Gas Cap Stain On Venetian Gold Granite

QUESTION:

I have venetian gold granite countertops. My husband laid a gas tank top from a lawn mower on the counter in two areas.


It took the shine away from the granite.

It did not discolor it but if you look at the kitchen countertop from a sideways view you can see two dull circles.

Will a sealant add the shine back? If not is there anything I can do?

ANSWER:

Ooooops! Is he out of the dog house yet? I must say, this is a first. I've never had a question about cleaning a granite countertop gasoline stain.

Anyway, a sealer will not add the shine. The only thing a sealer does is dramatically slow down the rate of absorption to help resist staining to make cleaning granite countertops even easier.

Have you previously applied a granite sealer?

If not, you need to... after you solve this problem.

Venetian Gold granite is fairly absorbent and in almost every case should be well-sealed.

I recommend one of these marble & granite sealers.

You say there is no discoloration just dullness. This should not be a matter of etching and usually a stain will make the area at least a little darker.

I'm betting that the gasoline and/or oil in the gas absorbed and you should treat it as a stain.

For cleaning granite countertop stains you'll need to follow a multi-step procedure. You'll find complete step-by-step instructions in the Removing Stains e-book

Manual.

The dullness is a bit puzzling, but most likely will be restored after the stain is removed.

If the procedures in the e-book do not work, then you have something other than a "stain" and you'll need the help of a professional possibly to re-polish the area if indeed the gas damaged or etched the surface.

Now that I think about it... there is one other possibility... the gas etched the sealer and/or the resin that is on your granite.

If this is the case, then you'll need to remove the sealer/resin in that area using methylene chloride (powerful stripper/solvent).

Here's what I'd do:

1. Buy methylene chloride. Pour a puddle of the MC on the spots and let sit for a few minutes. Agitate with a scrubber and wipe clean.

If you get shiny granite, then it was the sealer/resin that etched. Those spots should be re-sealed.

2. If the methylene doesn't work, treat it as a stain and follow the steps in the manual.

3. Still no good, call a pro.

About sealing... As I said, this granite will usually need to be sealed, unless it is resined. If it is resined, then it should already be fairly stain-resistant.

I suggest you perform a water test to determine if it needs sealing.

That's a lot of info, so get started cleaning the granite countertops and trying to solve this problem. Use the "comments" link below to follow up or ask more question.