Sealing Carrara Marble

by Julia Rava
(St. James, New York,USA)

QUESTION:

What is the best sealant for Carrara marble in a bathroom--walls and countertop? Thanks

ANSWER:

The top two sealers I recommend are SenGuard or Stone Sentry Sealers.

STONE SENTRY is a very good and durable sealer that will give you years of protection, but it is not as good as SenGuard.

SenGuard uses the most advanced sealer technology available creating permanent bonds with the stone requiring only one application. Extremely durable. Excellent product.

Now, you just need to determine if you even need to seal your marble.

Marble is not very absorbent despite what you commonly read that it stains easy. That's not true and polished marble can be virtually non-absorbent and stain-proof.

Marble will etch though from contact with acidic foods, drinks and from using the wrong products for cleaning marble. You should only use products safe for marble maintenance.

Etching creates dull and lighter colored spots that many people call "water spots" and this is the reason many think marble stains easy.

Etch marks are not stains. They are physical damage to the marble, which can be repaired using a good compound like SCP: Marble Polishing Paste. But sealing has nothing to do with and will not prevent etching... only staining.

Now, back to sealing....

I'm assuming your marble is polished and since polished marble doesn't readily absorb liquids it may not need sealing. In fact it may not be able to be sealed because it won't absorb the sealer either.

Of course, this is good.

So, first perform the water test to determine if you even need to seal. If so, then use the STONE SENTRY or SenGuard.

And I'd only worry about the countertop. Bathrooms aren't a high risk for stains in the first place and the walls have a near zero risk of staining even if testing (of a sample) shows they need sealing.

If testing shows the walls need it and you decide you want to do it, then you need to wait 3 weeks post-install before you seal to let all moisture evaporate from the marble.

Waiting isn't necessary with countertops since the underside is exposed.

Good Luck,
Ryan

P.S. Get all the facts, answers, explanations and simple solutions with step-by-step instructions for any issue, problem or question with our Granite & Marble Maintenance Manuals.

I highly recommend Stone Care Pro Products to maintain all your marble, stone and granite countertops and floors in optimal condition. I've used other good products (Stone Tech, Miracle, MB) but found Stone Care Pro is the most reliable and effective and cheaper too!