Polishing Granite Countertop

[PJorgen]

OK, so not a floor but a countertop. We recently moved into a 20 year old house with black granite countertops in the kitchen.
They're in pretty good shape considering their age, but there are some light scratches and dulling in high-use areas that my wife would like me to renew.

I've found a number of polishing kits on Amazon and at the big orange store but would like to hear from anyone who has experience with them. All advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

 

[duneslider]

You will NOT get a finish you are happy with doing it yourself. Slabs are finished in a factory with very expensive equipment to get it to look like it does. You can't just do a small area either, if you are going to attempt it, you have to do the WHOLE thing and it likely will not result in as nice of a polish as it currently has. There are some polishes that will do a bit of a job hiding the scratches and wear and make it looks nicer, some sealers will even do this.

Stone will patina and that is part of the beauty. It didn't come from the ground perfect and it won't return to the ground perfect.

I would clean it, seal it, and enjoy it.

 

[mm08822]

Not with granite but stainless.
Polishing out scratches can take some time and may never be fully accomplished. You are removing material as you polish as the paste has some level of abrasive. Feather out the scratch vs just focusing on the gouge.

Don't expect to polish with a single abrasive paste, but rather with a few successively finer grits. Each grit will need a new wheel.

BTW, one thing I did learn from a counter top installer was they use crazy glue to fill minor chips such as on edges and misc surface voids. Once it drys, it is cut flush with a razor blade and then polishing starts. It was hard to tell and I may not have ever found it if I didn't know it was done.

 

[MarcSeattle]

If the wear is in the high-use areas maybe a nice cutting board will cover it and provide a durable work surface.

 

[jar944]

Get a set of diamond polishing pads for a 4.5" grinder and have at it.

The higher grits really need to be ground wet.

 

[rust in the eye]

You will NOT get a finish you are happy with doing it yourself. Slabs are finished in a factory with very expensive equipment to get it to look like it does. You can't just do a small area either, if you are going to attempt it, you have to do the WHOLE thing and it likely will not result in as nice of a polish as it currently has. There are some polishes that will do a bit of a job hiding the scratches and wear and make it looks nicer, some sealers will even do this.

Stone will patina and that is part of the beauty. It didn't come from the ground perfect and it won't return to the ground perfect.

I would clean it, seal it, and enjoy it.

Have you tried? Hoping for a reply from you or anyone else having actually attempted this.
I am in a similar situation with 20+ year old granite countertops having mineral stains and etching from water near the faucets.
It would be nice to at least improve the rough spots and not wind up having to polish ~60 sq. ft. or make things worse.
The mess is another thought and wonder how others may have dammed the work area while wet grinding.
A field ajustment was necessary when these were first installed which required some edge profile grinding. The mess was really bad.

 

[duneslider]

Have you tried? Hoping for a reply from you or anyone else having actually attempted this.
I am in a similar situation with 20+ year old granite countertops having mineral stains and etching from water near the faucets.
It would be nice to at least improve the rough spots and not wind up having to polish ~60 sq. ft. or make things worse.
The mess is another thought and wonder how others may have dammed the work area while wet grinding.
A field ajustment was necessary when these were first installed which required some edge profile grinding. The mess was really bad.

Yes, and you won't get it the same as the factory finish. Which may or may not be an issue, you would need to do the whole top to have it be consistent. Depending on how bad your spots are it might still be "better".

 

[rust in the eye]

Here is what I'm facing. Thoughts?

 

[rlitman]

Yes, and you won't get it the same as the factory finish. Which may or may not be an issue, you would need to do the whole top to have it be consistent. Depending on how bad your spots are it might still be "better".

Well, I did all of my countertops in my yard. I agree that you really want to be able to polish the whole surface for consistency, though at the final buff levels (3000+ grit), you can get away with touching up a small area.

There are dry and cream based power polishing systems designed for in-home repairs for just these scenarios, but I agree that without RUNNING water, you're not going to get a factory finish.

And a good deal of the final look still comes from the sealer used. I highly recommend Texax Ager. Don't try to seal a small section. You need to prep and seal the whole slab in one step.

Here is what I'm facing. Thoughts?

Have you tried something like Soft Scrub? Are you sure that's etching and not mineral buildup that can be buffed off?

 

[rust in the eye]

Well, I did all of my countertops in my yard. I agree that you really want to be able to polish the whole surface for consistency, though at the final buff levels (3000+ grit), you can get away with touching up a small area.

There are dry and cream based power polishing systems designed for in-home repairs for just these scenarios, but I agree that without RUNNING water, you're not going to get a factory finish.

And a good deal of the final look still comes from the sealer used. I highly recommend Texax Ager. Don't try to seal a small section. You need to prep and seal the whole slab in one step.


Have you tried something like Soft Scrub? Are you sure that's etching and not mineral buildup that can be buffed off?

You, sir, seem to be on to something!
I hadn't used anything abrasive for fear of ruining the surface, which is pretty dumb considering the condition already.
Finally coming to my senses I figured WTF. Not really fearing that I'd make it worse I decided to see once and for all if this was ON the surface or etched into it. A fresh razor blade scraped up some white residue and the surface became smoother to the touch, BINGO!
Some automotive polishing compound and small foam buff pad on a drill brought the gloss back in a small test area.
Mrs. Rust will be out of town for a couple days next week so I'll use that opportunity to remove the faucets and really give the area a going over.
So glad I don't have a major project here. Thanks!

 

[duneslider]

Well, I did all of my countertops in my yard. I agree that you really want to be able to polish the whole surface for consistency, though at the final buff levels (3000+ grit), you can get away with touching up a small area.

There are dry and cream based power polishing systems designed for in-home repairs for just these scenarios, but I agree that without RUNNING water, you're not going to get a factory finish.

And a good deal of the final look still comes from the sealer used. I highly recommend Texax Ager. Don't try to seal a small section. You need to prep and seal the whole slab in one step.


Have you tried something like Soft Scrub? Are you sure that's etching and not mineral buildup that can be buffed off?

If you are just talking polishing your cut edges then yes you can do that, when there is a change in plane you won't notice the difference. To just try and polish out a spot in the middle of slab I can almost guaratee you will see it, even if its just at an angle in the right light. We had some damage on my kitchen counter and I tried to polish it out and it looks good most of the time but in the morning when the sun comes in the windows you can clearly see exactly where I polished it.

Sometimes a little polishing looks better than what was there though. I am just trying to make sure expectations are real...

The picture does seem to look like hard water deposits though and it sounds like you are getting off!

 

[rlitman]

... To just try and polish out a spot in the middle of slab I can almost guaratee you will see it, even if its just at an angle in the right light. We had some damage on my kitchen counter and I tried to polish it out and it looks good most of the time but in the morning when the sun comes in the windows you can clearly see exactly where I polished it...

My slabs took hours going up and back, around and around on each grit. I couldn't imagine the amount of slurry or the epic mess that would make if I tried to do that in situ.

But for something by the edge of a sink, you've got more working for you. Plus if the goal is to improve, it shouldn't take much to get closer to original than before.

Soft Scrub is a mild calcium carbonate based abrasive. It isn't aggressive enough to cut into stone, but should remove non-mineral deposits. Even though paint is soft compared to stone, automotive polishing compound abrasives will be harder than the stone. It's worth a shot, but for more than buffing a small area, they wear out too fast to do much. I guess that's a good thing here.

 

[katilicous]

I am a stone restorer and galaxy black is not something I would recommend taking on if you are not a professional.
It is the hardest granite to polish properly and there are no quick fixes that will last. If you don't mind the scratches so much but want to get the dark black back with a little shine try Tiger Ager. It is highly stinky and you want to use gloves. It is a color enhancer for dense stone like granite.
For the scratches you need the correct polisher and pads. You also need to know how much pressure to apply and how to finish the polish so the heat melts the final buff and chemicals just right. It's not a diy project. A professional will cost you between 500-1000 and that is much better than replacing the counters. Only hire someone who knows what they are doing. A licensed contractor or handyman will not do this correctly and the cheap fixes will be just that. Find a professional that has been repairing /polishing stone for over 10 years and has some photos of other black granite they have polished out. The finish done correctly will pop and be mirror gloss finish.

 

[logical]

Are they definately actual granite and not a manufactured quartz or other material?

Sorry, nevermind...I see a pic was posted. Yeah, I'd have a 100% chance of making it worse if I tried.