Dents in Granite
Dear Tom:
I have recently installed granite countertops in my new kitchen. These were purchased from Home Depot which uses Innovative Stone. I have prided myself on taking good care on my stone but tonight, my husband found a dent measuring 1/4 inch on the top edge of my island. Needless to say we’re upset. I’m also worried that if I have damaged it, not knowing how, I can do it again. My daughter said that she always remembers a slight dent in the stone but I guess maybe something fell on that exact spot and made it bigger. We did find a small piece of the stone but it was smalller than the dent.
Is this possible? I thought granite was indestructible???
Please let me know if anything can be done.
Thank you
Hello Nathalie,
There are only a couple reasons a ‘dent’ in your granite would happen. Either a very heavy metal object was dropped on it, like a hammer, or this is a spall at a stress point in the granite. You can decide if the first possibility is the case, and let me explain the second. First of all, the definition of ’spall’ is “A chip, fragment, or flake from a piece of stone or ore”. Your granite, “Ubatuba” is stone called a charnockite which can contain nickel-iron that oxidizes and leaves browns rings and spider veins. You may see them as a gold veins. This reaction continues very slowly but is accelerated by sunlight (ultraviolet light).
There is a good chance the spall occurred as a result of natural oxidation breaking the bond of the stone at this location. Finally, yes, it could happen again, naturally. I recommend either contacting a professional granite fabricator to fill it, or you could try two-part epoxy (use a razor blade) and fill it yourself.
Best wishes,
Tom Cordova
August 14th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Ubatuba granite was installed by a very reputable company. There is a scratch on the stone in front of the cut out sink. Very obvious to me, but is is a small scratch. Owner came out and used a razor blade and then applied some type of products. When he left it did look less noticable and felt smoother. The next day it feels rough again and looks like it did before. This company could not be more accomodating, but I wonder how it could look better and feel smoother one day and the next day goes back to original condition. By the way, we did ask to pick out our stone, but it was cut out before we got a chance.
July 22nd, 2011 at 5:56 pm
I just had a new granite countertop installed (Madera Gold) and the installer removed a label from the stone with a razor blade. There is a 3 1/2 in by 5 1/2 in square on the stone. At first I thought it may be glue but when I felt it there was no glue. He had wiped the stone with acetone. The discoloration is very dark and has been there for a week. I have not attempted to remove the spot. I am concerned that this was caused by the fact that the stone was outside and affected by sunlight and will not lighten to the color of the rest of the stone.