She's wondering about it's porosity, being used as a backsplash over
the kitchen counters. She can cook. Anyone ever had any experience with
"copper honed" quartzite? Tom

"tom" wrote:
She's wondering about it's porosity, being used as a backsplash over
the kitchen counters. She can cook. Anyone ever had any experience with
"copper honed" quartzite? Tom

All depends on the individual vein. Give a sample the ol' lemon juice test. If
it absorbs, either look elsewhere or be prepared to seal it heavily every few
years.

"tom" wrote in message
oups.com...
She's wondering about it's porosity, being used as a backsplash over
the kitchen counters. She can cook. Anyone ever had any experience with
"copper honed" quartzite? Tom

Quartzite by definition is nearly impermeable and almost pure silicon
dioxide, meaning it is extremely tough, durable, and solid, not unlike
granites. Nevertheless, things sold as quartzite may have a small amount of
porosity. You could get a broken chip or sample square at the supplier, then
apply hot cooking oil or vinegar, and see if there is any residual stain,
after leaving it on a few days. We chose stainless as a backsplash to our
stovetop, and are very pleased with it. We, too, were worried about staining
and ease of cleaning. The backsplash around the counters, away from the
stove, is less of a problem for cleaning. For that, we used mosaic slate
tile, and used grout and tile sealer to make for easy cleanup. So far, works
great.

Roger Taylor wrote:
"tom" wrote in message
oups.com...

She's wondering about it's porosity, being used as a backsplash over
the kitchen counters. She can cook. Anyone ever had any experience with
"copper honed" quartzite? Tom


Quartzite by definition is nearly impermeable and almost pure silicon
dioxide, meaning it is extremely tough, durable, and solid, not unlike
granites. Nevertheless, things sold as quartzite may have a small amount of
porosity. You could get a broken chip or sample square at the supplier, then
apply hot cooking oil or vinegar, and see if there is any residual stain,
after leaving it on a few days. We chose stainless as a backsplash to our
stovetop, and are very pleased with it. We, too, were worried about staining
and ease of cleaning. The backsplash around the counters, away from the
stove, is less of a problem for cleaning. For that, we used mosaic slate
tile, and used grout and tile sealer to make for easy cleanup. So far, works
great.

My sister has a white "quartz" sink, which has worked very well for
about 7 years. It is very nonporous, but periodically you will have to
remove slight staining. A little bleach does the trick in no time. I
don't know if bleach works as well for other colors of quartz fixtures,
but I had an off white Corian sink (more porous than quartz) which also
cleaned up very well with bleach, so maybe so.

The downside to quartz is that, because of its hardness, it can crack if
you hit it hard (drop a frozen turkey into the sink, etc). My sister's
has several hairline cracks along the bottom which are annoying if you
look closely, but don't affect its use.

Randy

tom wrote:
She's wondering about it's porosity, being used as a backsplash over
the kitchen counters. She can cook. Anyone ever had any experience with
"copper honed" quartzite? Tom


http://www.americanmarble.com/maint.htm
Drop down to "Know Your Stone"

Thanks for the link, Mr. Hensley. More information than she should
need! Stainless is thought to be a contender, too. Someday, she will
decide. Tom