How to Seal Granite Countertops
by: alfred gaitan | Total views: 233 | Word Count: 523 | View PDF | Print View
Granite has a porous surface. Liquids such as water, wine, and juice penetrate the granite surface through the pores. Liquids get trapped into the surface if not cleaned immediately. Porosity is the ration of pores in granite to the total volume of the solid. Granite is roughly 0.7 percent porous meaning that the stone has about one percent pore volume to the total surface volume of the stone.
All natural stones are absorbent. Absorbency is important in granite in determining stain sensitivity. Granite absorbs liquids like a sponge. The size of the pores in granite are not visible to the naked eye but play an important role in choosing the right cleaning and sealing products for granite. Oils are easily absorbed into granite due to the fact that they have a very small molecular chain sizes that can easily penetrate pores. Imagine an ant crawling down an ant hole and you get the picture.
It is important when choosing a stone sealing product for your granite to check that it makes the pores smaller or closes them completely. Some stone sealers do nothing to get into the surface and impregnate the solution into the stone. Other products just create an invisible surface lining a few micrometers thick providing a lining on the surface. How then are you to choose the best product for your granite surface? Well, in doing research I have come across product that not only gets into the pores and closes them, but also creates an invisible shield that seals granite. I was introduced to this product while working at an architectural development firm that designed granite walls and interior kiosks for hotels. Stone Sealer A, by Tekon, is a granite sealer that passes all important porosity reduction tests as well as absorbency surveys with ease. This product works at the nano level. The liquid contents are manufactured using a corn based ethanol solution that bonds with the granite surface. Not only is the product ecologically friendly, but it also has porosity elimination properties that work on most every stone surface.
In February 2008, I set to investigate the sealing properties of Tekon Stone Sealer A using A-B testing techniques in Anaheim laboratory. Untreated granite slabs one inch thick showed signs of porosity in just 15 minutes. Adepsine oil absorbed in about 4 minutes. With an application Stone Sealer A, however, absorbency was virtually eliminated. We sprayed approximately 0.035oz of Stone Sealer A onto a 1 foot by 1 foot inch thick untreated granite slab and let it sit before wiping. After a quick wipe, we pored phosphoric acid onto Tekon Treated granite and let it sit for 72 hours and to my amazement there was no absorbency. The product worked better than expected. Stone Sealer A is a truly remarkable granite sealer that seals granite better than any other product on the market.
-Chuck Henry
About the Author
Chuck Henry is a participating author for Tekon. Visit tekon at http://www.tekon.com
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