Fine Scratches in Granite Benchtops

[spartan]

I've noticed some very fine stractches on my black granite, benchtops.
You have to look closely at the surface to notice them, but they are there....

Does anyone else with Granite have these kind of scratches? I was under the impression that Granite was scratch resistent...

Anyway of easily removing them?

[arms]

you have answered your own question by saying that granite is scratch resistant ,the stone does not scratch the surface finish usually a silicone based polish is the culprit for the scratch ,either buy a can of the proper granite polish or simply get a good quality silicone based car polish and apply to the top just like you would your car and the scratch should be covered satisfactorily

[bitingmidge]

I agree with you but am interested to hear your view of what constitutes "scratch resistant" Tom.

Granite is a hard surface, but by no means indestructable.

It can also be very porous.

If you ever have the opportunity to see a benchtop that's 30 or 50 or 100 years old, you'll notice that it's invariably matte finished with grease and oil worn into the surface. If there was any polish initially, it's long gone.

Micro scratches are much more likely to become visible in highly polished surfaces, particularly dark ones. Glazes and ceramics used in pottery are often harder than the granite surface, so just bunging plates on the surface will eventually cause wear.

When the surface is new, this is more marked (no pun intended) and can be quite distressing. It seems trite to say this, but you have two options eventually: Wait till the whole surfaced is scratched uniformly, or try the car polish trick, if that doesn't work your supplier can hand polish using cutting compounds, but I've never seen a complaint get to that stage.

I am always more concerned about leaving oils and fruit on the surface, as once those materials penetrate there is no repairing the stain!

You can guarantee that you will have more scratches before you've finished with the kitchen though.

Cheers,

P

[johnc]

Dragging things like ceramic bowls and plates will scratch the surface of granite, and black shows the marks worst of all. You really do have to look after the polish on those tops and be careful how you treat them. You can try a wax which should hide the marks, a tempory fix is a smear of peanut or any other oil but apply very lightly. Otherwise they can be polished out with the appropriate paste, for that you can try one of the granite wholesalers.

John