Treating Cambrian Black Antiqued Granite with a Sealer, Mineral oil or Nothing
by Rob
QUESTION:I purchased cambrian black (antique finish) tops for my kitchen. My internet research returns various results--"yes, seal it"; "yes, seal it with an impregnator"; "yes, seal it with mineral oil only" (a synthetic sealer won't take); and "no, don't do anything to it."I performed the water and oil test. After 15 minutes, a slight hint of darkness appears where the drops were located, but after some rubbing/buffing, both oil and water marks seem to fade away. The test was not conclusive I don't want to put a sealer on it if the sealer will need to be stripped. I want to get it right the first time. What is your experience with applying anything (sealer or oil) to Cambrian Black Antique granite? ANSWER:Cambrian Black is a very dense granite that typically does not need nor will it take a sealer.Antiquing may leave it a bit more porous, but as you saw with your water/oil test it was 15 minutes before any sign of absorption. Clearly not very absorbent or at risk for staining. I'd repeat the test in a few locations using acetone. This will absorb easier and give you the shortest time anything could possibly absorb. just let it sit for 30 minutes and note when it darkens. I'd be inclined to leave it alone, except that antiqued, honed or any non-polished dark granite tends to show finger prints and other oily spots. They don't absorb into the granite and stain, but they do sit on the surface and look like stains. This is annoying for many causing constant cleaning and wiping. The remedy can be to use mineral oil like many do with soap stone, but you'll have to re-apply quite often. The better solution is to apply a color enhancer like SCP-Enhance & Seal, which is designed to give a hone/antiqued stone a "wet look" by darkening the color and creating a slight sheen so things like oily finger prints are no longer noticeable. Of course, with this stone it may be difficult to get the enhancer to absorb properly. If possible I'd acquire a sample... maybe a left over from your slab.. to experiment on. But if you are not bothered or noticing any finger printing, etc., then I'd just do nothing. 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.
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