Help- Quartz "ghosting"

[Infinity.Eddie]

I did a quick search and didn't see a similar issue so here goes..

The situation-

A client/friend of mine had a big quartz job done. It came with a cover on it.

After the job was installed, they removed the cover only to see some "ghosting" or "deep oil stain". He tried several ways to remove it, even grinding it down. Is there anything you guys have used to remove this? Never seen this before- It's weird, he even tried to grind and polish the bottom to see if it was all the way through - it was not.

Random patterns on different parts of the surface.
I will try and paste a photo shortly.

And if this topic was covered, I apologize for revisiting

[Joe Durfee]

a photo will help. If you have trouble uploading it, send it to me at jdurfee@americanfloorcovering.net

[Infinity.Eddie]

IMG_2002.JPG (503.49KiB)Viewed 2536 times

It's faint, but its there.. Another fabricator mentioned that he agreed with the idea of the wrap/cover doing that to the stone.

Also it's silestone.

The portion of the photo you can see has been ground down several times. Doesn't seem to be getting any better.

[Dave.Scott]

A long shot, how about some Tenax Quartz Toner?

Definitely test it first

[Joe Durfee]

One ES rep told me about their witches brew. It worked.

1. Fold a paper towel into quarters.
2. Wear rubber gloves and mix laquer thinner and I believe Comet Bar Keepers Friend (I'll double check tomorrow) to the thickness of toothpaste.
3. Using no downward pressure, rub the area with the paper towel for 30 seconds.
4. Clean.

I didn't figure it would work as well as it did. I'll verify it was Comet in the morning.

[Joe Durfee]

swap out the comet for Bar Keepers Friend in the above post.

[Infinity.Eddie]

Thank You!!! I will pass this information along. I'm sure he'll appreciate this a lot.

edited -I'll keep you posted if this works or not

[GuyboR]

swap out the comet for Bar Keepers Friend in the above post.

Done.

Thanks for the tip. We have used Bar Keepers Friend, but never with laquer thinner.

[Joe Durfee]

It cleans everything.

[lonestarstone]

I too am experiencing fingerprint and water ring ghosting within caesarstone's 2003P concrete colored quartz.

Despite using alcohol, bar keepers friend, windex, or all the above mixed in various forms, we are still not achieving a "clean" surface. In addition it appears the surface is still accepting new stains post cleanup. I wanted to revisit this topic through an already opened post rather than start a new post. TIA all.

[Dan R.]

Is this quartz polished or honed or textured? I think they discontinued the honed/textured variety because of surface consistency issues.

Try sealing the surface, after it has been properly cleaned and dried to an acceptable level. The sealer should help will minor wear issues like rings and fingerprints.

[Stone Guys]

I too am experiencing fingerprint and water ring ghosting within caesarstone's 2003P concrete colored quartz.

Despite using alcohol, bar keepers friend, windex, or all the above mixed in various forms, we are still not achieving a "clean" surface. In addition it appears the surface is still accepting new stains post cleanup. I wanted to revisit this topic through an already opened post rather than start a new post. TIA all.
[

Just a little heads up, windex or any glass cleaner will void any warranty of any manufacturer. It has the same pH level - highly caustic as oven cleaner.
The ghosting in Infinity.Eddie photo is from chemical damage by the looks why the surface will be lighter than the base material. Oils will make it darker, oil is a stain, light areas are damage to the surface finish.

We are seeing a lot of etching from companies recommending glass cleaner as a cleaning agent. We have been using Stone Power Cleaner by Stone Benchtop Cleaner and it is magic for no allowing the surface to fingerprint etc, Plus removes every stain.
BKF again is an acid with a acidity range of about 1.5 again way outside any manufacturers recommendation. I know you are going to say but Caesarstone recommend this and Soft Scrub with bleach ph 12.7, yet Caesarstone in every country other than the USA and Canada say NOT TO USE BLEACH! work that out.

Damage from glass cleaner used for installation of glass splash backs





See Caesarstone's own recommendations here
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/media/3405 ... p_care.pdf

Damage from Soft Scrub on Caesarstone 5100



The ghosting is caused by contaminants still in the surface and hence the ring marks and fingerprints. BUT the ghosting or shadowing, hazing etc is actual CHEMICAL DAMAGE though it can be caused also by mechanical but you should be able to tell the difference. Most off the shelf cleaners WILL DAMAGE quartz over time including making lighter colors yellowed.

We have seen this on several occasions though it is now reversible with a product we have developed. One client only used one of the top quartz manufacturers own cleaning products on there Caesarstone 2141 (snow) for four years and the yellowing was huge. This is because of the pH content any pH over 7.5 is caustic and corrosive the higher the number the worse it is. In fact does way more damage on quartz than acids though acids below 3.5 do the same damage.


Good Little Video works exactly the same on matte finishes.
https://youtu.be/j6N0cj6tu-w
https://youtu.be/RlfT0HTYOTs

How do we know, we repair the damage.

Aaron
Master Stonemason
National Technical Manager

stonetech@thestoneguy.com.au
www.thestoneguy.com.au