?

Thanks for everyone's help. I am going to try to get them to use one of those sealants mentioned if we do decide to seal it. I just want a functioning kitchen again!

Help! They're here and they want to put on Pectro Black...something with black color that they say is put on in the original fabrication of the stone and the maybe it wore off unevenly from sitting in the yard so long.

Is this Pectro a good idea? Is this a safe thing to put on my food-cooking countertop?!

I searched Google and found the info below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pectro Black

Thanks. That was all I really found too. Well, they put on the Pectro and it did help the stains a bit. Then they cleaned it with denatured alcohol (which I don't understand why that doesn't remove whatever they just put on), then they put a sealer.

Now my stone doesn't look as stained so that's good.

But it's now shinier than I think it should be and you can see wipe marks where the sealer is uneven. When my cat walked on it, it left paw prints. When you put your finger on it and pull slowly, it sticks like it would in a leftover kool-aid spill.

So suffice it to say, I'm still not satisfied. The guy today said we could use denatured alcohol on it to take off some of the shine. But is that just taking off the sealer? And why did they leave that for me to do?! The sales woman says maybe tomorrow when the excess dries up some, it can just be buffed with a clean cloth and fix it. I kind of doubt it. Sticky is not good.

Any advice would be appreciated. Kevin, you've used 511 on Cambrian Black specifically with good luck? I may just have to force the issue on what I want put on there. If they've got this sealer on wrong, can it be removed? Or did they just screw up my stone?

Thanks!
Dawn

they must have used the wrong sealer. The sticky feeling is silicone. It should not be there, and it will dry cloudy. I have always used acetone, and am not familiar with the denatured alchohal if it is equivalent.

Sounds as if they are not done yet.

Any luck today? Did they come back? I feel for you, but hopefully someone can fix it soon.

They are very willing to take care of the problem (thank goodness). Supposedly, a restoration guy who is not on their payroll (used to be but now has his own business doing restoration) is going to come out (on their nickel). I'm hoping if he's any sort of expert, he will look at it and know what's wrong.

I doubt they'll do anything about it today (unless it's an easy fix). And I'm in the midst of baking a bday cake, cooking and getting ready for 30 people to come over tomorrow for my daughter's birthday party! Suffice it to say, this has been horrible timing for another p-i-t-a kitchen experience. That's what I get for trying to squeeze in my countertop install before a party, right?!

I'll keep you posted. And would still love to hear if anyone has any suggestions for me to pass along.

Thanks for asking.

I sure hope this guy clears up your problem, don't settle until you are happy!

On a positive note, I didn't read about any problems with the Allia sink. How did that workout? My fabricator came today and seemed to think that it could be done, but it would be tight. What was your final measurement on the front edge to the sink? Also what kind of reveal did you get?

I hope you don't mind my questions when you are stressed about your stains...I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Shannon

Update...So the restoration guy came on Monday. His theory is there was too much sealer on the stone. He cleaned it and then used mineral spirits on the whole thing - which took off at least some (maybe all) of the old sealer and knocked down the shine. Unfortunately, when he did that, the old stains reappeared (though his rag wasn't black so I don't think he removed the Pectro).

Then he used Aquamix Enrich & Seal and resealed it. He did it really carefully, used just a little bit and did a small area at a time. So it was really nice. Darkened up the stone a bit and maybe a slight bit more shine, but still a nice matte/satin finish and no more tackiness. With two coats of sealer over the stains, they disappeared again. So I'm guessing that as long as we keep it sealed, the stains will stay gone. And we've gotten the fabricator to extend the warranty for us.

So in the end, I am satisfied. And I gotta tell you, now that all of the drama is over, it really is a beautiful stone. It looks amazing in our kitchen. The water beads up on it nicely. I'm optimistic again (and the week of parties is over so I can enjoy my kitchen without stress!).

Thanks for your help everyone!

Oh, and Shannon, on the sink fit. One of my complaints with my install was that the guys showed up and basically threw their hands up and said it couldn't be done with that sink and faucet. No way! They said the measurer comes in here like a knight in shining armor and tells you anything you want to hear and then these guys are stuck with the job (kind of true). I was kind of freaking out but their measurer had told me it would work, the salesperson had run it all by their head fabricator/installer. My husband and I had analyzed it ad nauseum. So I held firm.

And after much grumbling and a little routing out of our side cabinets, it did work fine. We have 3.5" in front of our sink and 5" behind. We shrunk the overhang in front to 1.25" (instead of a more standard 1.5").

I will say that we thought we were out of the woods with the sink after it fit in on installation day. But our plumber was cursing our name when he was under there trying to hook it up. I looked after he was done and it is TIGHT. 4" narrow space that's about 10" deep and he had to hook everything up at the top of that skinny cavern. He said it was the tightest he had ever seen and he was relieved when he tested it and there were no leaks. So it's definitely not optimal.

I am LOVING our big Allia sink though. It is beautiful and big and I love it. Only complaint thus far...it could use a little more angle down to the drain. I see wasting water trying to chase food bits down.

I am also LOVING our Mico Simone faucet. I really love it. So happy and it was SO much cheaper than the Rohl U4746/47 that we really considered. Ours is sturdy and has ceramic valves. And the Rohl wouldn't work for us as the lever went backwards (no more room!) and this one the lever only comes forwards. I highly recommend it (after only a week of use, mind you).

I will try to post a picture one of these days. Good luck with yours!