Restoring a Granite Worktop

Have you purchased a property that benefits from an existing granite worktop? Perhaps it was one of the most attractive features of the home. However, once you moved in, you noticed it needed some TLC. Or maybe you have a well-loved surface that has served you for years but is now showing signs of wear. Instead of replacing it, consider restoring a granite worktop with a professional polish, chip repair, or crack restoration to bring back its original beauty.

Granite Cleaning Tips

If your granite worktop appears dull, it may need a thorough cleaning. It’s important to clean the surface with a gentle substance such as dish soap or a pH-neutral cleaner. Abrasive cleaners will damage the stone, so these are best avoided. Don’t use scourers, which run the risk of scratching the surface of your granite, making it impossible to achieve a granite worktop polish shine.

Reseal the Worktop

Your granite worktop should have been sealed on installation. However, if you have moved into a property with a granite worktop, you may not know this for sure. You can test your granite by dropping a small pool of water onto the surface. If the drops pool, then your seal is intact. If the granite darkens, the moisture has been absorbed into the stone. A granite seal should be periodically restored every year or so.

Granite Worktop Polish

However, a granite seal is a maintenance concern. This does not make your worktop shine. For a lustrous shine to your kitchen, you will need to invest in a granite worktop polish. There are numerous products out there, so do your research first and follow the instructions accurately. Check that your worktop is sealed before granite worktop polish is applied. Otherwise you could damage the surface.

Professional Re-polish

This differs from the granite worktop polish that you can buy in a bottle. Restoring a granite worktop involves an expert polishing tool that removes a very fine layer of stone from the surface. This process exposes fresh, undamaged stone, making the entire worktop look as good as new. To maintain its appearance and durability over the years, you can regularly repeat the sealing and polishing process.

Chipped Granite Worktop

Your worktop may be chipped or cracked. These can be repaired by using a matching stone paste. Of course, the success of a restoration attempt such as this is more unpredictable than a simple granite worktop polish. The end result will be dependant on the level of damage that the worktop has sustained.

Partial Replacement

If a specific area of the worktop has sustained significant damage, you could consider restoring a granite worktop by replacing that single section. It’s important to match the stone as accurately as possible so that the joins of the surface are not glaringly obvious. Having said that, granite is a natural stone mined in slabs. In this way, no two slabs will be perfectly identical. This is part of its charm!

Full Replacement

If the restoration of your granite worktop has not achieved your desired result, it may be time to replace your worktop with a new granite surface. With periodic resealing and a regular granite worktop polish, your kitchen worktop will maintain its lustre and shine for years to come.

As specialists in stone worktops and sink surrounds, at Zenstone, we want granite worktops to fulfil their long and durable promise. So, restoration is a positive course of action. Sometimes, though, replacement is the most prudent way to go. For advice and installation of new natural stone worktops, including granite, just get in touch.