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The Possible Nightmare: Honed Granite

I love the look of honed natural stone such as granite. What do you know about honed stone and the up keep? Which would be best to use for a kitchen to achieve this look and be most durable - Ann

Hello Ann,

Honed granite in the kitchen can be very elegant as well as present an ‘old world’ or even very modern ambiance. However, the wrong honed granite, such as “Black Absolute” can create a nightmare maintenance situation because of its homogenous dark color and mineral structure that shows every finger print and cleaning pattern. I have written other important postings about Black Absolute so be sure to read then before choosing this color. Just search, “Black Granite” on the blog.

Polished granite is my preference but I can definitely understand the ‘honed’ presentation. It is more appropriate in some cases. It should not be for me to recommend one or the other unless maintenance is major concerned or the full design scope was explained.

Honed granite colors still need to be professionally sealer. Let me know which color you finally decide upon and I will give you my specific comments.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova

This entry was posted on Monday, February 19th, 2007 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Answers to Granite Questions..., Granite Choice Advice, Granite Color Help. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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6 Questions Recently Posted:


  1. September 8th, 2007 at 7:58 pm

    Hi Tom,
    Well, we thought we had made it through the kitchen reno with flying colors: beautiful wood floors, shaker style maple cabinets stained a rich praline, elegant, understated light fixtures, stainless appliances, tumbled marble backsplash. But guess what we picked for our countertops? Your all-time Must Avoid: Honed Black Absolute. (We loved the look of slate, but our kitchen designer said that slate was too high-mainenance and fragile, so steered us to the black granite.) We have had it for a mere week, and yes, I am living the nightmare. But being an eternal optimist, I just have to believe there’s a way out. I have read some Web postings that say not to seal the honed Black Absolute (or strip off the sealer), and just clean it with Dawn and/or Bon Ami. I am also wondering if we could forget about the “honed” look altogether, and just polish the countertops on site, if that would solve the problem. There has got to be a way out! Please help!!!
    Thanks so much,
    Marianne


  2. September 13th, 2007 at 9:56 am

    Before finding your admonition against honed absolute black, I almost chose an absolute black with a brushed finish. Does brushed present the same issues as honed?

    If so, is there a low maintenance, fairly uniform, charcoal colored granite you would recommend, preferably in a brushed finish? Would something speckled work such as impala black? Our walls are gray-blue, our appliances are stainless, and our floors and cabinets are oak.

    If we must go with polished, the cambrian black leather (polished) seems very, very interesting. Any experience with this?

    Best,
    Debbie


  3. December 26th, 2007 at 6:25 am

    Tom,

    We are buliding a new house. My wife thought she did not like the look of highly polished granite and decided she wanted honed granite. We chose Giallo Ornamental. The countertops were brought to the house polished and “honed” on-site with grinding wheels. They managed to get all of the wheel marks off but now it has a dusty and dirty appearance that we do not like. In addition, water changes the color of the granite until it dries. It has not yet been sealed. Here are my questions:

    1) Can it be re-polished on site? Even if it cannot be returned to its original high gloss we might be happy with a lesser degree of polished finish.

    2) Should we treat it with something (like a color enhancer) before sealing?

    3) What kind of sealer should we use?

    4) Should we just admit our mistake and just have it replaced?

    Any help is appreciated. Thanks

    Cort in Houston


  4. July 26th, 2008 at 7:08 pm

    I really wanted to use soapstone in my kitchen. I love the look. But I am building in an area where most of the builders are not familiar with the product. I have read your post on honed absolute black granite and the finger print problem. My other searches provide mixed reviews good/bad. What product do you recommend to me that has the look I am trying to get in the color black. Thanks so much.


  5. October 13th, 2008 at 11:22 am

    We are interested in Verde Peacock granite and can’t decide on polished or honed surface. Polished Verde Peacock granite seems too shiney, so we are considering the honing process. Please tell me what are the pros and cons of honing this color. Is this type of granite with many gold veins more apt to crack? Thanks, Carol


  6. October 17th, 2008 at 8:50 am

    I am trying to do a kitchen remodel based on the movie,” Something’s got to give” with the white inset cabinets with all glass uppers, white apron sink and a large island in the middle. I will have white walls as well as white subway tiles. I had assumed I would do honed absolute granite until I read all your posts. In the movie set they used fake soapstone. I would like to use a honed granite in black and would love ideas that would give me the dark black look with little to no sheen and frankly as few flecks or design as possible. We love to cook and I will be crazed if my granite stains or looks crummy all the time. Are there black granites out there that will take honing and hold up to water, fingerprints and be stainproof. If so, should they be sealed and how many coats should be applied and how often.