Today I had someone come in to clean and seal my Vermont soapstone counters in the house I recently bought. Afterwards I found that they used a floor sealant called ZEP to seal and despite the various marks did not sand down at all before sealing. The questions that I have are:

Couldn’t they have sanded down the entire counter-tops (as opposed to particular areas which may leave indentations) and wouldn’t this likely get more of the marks out than the scrubbing that he did; and

I am quite concerned that the sealant he used is for floors and therefore is potentially toxic for areas where I do food preparation. I can already tell that the waxy finish will peel off when a knife touches it and am worried that those flakes will enter the food and may be toxic to us or our kids.

Am I being overly paranoid?

Thanks
Mike

Hello Mike,

I have to admit that I can not consult you completely on the subject. Soapstone is extremely soft, yet very dense. This means very low absorption but your fingernail can scratch it. There is a long history of soapstone use for countertops and it is heavy pushed by Martha Stewart. I personally can not embrace the use of it for a number practical reasons.

The care and maintenance is total different from marble, granite or slate. It involves using mineral oil and generally accepting deformations that will occur. I really need to refer you to a supplier to properly answer your questions. Contact the people at www.SoapstoneWest.com. I met the owner once and found him quite knowledgeable.

Best wishes,
Tom Cordova