Author: chicagostonepro
Subject: Quartzite
Posted: 23 Sep 2010 at 1:52am
If you want a glossy finish, you select a slab that's finished the way you want. If it doesn't come shiny from the wholesaler, it probably doesn't take a high polish.
I just sealed a job that included a supposedly quartzite bar, bathroom, and entertainment center tops. The material is beautiful, looks like marble, was installed a month or so ago - and already has scratches and etches. It's a scam to call this material quartzite.
There are lots of stones coming onto the market that are being called quartzite, and all are being sold as nearly indestructible. Much of this stuff is beautiful baloney.
I say baloney, because it's the stone world's version of "mystery meat".
Just like mystery meat, you consume it because you're hungry for the way it appears, and what it represents. You don't actually know what you're getting into by consuming the product, and the vendors don't want you to know what's really in the stuff, either. They want you to pay them, and go away.
Sometimes, the stone warehouses themselves don't know the real composition of these slabs of mystery meat stone. However, IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to know, and if you're sold a material that scratches and etches like marble, that's supposed to perform like granite, you've been defrauded.
I've seen some beautiful, real quartzites that I'd have no problem putting in my own home, and selling to loved ones, friends, and the public. However, I know how to figure out the difference between the real deal, and the mystery meat.
You can start with the lemon test. If the stone passes that, have the fabricator run sealer tests to see if they can effectively seal it. Also, take a razor blade to it, and see if you can scratch it with the corner of a blade, or the point of a razor knife. If it can actually be sealed against OIL, and it doesn't etch, and it doesn't easily scratch, you have a viable candidate.
Regards.
Subject: Quartzite
Posted: 23 Sep 2010 at 1:52am
If you want a glossy finish, you select a slab that's finished the way you want. If it doesn't come shiny from the wholesaler, it probably doesn't take a high polish.
I just sealed a job that included a supposedly quartzite bar, bathroom, and entertainment center tops. The material is beautiful, looks like marble, was installed a month or so ago - and already has scratches and etches. It's a scam to call this material quartzite.
There are lots of stones coming onto the market that are being called quartzite, and all are being sold as nearly indestructible. Much of this stuff is beautiful baloney.
I say baloney, because it's the stone world's version of "mystery meat".
Just like mystery meat, you consume it because you're hungry for the way it appears, and what it represents. You don't actually know what you're getting into by consuming the product, and the vendors don't want you to know what's really in the stuff, either. They want you to pay them, and go away.
Sometimes, the stone warehouses themselves don't know the real composition of these slabs of mystery meat stone. However, IT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to know, and if you're sold a material that scratches and etches like marble, that's supposed to perform like granite, you've been defrauded.
I've seen some beautiful, real quartzites that I'd have no problem putting in my own home, and selling to loved ones, friends, and the public. However, I know how to figure out the difference between the real deal, and the mystery meat.
You can start with the lemon test. If the stone passes that, have the fabricator run sealer tests to see if they can effectively seal it. Also, take a razor blade to it, and see if you can scratch it with the corner of a blade, or the point of a razor knife. If it can actually be sealed against OIL, and it doesn't etch, and it doesn't easily scratch, you have a viable candidate.
Regards.