What Can You Do About Etch Marks on Natural Stone

Marble, travertine, granite, and more. All these natural stones are hardy and make beautiful additions to your home. But their naturally beautiful qualities can be marred when stains and etches leave their mark. If your natural stone surfaces have etch marks, what can you do about it?

Defining What an Etch Mark Is

Before we discuss how to remedy and prevent etch marks, we first need to understand what creates them in the first place. Stones like marble and granite are natural materials. This means that they react to things they come in contact with. The most damaging element to natural stone are things with high acidic content. Think wine, lemons, tomatoes. Letting things like these dwell on your counters or floors will eat away at their protective layers as well as into the stone itself, resulting in unsightly etch marks.

How to Remove Etches

If you want to remove etches on your own, there are a few steps to doing so. First, it is important that you clean the stone surface well. Look for a cleanser that is specifically formulated as a deep penetrating stone cleaner. These cleansers will make sure that your stone surfaces are free of any existing stains, grime, or leftover sealant.

Next, you will want to seal the surface. A high-quality oil-based sealant will add a protective layer over pores, preventing liquids from finding their way into the stone.

Lastly, you will need to polish the surface. This protective coating will add another sealing layer while enhancing the overall appearance of the surface as well. If you follow this process, you will be left with a shiny, etchless natural stone.

How to Prevent Etches

As with most things, preventing an issue is far easier than resolving an issue. So how can you prevent etchings from occurring in the first place? Here are a couple tips.

-Accidents are bound to happen, but when they do it is important to act fast. Should you spill anything on your stoned surfaces, make sure to clean it up quickly. Absorb the majority of the spill with a paper towel in order to avoid spreading the liquid around.

-Make a habit of using a cutting board whenever you are preparing acidic foods on natural stone countertops.

-Be aware of the pH level in the cleansers you use. If their levels are too high, they are not safe to use on your stone. Many stone safe products will say so on the packaging, which can make choosing cleaners easier.​

If etches are particularly prominent, contact Colorado Stone & Tile Care. We can refinish your stone surfaces to completely remove these corrosive scars. We can also seal these surfaces with our powerful, transparent anti-etch solution to make them more resistant to etching in the future.