Stone experts. Looked at a countertop. Custy tells me it is honed granite. She wants it honed not polished. The sink has some scratches. Seems like a softer granit to me if it is ranite(if that is possible). Someone told me it is a anorthasite- A black marble type stone that looks like granite. Does that sound right. If it were a polished granite or marble would not be aproblem. I am trying to identify this and come up with a game plan too. Has some dulling to from thier cleaning agents. It just does not seem like granite to me. Thanks for any input.

Dave

P.S. The stone is dark black with very small med to dark grey specs in it.

It sounds like a honed black granite from what you descibed, black marble would most likely have some veins showing, granite has specs. Send an email to me at stoneandtilecare@yahoo.com and I will send you a chart with pictures that should be helpful with stone ID.
Granite is difficult to restore, even for an experienced stone restoration person, honed granite has more problems with consistant looking finish... lots of dull smeared looking areas. If it's a black granite that contains calcite.. you'll see acid etching which is even more problematic. We've had some success with acid washing these honed black granites, but I do have a granite restoration person as a back up if it doesn't work. We quote these jobs with an $800 minimum and let the client know that we have to run a few tests before giving them a more solid quote.
It really depends on how picky these clients are. Usually an edge to edge re-hone is the only thing that will satisify most, this gives the most consistant finish. Sometimes color enhancer will help hide flaws for a while. Just be careful what kind of restorations you take on....sometimes you can leave the finish looking worse than before.... and the client will want you to take care of it $$$$$

I just got back from a 3 day course on stone restoration/refinishing that would help anyone like yourself navigate the complex stone industry. According to the person who teaches the course, Maurizio Bertoli, who is one of the country's leasding experts on stone restoration, there is a huge problem with specifiers and installers in the stone industry who are not educated about what stone should be used in specific applications, what to use/not use to maintain the stone, etc., normally not the ones called in to "restore" the problem. Go to mbstone.com for info on the course. From what I've learned, You have to be careful to determine what kind of stone it really is, what kind of chemicals were used/misused on the stone, etc. Karen, from the posts I've seen on this board really impresses me with her knowledge on the subject. She is obviously one of the educated stone professionals.

Thanks. Karen I will Email you. Ed, I was in his class last December. He knows his sheet. This particular countertop we did not cover in his class. I actually spoke to him today about it. I did learn alot form him and it is reaping rewards. But I do know I will still run into some difficult situations.
dave

Dave, am glad to hear you took maurizio's class also. He's so knowledgable and inspiring. I know there is so much to know about PROPER restoration techniques out there. I'm sure I will be posting specific questions as well in the future. This board is awesome.